Today we dedicated the newly renovated biology teaching lab, the Cotler Life Science Lab. In a ribbon cutting ceremony that was attended by Steve and Marjorie Cotler, Penn State Schuylkill Advisory Board members, elected officials, and campus faculty and staff, everyone enjoyed a presentation by Dr. Rod Heisey, Professor of Biology, took a tour of the facility, and enjoyed a celebratory cake. This new state of the art laboratory includes the latest technology, furniture, and equipment. These efforts are consistent with the campus' focus to advance in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Angel Zheng, who attended Penn State Schuylkill 2008-2010, will receive a Fulbright grant for 2012-2013 to study and teach in Macau. Ten such Penn State students were selected, from a field of 56, to do research and to teach English in diverse, non-English speaking countries. Penn State is one of the top universities in the country for successful student Fulbright applications. The concept of the program is one of exchanging students, teachers and university faculty from the United States with students and researchers throughout the world to help maintain peace and understanding.

Zheng was enrolled in the 2+2 program at Penn State where a student attends a campus location for two years and then completes their degree at University Park. When Zheng completed her two years at Penn State Schuylkill, she went on to earn a bachelor of science in education and public policy in 2011 at University Park, where she graduated as a Schreyer's Honors College student. She is currently enrolled as a graduate student in the master of arts program in educational theory and policy at University Park.

Zheng returned to Penn State Schuylkill in the spring of 2011 as the featured speaker at the campus' annual scholarship dinner, held at the Schuylkill Country Club.

Penn State Schuylkill is pleased to acknowledge Ms. Zheng and her accomplishments.

For more information on the Fulbright Scholar program, please visit the Council for International Exchange of Scholars website at http://www.cies.org/About.htm

Penn State Schuylkill announces two new campus scholarships, the Academic Excellence Award and the Honors Award. These scholarships are for students who have documented merit and are not based on financial need.

The Academic Excellence Award is for Penn State Schuylkill students who have documented merit based on a high school GPA of 2.7 or higher, SAT or ACT scores, and the student's evaluation index. This award ranges from $500 to $5,000 per academic year and can be renewed for subsequent years. This award can be combined with other grants and scholarships.

The Honors Award is for Penn State Schuylkill students who are enrolled in the Penn State Schuylkill Honors Program or Schreyer Honors College at Penn State Schuylkill. Ten students will be chosen for this award and will receive $5,000 per academic year for a total of $20,000 over four (4) years. This scholarship is in addition to other scholarships and awards the student may be receiving.

Penn State Schuylkill also has many endowed scholarships that are awarded each year - up to a total of $600,000.00 is available to be awarded! Click HERE to see a list of all of our available scholarships and awards. To be eligible for these awards, apply today to Penn State and choose Penn State Schuylkill as your first choice campus.

We hope to see you in 2013 at Penn State Schuylkill!

Apply today at www.sl.psu.edu/admissions

http://www.sl.psu.edu/aspnet/directory.aspx

Penn State Schuylkill, in cooperation with the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29, hosted a day-long camp for 130 local students who are enrolled in the 21st Century Community Learning Center. For more information, please read the article published in the Republican Herald http://republicanherald.com/news/more-than-130-students-attend-1st-stem-saturday-1.1380968.

Dancing 2012

In February 2012, the Penn State Schuylkill Cheerleaders met with Matt Harding of Where the Hell is Matt, to participate in a video that features Matt dancing with dozens of groups from all over the world.

Matt Harding is internationally known for his videos and “bad dancing” as he travels around the world. His videos have gone viral on the internet with over 42 MILLION views!

His new video, released June 20, 2012, includes the Penn State Schuylkill cheerleaders dancing with Matt in our own campus gym at time spots :12 and 1:50. Below is the link to the video on YouTube that currently has 6 million views. The cheerleaders were also featured on the posters used for promotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe-pA6TaZk

Jodi Staller, Marketing Communications Specialist and Cheerleading Advisor at Penn State Schuylkill receives a thank you in the credits at the end of the video.

