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Circus performer takes Penn State courses “On the road”
	Vesta Gueschkova flies through the air for a living. When she’s not performing as the Human Cannonball with Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus, she’s studying and earning credits at Penn State through distance education. When the circus made its way to the Bryce Jordan Center earlier this summer, Gueschkova had an opportunity to visit Penn State for the first time since enrolling in the associate degree program in Letters, Arts and Sciences offered through Distance Education. “My parents and brother all have master’s degrees, and I was brought up reading a lot and expecting to get at least one degree,” she said. “In Bulgaria, I was enrolled in a graduate program in the college, in a sports discipline. I interrupted my education to come to work with the circus in this country, but I always wanted to continue my education. Moving every week, a resident college would be impossible. So I studied catalogs and explored different Independent Learning programs. Penn State was recommended to me by some people who were already taking correspondence courses. The education will give me an opportunity for jobs in the future, when I can no longer perform.” After earning an associate degree, she plans to continue her studies. For now, she is concentrating in the area of social psychology. Members of Penn State Distance Education hosted Gueschkova during her stay in State College, Pa. Gueschkova (center) talks with Gerald Goff, coordinator for advising and promotion, and Jean McGrath, director of student services, at the Jordan Center, where the circus performed.