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Penn State Beaver Roar October 2019
News
Penn State remembers Robert Shoop NATE SHARIF
Senior Staff Writer nas5758@psu.edu
More than a dozen Penn State Beaver students and staff gathered at the Sperling Funeral Home in Wexford in May to say goodbye to a former student, Robert John Shoop. Shoop, born June 7, 1999, passed away suddenly on May 6. He is survived by his parents Kyle and Christine Shoop. “Robert was a jolly goofball,” said Benjamin Chen, a sophomore. Chen said he and Shoop had been friends since the third grade, and he could not believe the news that Shoop had passed away. Shoop, who had just completed his sophomore year, initially began his college career by pursuing a degree in engineering but later switched his major to economics. “Robert found the first semester to be a bit rough and wanted something new,” said his father, Kyle Shoop. When asked about the details surrounding Shoop’s passing, his parents declined to comment. Shoop, who lived in Harmony Hall, was actively involved in the fantasy and sci-fi club and fiction writing, said Jill Tress, the Learn-
Roar file photo
Robert Shoop, second from left, poses with other Penn State students in Amsterdam during the 2019 spring break trip to Europe.
ing Center and Disabilities Services coordinator. Additionally, Shoop was an avid lover of 12th century European history including Constantine and Constantinople. When Beaver announced that students would have the opportunity to visit Paris during spring break, Shoop jumped at the opportunity.
Chen said he and Shoop also had plans to travel together. “He was really happy when I told him I would take him to China,” said Chen. “Robert was excited to try new things.” Shoop’s personal love of history and analytics eventually led him to the economics major where he flourished. He was planning to attend the
University Park campus this fall as a junior. “Robert was becoming more confident,” said Kyle Shoop. “I believe he would have become a teacher of history or economics.” Laurie Barnes, an adjunct art instructor, said Shoop was primarily focused on his schoolwork and friends.
TEDx event attracts student speakers TAYLOR R. THOMPSON Staff Writer
trt5170@psu.edu
Students will come together to create Penn State Beaver’s first TEDx event from 12 to 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 in the Student Union Building auditorium. Students with interests in speaking and production are forming teams to host the event for the Beaver campus. A TEDx event is a local gathering where TED-like talks are shared with the community. Sophomore Dmitri Gordienko and junior Joshua Graham, the organizers of TEDx PSU Beaver,
went through a two-to-three-month approval process to get this opportunity for the Beaver campus. Once they were approved, they started to get to work. The two held sign ups at Club Rush for those interested in speaking or getting involved. After that, the project was broken up into two teams. One for marketing and the other for logistics. The marketing team has been working on setting up social media accounts as well as creating posters to place around the Monaca area, while the logistics team searches for a speech coach, caterers, ushers and
facilitators. After the interested speakers signed up, the students had to go through a screening process, where they pitched their ideas to a panel of three faculty – instructors Kristin Oberg, Athena Pangikas-Miller and Daniel Pinchot – who provided feedback to aid them in their presentations. Senior Heather Makar was one of the aspiring speakers who made a pitch to the panel. “I want to light the fire of inspiration,” she told the faculty. The event will give students a chance to gain real-world expe-
rience to add to their resumes as they create something new for this campus while doing the things they love, Gordienko said. It will also be recorded and available for viewing online. “I want this event to show that TEDx PSU Beaver can become a substantial event that will continue even after I leave this campus,” Gordienko added. “I want to create this event as something that will be my legacy here.” Gordienko and Graham organized a similar program on smaller scale last spring, but it wasn’t an official TEDx event.
“Robert was very sweet… an incredibly thoughtful student,” said Barnes. Barnes said she was in disbelief when she received news of his passing. “I hadn’t thought it was possible, being so young in college. You get attached to your students,” said Barnes. Shoop, along with other students, collaborated with Barnes on a section of the art mural located on the lower level of the General Classroom Building. Junior Patrick Byers, a resident assistant in Harmony Hall, said he knew Shoop well. “Having Robert around would always guarantee a good time.” Byers recounted that both he and Shoop had at one time been a part of the Boy Scouts of America. “We were both a part of the same camp, just not at the same time,” said Byers. “Years later we would attend the same college together.” Byers said that Shoop was one of those people who just made others feel comfortable. Kyle Shoop agreed. “If I was having a bad day, I could look at Robert and he would bring me back to reality.”
POLICE BEAT On May 2, Antonio Young, a former student from San Pedro, Calif. was charged with criminal trespassing in Harmony Hall when police found him illegally in the building between 12 and 1 p.m. On Aug. 22, it was reported to the police that a hit and run was committed between 3 and 7:30 p.m. in the Harmony Hall parking lot. On Aug. 26, a hit and run that occurred between 3 and 4 p.m. in Lot B was reported to police. On Aug. 30, police started an investigation after a campus employee reported to the police that graffiti was found on the sidewalk in front of the General Classroom Building.