Penn State Schuylkill's THON group had an excellent response to their canning effort this past weekend. For the first time in the Campus' history, the group raised $14,295.98 in one weekend! Penn State Schuylkill is very proud of their students and their efforts. The students would also like to thank our local community for their generosity and support!

10:00am | Penn State Schuylkill

Join us for Penn State Day Open House! Penn State Day is a structured program that will help you get information about the Penn State multi-campus system.  This Open House includes information on the admissions process, academic programs, financial aid and student life.  The program agenda will include a presentation, question/answer, student panel, classroom experience, information fair, lunch, and a tour of campus lead by a Lion Ambassador (student tour guide).  Penn State Day is the perfect way to discover all of the opportunities that Penn State can offer you!

Want to Register for Penn State Day?

Call 570-385-6252 or Register Online

Penn State Schuylkill dedicated the Kiefer-Jones Building on Thursday, July 26. The building named for Allen Kiefer and Joseph Jones, both of whom have been involved with the Schuylkill Campus Advisory Board for more than 40 years. Kiefer is president of the advisory board and Jones is chairman of its development committee.

The building formerly owned by Schuylkill County as part of the Rest-Haven complex was utilized by Schuylkill County Child Development as administrative offices, until June 2010. The building, along with 33 acres and a second building, known as the 1912 Building, were purchased by the advisory board in April of 2008 for $475,000. The Schuylkill Campus Advisory Board subsequently obtained a loan from Susquehanna Bank to remodel the Kiefer-Jones Building and demolish the 1912 Building. Kiefer and Jones were instrumental in initiating and monitoring all of the legal and financial matters regarding the transactions.

MKSD Architects of Allentown, Pa., was retained to design the project. The design focused on maintaining the original exterior architecture of the building and modernizing the interior while trying to preserve some ot the original details, such as the entrance stairwell, hard wood floors and fireplaces. L&K Construction of Schuylkill Haven, Pa., was the general contractor. The building was completed in spring of 2011 and now currently houses the offices of chancellor, development and alumni relations, and continuing education.

For complete media coverage, click here.

"Joining Africa," a book by Penn State Schuylkill Distinguished Professor Charles Cantalupo, has won a 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Award in the category of "Memoirs -- Other." Published by Michigan State University Press, the book is an eye-opening personal history, telling the story of an American college professor's 20-year engagement with a thriving Africa rarely encountered by Western visitors, including connections to poets across the continent. Cantalupo is distinguished professor of English, comparative literature and African studies at Penn State.

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest not-for-profit book awards program for indie authors and independent publishers. In its fifth year of operation, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards was established to recognize and honor the most exceptional independently published books in 60 different categories each year, and is presented by Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group in cooperation with Marilyn Allen of Allen O'Shea Literary Agency. 

Summer Open House Programs at Penn State Schuylkill

Are you about to start your Senior year of High School? 

Thinking about applying to Schuylkill?

Come out and Spend a Summer Day or Evening at Penn State Schuylkill:

Spend a Summer Day:  Wednesday July 18 at 11am
Spend a Summer Evening:  Thursday Aug. 2 at 6:30pm  

These programs feature information on the admissions process, PSU's 160+ degree programs, student life, housing, and much more! Agenda includes: presentation, meal, and campus tour with a Lion Ambassador (student tour guide).

Visiting multiple PSU campuses this summer?  The Schuylkill Spend a Summer Day program on July 18 coordinates well with the Spend a Summer Day program at University Park on Thursday July 19.  Stop in and see Schuylkill on your way to University Park!  

Offered Admission to Penn State Schuylkill?

Trying to figure out if we are the right place for you?

Come out to an Academic Major Reception!  Each reception features specific academic areas and will allow you to mix and mingle with Penn State Schuylkill faculty, staff, and students (current and future) in your academic field.  Agenda includes:  faculty session, student panel, dinner, and tour (optional).   Spring 2012 Programs:

Friday April 13 (4:30pm) Featuring: Business, IST, Science, & Engineering

Thursday April 26 (5:30pm) Featuring: Psychology, Administration of Justice, Liberal Arts, Communciations, Education, and Health & Human Development

Call 570-385-6252 or Click Here to Sign up Now!

