The tragic death of the young son of two members of the Penn State community on New Year's Eve is launching a scholarship to benefit a member of the Penn State soccer team that will honor the boy's memory and the sport he loved.

The Penn State community learned of the sudden passing of 8-year-old John William McKenzie Brady, known affectionately as Mack, earlier this week. Mack, the son of Schreyer Honors College Dean Christian M. M. Brady and his wife, Elizabeth, a lecturer in the College of the Liberal Arts' Department of Communication Arts & Sciences, died unexpectedly Monday, Dec. 31, at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center as a result of a blood infection that spread rapidly.

One of the benefits students have at a major national research university like Penn State is not only learning from faculty in the classroom but also working alongside them -- in the laboratory or the library -- doing research. Undergraduate students like Christine Theberge and Josh Yeh, who are conducting their own undergraduate research, and those who hold research assistant positions have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in areas of academic interest while developing valuable research skills and relevant work experience.

"An entrepreneur is an undertaker. Very few are willing to press through the harder times.... The key to getting started in entrepreneurship is to read widely, learn from the experts, imitate other entrepreneurs and stop talking and start doing. To quote Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, 'The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.' All of the speakers participating in Start-up Week are doers. They figured out what they wanted and started taking tangible steps.... As young entrepreneurs, we have to get over the credibility gap.... Society will reward you for something of value."

-- Drew Mohoric, cofounder of Innoblue, a nonprofit, early-stage business accelerator in State College, Pa. Innoblue starts and supports innovative business, civic and social ventures. The company's vision is a community transformed by entrepreneurship, where people act on the double bottom line -- to do well while doing good. Mohoric is a Schreyer Honors College student in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State with an expected graduation date of May 2012. Mohoric spoke on Monday (April 9) at the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), to kick off IST's Start-up Week, a week-long celebration showcasing talented young entrepreneurs from around the country, including alumni from the College of IST and Penn State.

Five Penn State students in their respective areas of leadership have been honored with the 2012 John W. Oswald Award. Natalie Ettl is the recipient in the field of athletics; Adam Fracassi, journalism; James Baker, creative/performing arts; Erin Collins, representing scholarship; and Peter Khoury, social services. The John W. Oswald Award, established in 1983, annually recognizes graduating seniors who have provided outstanding leadership in at least one of several areas of activity at the University. The award consists of a medallion honoring John W. Oswald, president of the University from 1970 to 1983.