So I haven’t submitted a blog post all semester and it is probably because I was too busy making memories rather than trying to write about them. This was my last semester as a student at Penn State and I would like to do you one last honor and present to you one final blog post (as a student).

Now…this piece is very special to me simply because it was not created for the purpose of this blog. That’s right….I DID NOT write this with the intent to post it. What you are about to read is the very last assignment of my college career. It is reflective and it helped me tie everything together. This is word-for-word what I submitted to my teacher. The assignment was about cultural institutions and diversity. Oh yeah… I got an A. Enjoy.

 “The Invisible Teacher”

Much like the “invisible hand” of laissez faire economics, our cultural institutions serve as a concealed pedagogical force in our culture. Most people do not know the definitions of ‘pedagogy’ or ‘cultural institution’, but that does not mean they don’t understand them on more basic level. Someone who does not know the definition of persistence can still understand and value the importance of hard work, just as knowledge of the definition doesn’t correlate to one’s ability to work hard (persist). This course allowed me to better identify and define the forces and influences of my surroundings even though I already knew their significance beforehand.

Cultural institutions surround many issues; diversity, pedagogy, visual culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social difference, and religion being a select few of them. As a graduating college senior who has spent the last four and a half years of his life in a supreme example of cultural institution; I only thought it logical to use Penn State as the focus of this assignment. From what I noticed, the students in the class were primarily in their first/early semesters of their college career. Just to provide a sample; even though they may choose to use Penn State as their cultural institution…I’ve been “Around the [campus] block” eight times more than every other student that was in my group for the previous assignment. Since day one at Penn State I’ve grown as a person, learned as a student, and appreciated everything around me more.

College – especially Penn State – is one of the most diverse atmospheres one can place their self in. Even though academics plays a HUGE role in the acquisition of knowledge (and is in some ways the main purpose of attending a University), it is the least significant part in the development of an individual. The best lessons are the ones that professors do not teach us, but rather the one’s we discover ourselves. Penn State serves to teach valuable information that pertains to your area of study, but it also provides the environment that will facilitate your growth as a person. Penn State has a diverse student population, multiple clubs and organizations to become a part of, a grand museum, beautiful architecture, and multiple other entities for learning. Penn State is a cultural institution that can teach you way more than just definitions, mathematical formulas, and molecular breakdowns; it indeed has quite a lot to offer.

Walk around campus for a day and you will see many things and make many judgments. Everything will be new and exciting to you. You will be inviting to new ideas and will absorb everything around you (consciously and subconsciously) at a lightning fast rate. WARNING: on your first walk around campus, you will not be able to retain everything you see.

Walk around campus for a semester and you will begin to acclimate to your environment. You will act on judgments and decide which ideas were and were not for you.

Walk around campus for a year or two and you will begin to understand your surroundings. You will make friends, you will solidify beliefs, you will have tried new things, but most of all…. you will officially be comfortable.

Walk around campus for four years and you will be a seasoned veteran. Many friends will have come and gone, you will have made and witnessed many promises, you will have said goodbyes and you will be able to read people better. You will know who is stuck with you for the long haul and who (sadly) you probably will never see again. You will know what “Making an Impact” means precisely because of the fact that you will know who has made an impact on you. You will be more cultured because of all the new things you’ve tried (you don’t have to like it, just have to try it) and you will be ready to make your transition into your next cultural institution, “The Real World”.

Walk around campus ONE LAST TIME…..and you will wish it was your first day because as much as you accomplished during your stay on campus, there is so much more that you haven’t yet discovered. As much as you know about campus, there are things you failed to appreciate until this final moment. There will be people you never had the chance meet or even say goodbye to, places and things you wished you tried but never made the time to. On your final walk around campus… your regrets (even though you’ve sworn that you live a life without any) will finally settle in because it’s too late. It’s too late and it is time to appreciate everything it was, is, and will be when you decide to visit again “Soon”. WARNING: on your last walk around campus, you will not be able to retain everything you see….but you will sure as hell appreciate it all.

This is my very last college assignment. At the precise moment that I click ‘submit’, my college career will officially be over. A part of me almost never wants to submit this so the feeling of still being a Penn State student can linger within me just a little bit longer. But if I learned something worth retaining, it is that Penn State is but one of the many cultural institutions I will experience throughout my life. I am glad that I saved this class for my final semester, and I am glad that this is my final assignment because it allows me to tie everything together. Cultural institutions are plentiful, but the cultural institution of the world is infinite and the “invisible teacher” will always exist. We simply make transitions from one cultural institution to another. We will always learn; whether it is via visual stimuli like artwork and film or the grasp of a life-changing speaker or writer. Sadly, it’s past 5:00 pm and my assignment is officially late…. I apologize for the hold up, but I needed an extra ten minutes as a student.

Thank You,

Stamatis Kakleas