Penn State Schuylkill will be holding Spring 2012 graduation on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 10:00 am in the Gymnasium, Lower Level of the Health and Wellness Building. Schuylkill County District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon will be the keynote speaker.

Schuylkill County District Attorney Karen Byrnes-Noon is a 1977 graduate of Pottsville Area High School.  She began her studies at Penn State Schuylkill and then finished at the University Park campus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice.  She graduated in May 1981 with highest distinction. In 1985 she graduated from The Dickinson School of Law.  She was a law clerk for the now retired President Judge George Heffner.  She has been a prosecutor for over twenty-five years, twenty-three of them in Schuylkill County.  In January she was named the County’s first woman District Attorney.  She was the first attorney to present DNA evidence in Schuylkill County and the first to present this type of evidence in a homicide case.

Of all the jobs she has had, she says being a mom has been the most fun, challenging, and rewarding.  She and her husband of twenty years, David, have two children, Daniel and Molly.

Karen is a member of St. Joseph’s Church in Ashland, past president of the former Immaculate Heart Home and School, former treasurer of the Spartan Football Half-time Club, a member of the LAOH Girardville Division, the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association, and the Pennsylvania and Schuylkill County Bar Associations.  She is also an active member of the American Cancer Relay for life team, “The Sole Sisters.”

Karen wishes all the Penn State Schuylkill graduates great success in their endeavors.

The Undergraduate Research Program is hosting Dr. Cory Scherer's presentation of his research this Friday, March 30, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in the Fryer Conference Center (C101). Dr. Scherer's research is "Evolutionary psychology and mate preferences: The case for the widower." Light refreshments will be served. No reservations are necessary for this program, which is open to the campus and community.

Rose Baker, co-chair-elect of Penn State's Commission for Women, has announced that Barbara Kaunas, administrative support assistant at Penn State Schuylkill, has been selected as the winner of the Achieving Women Award in the staff non-exempt category. Each year, the Commission for Women honors women who have shown notable leadership and are accomplished in their fields, have supported the University’s diversity efforts and promoted equal opportunity, and/or have contributed to human causes and public service activities.

Kaunas is being recognized for her contributions to both women and Penn State.

She will be honored, with six other award winners, at a University-wide luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, April 16, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel on the University Park campus.

Penn State Schuylkill adult learner Dolores Delin, 83, has a lifetime of experience to share with her classmates. Delin, who was encouraged to attend college by her grandchildren, was featured in a recent article in the Pottsville Republican Herald. To read the article, visit http://goo.gl/KtnEr online.

Penn State Schuylkill will hold its Annual Bunny Trail of Treats on Sunday, March 25.  The event will take place from 1 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Penn State Schuylkill Gymnasium, just follow the balloons!  This event is FREE and open to the community. There will be treats, crafts, games, and music!  The Bunny Trail of Treats is for kids 12 and under and must be accompanied by an adult. Don't forget your basket to collect your treats! 

CHAOS ON THE COURT 2012: Students and Faculty/Staff Needed for 3^rd Annual Faculty/Staff vs. Students Volleyball Game

Date: Sunday March 25, 2012

Location: Gym

Time: 5:00pm

Interested in Playing???

Students:  Form a team and sign up today with John Cooper in the Gym  (Team Guidelines: 6-10 Students & Must be Co-Ed)

Student teams will compete in a sudden death tournament.  The top student team will play the Faculty/Staff for the campus title!

Faculty/Staff:  Contact Janelle Gruber (jlh552@psu.edu) to join the Faculty/Staff team!

Spectators welcome!  Even if you don’t want to play in the game, this is a great day to support campus events: “Bunny Trail of Treats” (1:00pm-3:00pm) and “Chaos on the Court” (5:00pm).

In the spring of 2003, three filmmakers (Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole) traveled to Africa to document the genocide that was occurring in Darfur. Instead, they stumbled upon a little-known war that originated in northern Uganda in 1987, making it Africa's longest-running war. They produced a documentary about the children being abducted and turned into child soldiers by Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Out of fear of being abducted, the children of Uganda would walk miles every night to places of refuge in order to avoid the LRA.

