Having been with Onward State from its dorm room beginnings in November 2008, my spring semester abroad has me feeling a little out of sorts. Don’t get me wrong though. While I’m looking forward to the experience, missing out on the day-to-day madness that is Onward State will be strange.

Sorting through emails, planning future coverage, and providing writer feedback took up a sizable portion of my time, as my roommates last semester can attest. While much of my new-found free time will be spent exploring Prague and the rest of Europe, Onward State, and the service it provides to the Penn State community, is very important to me.

Luckily, Europe has this thing called ‘the Internet’. Maybe you’ve heard of it? They’re not all Luddite communists over there, you know.

Using that series of tubes, I’ll be able to keep my finger on the proverbial pulse, writing the occasional commentary about what’s happening on campus, and hopefully provoking debate and discussion about issues that have an impact on Penn Staters; issues like tuition, UPUA legislation, Town-Gown relations, and drinking. It will be fun to see where this column takes me.

Dear reader, I can assure you of one thing, however: this will not become a study abroad blog. No one likes those at all.

Additionally, behind the scenes, I’ll be providing feedback to writers to ensure that our content continually improves.

If you have any ideas for columns (or the best places to visit in Prague), shoot me an email at eli@onwardstate.com or comment below.

Here’s to a great semester! Enjoy Syllabus Week!