Time capsule to reveal legacy to future students at Penn State Shenango

Dr. Jo Anne Carrick, campus director, stands with Alijah Douglas, president, SGA, at the Time Capsule ceremony on Sept. 14.

Campus Director Jo Anne Carrick stands with Alijah Douglas, Student Government Association president, at the time capsule ceremony on Sept. 14.

Credit: Penn State

SHARON, Pa. — An iPhone 5, a Penn State T-shirt, a photo album, and a 50th anniversary banner — these are just a few of the items, amongst a long list, that were collected, cataloged and placed in the new Penn State Shenango time capsule.

A beautiful bronze plaque was unveiled at a ceremony on Sept. 14 in in the atrium of Sharon Hall by Campus Director Jo Anne Carrick. The plaque reads: "In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Penn State Shenango, the faculty, staff, students, advisory board, and alumni, in September 2016, enclosed herein a time capsule to be opened in celebration of the campus centennial in 2065-66.

The original copper-clad time capsule was opened this past spring as part of the campus’ 50th anniversary celebration. Although it had only been 45 years since the first time capsule was sealed in the exterior wall of Forker Lab, Carrick made the decision to extract it during the yearlong celebration.

“We were so excited to find the first time capsule, which took some digging,” said Carrick. “When we finally discovered where it was located, we decided that wherever we placed our new time capsule for future students, faculty, and staff to open, that we would make it a little easier for them to locate. That is one of the reasons we had the plaque designed and hung in the area where the new time capsule will be located.”

The time capsule committee included Melissa Fower, administrative assistant for Academic Affairs; Andy Puleo, coordinator for Student Affairs; Claudia Brown, instructor in human development and family studies; Riley Atterhold, current business student; and Jay Roberts, facilities supervisor and chair of the committee. Angela Pettitt, instructor in English, and Liz Izenas, coordinator for communications, assisted in the design of the plaque.

The new time capsule also includes the items that were placed in the previous capsule.

“We’ve had a lot of fun these last several months gathering information from faculty, staff and students,” said Roberts. “Our committee really wanted to make sure that we had a good representation of items from all of our campus community, including our Advisory Board and Alumni Association. I think those who open this time capsule in 50 years will have a good idea of what we were trying to accomplish and just how much everyone loved it here.”