Invisible Children: Rough Cut is a 2006 American documentary film. Its subject is the abduction and forced enlistment of children by the sectarian Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Since 2004, the organization has hosted 10,000+ "official" screenings at colleges, high schools, churches, concerts and other venues. As of June 2009, it is estimated that more than 5 million people have seen Invisible Children: The Rough Cut. The story of the invisible children sparked a grassroots movement mobilizing thousands of American teens into action to raise money to rebuild war-torn schools in northern Uganda and provide scholarships to African youth.

Half their work happens on the ground in Central Africa, and the other half happens in the United States.

In Central Africa, all of their programming is a partnership between Invisible Children and LRA-affected communities. They focus on long-term goals that enable children to take responsibility for their futures and the futures of their countries. Programs are carefully developed initiatives that address the need for quality education, mentorships, the redevelopment of schools, and financial stability. In areas where the LRA is still active, the focus is on civilian protection and rehabilitation.

The work in the United States focuses on advocacy and inspiring America’s youth to “do more than just watch.” Invisible Children believes that by uniting our voices we can use the systems, influence, and resources of the United States to expedite an end to the conflict.

Go to this 5 minute video to learn how it all began (http://www.invisiblechildren.com/videos/3765611). You will be inspired to come to PSU Schuylkill on March 14 at noon and again at 7PM in the Morgan Auditorium to see the new film, Kony 2012, and hear 'The Roadies Team" speak along with a Ugandan survivor of the LRA conflict.

Check out Spring Open Houses at Penn State Schuylkill

Saturday March 17
Saturday April 21

Making admissions decisions?

Just starting to think about applying to Penn State?

No matter where you are in the process, Spring Open Houses at Penn State Schuylkill are here for you!  Get your questions answered at our presentation, panel discussion, and information fair. Find out what classes are like at this campus in our classroom experiences, with campus faculty members.  See our beautiful campus (including on campus housing) in a tour lead by our student tour guides the Lion Ambassadors. Lunch included!  Open House programs have a structured agenda and begin promptly at 10am.  If you are interested, please register ahead of time as lunch is provided.

 Charles Cantalupo, distinguished professor of English, comparative literature and African studies at Penn State Schuylkill, will be hosting a reading and book signing of his recent release "Joining Africa: From Anthills to Asmara," at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 21, in The Ciletti Library on the campus of Penn State Schuylkill.

This eye-opening personal history tells the story of an American college professor's 20 year engagement with a thriving Africa rarely encountered by Western visitors.  The book, which is adventurous, spiritual, political and humorous all at once, is a unique documentary of a journey through the continent. The Africa presented here is neither a postcolonial study nor an exotic tourist destination. In vibrant prose, Cantalupo's book extends a stirring invitation to re-evaluate how we engage with this remarkable part of the world.

More information available at www.joiningafrica.com

Lion for a Day

Thinking about becoming a Penn State Schuylkill student for Fall 2012?  Experience life as a student at a Lion for a Day program. This program allows you to experience a typical college day with a current student.  Agenda includes: Campus Tour, Lunch in the Hidden Stream Café, Attending a Real College Class, and Meeting with an Admissions Counselor.

Lion for a Day programs will each last several hours.  We encourage family members to enjoy our local community while their student takes part in our program.  Our staff would be happy to direct you on eating, shopping, and local attractions. Seating is limited for each program so register today!  Check out one of our Spring 2012 programs:

Friday March 23 (1pm-4pm): Featured Class ASTRONOMY

Thursday April 5 (1:45pm-4:45pm): Featured Class COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Friday April 6 (AM: 10am-1pm & PM: 1pm-4pm):  Featured Class HISTORY

Monday April 9 (1pm-4pm): Featured Class: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & FAMILY STUDIES

Please register for one of these FREE programs by calling 570-385-6252.

To register online, please click Schedule a Visit  

BY THOMAS LESKIN (STAFF WRITERTLESKIN@REPUBLICANHERALD.COM), Published: January 17, 2012

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Although to some, While Martin Luther King Jr. Day may be just another holiday, Penn State students used the day Monday to try to spur change by giving back to the community.

"It is very fitting to honor Dr. King with service activities, given that his life was spent giving service to others," said Dr. Stephen Couch, interim chancellor of Penn State Schuylkill. "I think providing service to others underlines our common mutuality, and it also treats others who may be very different from ourselves as our brothers and sisters, as common members of the human race, people who deserve to be treated with dignity, with respect and with love."

Students from five regional campuses - Penn State Schuylkill, Hazleton, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley - participated in a breakfast, watched an opening video with clips from King's speeches, heard musical performances, listened to a guest speaker, which included a documentary about the conflict in Africa, and went out to perform community service projects.

Tina Rose, coordinator of student leadership, career development and community service at Penn State Schuylkill, said that the collaborative event, in which about 50 students participated, is held at a different campus every year.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day program was in its fourth year and will be held at Penn State Scranton next year.

Natasha Bliss, of Invisible Children, spoke about how the nonprofit grassroots organization came to be and what it does. She also showed a documentary made by the organization called "Tony," which follows the story of a Ugandan boy who grew up during conflict.

"It's really wonderful for me to be here today, especially for Martin Luther King Day," Bliss said. "For Invisible Children, this is a very revered day. We idolize Martin Luther King because he really set the foundation for our organization."

Invisible Children formed after the spring of 2003 when three young filmmakers - Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole - traveled to Africa in search of a story and stumbled upon Africa's longest-running war, a conflict where children were both the weapons and the victims.

They produced the documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut" in 2005, first showing it to their friends and family, but eventually having showings throughout the nation.

It showed the war in northern Uganda. For the past 23 years, the Lord's Resistance Army and the government of Uganda have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle.

The documentary depicts night commuting, where children of northern Uganda would be forced to walk miles from their village homes to city streets where it would be safe to sleep and then return home the next day, Bliss said.

Children feared being abducted by the LRA led by terrorist Joseph Kony, because they would either be killed or end up as members of the army.

It also concentrates around "Tony," through the death of his mother, his life during school, his travel to the United States and the loss of his close friend, Nate Henn, who worked with Invisible Children for a year and a half as a "roadie" or staff member, traveling all over the U.S. speaking about the organization's cause. He was killed by an explosion in a July 2010 terrorist attack in Kampala, Uganda, that ripped through a rugby field where hundreds of people had gathered to watch the final match of the World Cup.

Bliss said that since "Invisible Children: Rough Cut" was filmed in 2003, night commuting has ended for the children of northern Uganda. She said 25,000 children had been abducted.

In 2006, Invisible Children Inc. became an official 501(c)3 nonprofit, and it's goal is to remove Joseph Kony, so Uganda no longer has to live in devastating civil war conditions and wayward children can receive an education.

The organization was behind the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009, which was signed by President Barack Obama on May 24, 2010, legislation aimed at stopping Kony and helping the countless children whose lives are at risk.

In October, Obama authorized the deployment of approximately 100 combat-equipped U.S. troops to central Africa to assisting regional forces "remove from the battlefield" Kony and senior LRA leaders.

"I can't think of any better story that personally is more inspirational and so fitting for MLK Day, as Martin and Invisible Children both caused a huge movement," Rose said, adding, "Change begins with you, no matter how big or small, so we're going to go out there today and cause change."

Rose said Invisible Children will visit Penn State Schuylkill again March 14 as part of the Kony 2012 tour. There will also be a Ugandan speaker.

For the community service projects, students from Penn State Schuylkill went to the Hillside SPCA, Pottsville, and Child Development, Minersville. Students from the Wilkes-Barre campus went to the Orwigsburg food pantry; Scranton campus students went to Rest Haven nursing home, Schuylkill Haven; Lehigh Valley campus student went to the Walk-In Art Center, Schuylkill Haven, and Hazleton campus students went to the Schuylkill YMCA and Historical Society of Schuylkill County, both in Pottsville.

Daniel Wells, 20, of Prince George's County, Md., a sophomore at Penn State Schuylkill, sang and played the piano during the morning events, then volunteered at Hillside SPCA, cleaning out the van used to transport animals.

"It's good to play music that goes with the occasion and you can make people feel a certain type of way with the music that you're playing," Wells said. "I like to do community service. Every little bit helps."

Kelly M. Austin, vice president of finance and administration at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, has been named the new chancellor at Penn State Schuylkill, effective June 1. He replaces previous Schuylkill chancellor R. Keith Hillkirk, who moved to the same role at Penn State Berks in 2011. Stephen Couch, director of academic affairs, has served as interim chancellor since July.

"Dr. Austin brings exceptional leadership experience to Penn State Schuylkill," said Madlyn Hanes, vice president for Commonwealth Campuses. "His accomplished service in senior administrative roles -- most notably in finance and business operations, academic and student support and community relations -- speaks to his broad expertise."

"It is an honor and a privilege to join the Penn State community, a nationally recognized institution of higher learning, as chancellor of the Schuylkill campus," Austin said. "Penn State Schuylkill’s reputation for producing high quality graduates prepared for the jobs of the future is well known, and the excellence attributed to the first-class faculty and staff have positioned the campus for prosperity in an increasingly unstable national and international climate. I look forward to working with the campus community to serve the evolving workforce and cultural, artistic and educational needs of the citizens of the region and beyond."

Austin has been in his current role since 2008, serving as the chief business and administration officer of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. His duties include the development and implementation of a strategic plan, collaboration with senior officers to ensure student retention and leading the development and implementation of the campus operating budget, capital budget and auxiliary budget, among other responsibilities.

He also coordinates budget and administrative operations within larger University of Pittsburgh operations and oversees units including business operations, facilities management, athletics, information technology, budget office, campus police, housing, human resources, purchasing, the campus bookstore and dining services.

From 2007-08, Austin served as vice president of student affairs, where his duties included the development of a comprehensive outside-the-classroom student experience focused on leadership, involvement and service. He worked to foster a campus-wide student-centered atmosphere and an inclusive, open and safe environment while overseeing a residential student population of 1,800.

"Dr. Austin is regarded by his colleagues in the higher education community as an innovative leader, skillful at building positive community relations and strategic planning, and committed to shared governance and student-centered learning," Hanes said.

Austin earned his Ph.D. in administrative and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh. He holds an M.B.A from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and bachelor's and master's degrees from Slippery Rock University.

Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, he served in multiple roles working directly with students at Embry-Riddle, including coordinator of first generation student programs, education specialist and academic advisor for first year programs and assistant director of student activities. He joined the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2006 as director of student unions and student activities.

He has been active in numerous community service organizations, including United Way, Special Olympics, Make-A-Wish, Habitat for Humanity and March of Dimes.

"I am confident that Penn State Schuylkill will enjoy its long-standing tradition of educational excellence and realize significant progress in the coming years under Dr. Austin's leadership," Hanes said.

Students and parents are invited to complete their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at our FAFSA workshop on Wed. Feb. 8, 2012 at 6:00pm in 002 Classroom Building. To be reviewed for any type of financial aid at Penn State, students must have a current FAFSA on file, so take advantage of this brief FAFSA completion session to get your 2012/2013 aid started.  Please call 570-385-6252 to sign up. 

Participating students and parents will need to come prepared with the following:

1.) FAFSA student pin number

2.) FAFSA parent pin number (both types of pin numbers available at www.pin.ed.gov)

 3.) Completed taxes or the last pay stub for both student and parents

Call 570-385-6252 to Register for FAFSA Completion Night Wed. Feb. 8, 2012 at 6:00pm in C-2

Charles Cantalupo, distinguished professor of English, comparative literature and African studies at Penn State Schuylkill, has published a new book. "Joining Africa," published by Michigan State University Press, is an eye-opening personal history, telling the story of an American college professor’s 20-year engagement with a thriving Africa rarely encountered by Western visitors, including connections to poets across the continent.

At once adventurous, spiritual, political, dreamlike, and humorous, "Joining Africa" is a unique documentary of a journey through the continent, including an intense five-year encounter with economically struggling but culturally fertile Eritrea.