Stories
Learn how engagement has transformed the lives of students.Submit Your Own Engagement Experience Story
Learn More & Submit
Video: Researchers Have a Civic Responsibility to Serve the Community, and Working as a Team is Critical to Success
Learn more about Molly's experience by watching her video here!
Video: My Engagement Experience
Learn more about Addisyn's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Thinking Outside the Research Lab
Learn more about Amy's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Educational Inequity in Pre-Health Careers
Learn more about Diana's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Networking Bee
Learn more about Oulimata's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Mechanical Testing of 3D Printed Spare Parts for Hospital Equipment
Learn more about Magdalia's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Neuroscience Thesis Research
Learn more about Chen-Yu's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Using Additive Manufacturing to Print Smart Ceramic
Learn more about Nathan's experience by watching his video here!
Video: How Can Your Help?
Learn more about Kierstyn's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Precise Calibration of Oxygen Sensors and Electrode Impedance for Brain Tissue Recordings
Learn more about Santiago's experience by watching his video here!
Video: The Effects of Amygdala-Derived Estrogen on Motivational Feeding Behaviors
Learn more about Yifan's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Early Socialization to the Nursing Profession
Learn more about Logan's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Protecting the Sunshine State
Learn more about Andrea's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative Certification Training
Learn more about Gabrielle's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Beginning Undergraduate Research of Host-Microbe Interactions
Learn more about Allison's experience by watching her video here!
Video: Host Microbe Interactions
Learn more about Isabella's experience by watching her video here!
Video: App Design for an Online Psychology Consulting Platform “Psy Space”
Learn more about Howard's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Designing and Testing Biomechanical Grips for Hydrated Tendons Using a Criterion MTS Device
Learn more about Steven's experience by watching his video here!
Video: From the Bottom Up: Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders Through Youth Advocacy
Learn more about Jaydin's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Bite Sized Learning
Learn more about Kaitlin's experience by watching her video here!
Video: A New Way of Life
Learn more about Olivia's experience by watching her video here!
Effective Educational Tools: Google and VoiceThread
My experience took place remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic. I completed VoiceThread and Google Educator trainings and modules and engaged in WordPress trainings online. All of my experience was conducted from my apartment desk setup. Now more than ever,...
IoT Has no Clout
For my student engagement project, I accomplished finishing my research paper on theorizing a working compliance for the Internet of Things(IoT) as well as assisting on another research paper focusing on the NIST-CVSS calculator and how we can add data privacy aspects...
Every Little Farm Makes a Difference: Feasibility Analysis of Backyard Farming Business in State College
My goal for my experience was to independently investigate the feasibility of an at-home gardening service in State College. This service is modeled after a Portland, Oregon small business: Your Backyard Farmer. Your Backyard Farmer farms clients’ backyards based on...
Precedents in Architecture: Work by Under-Represented Designers
This experience was completed remotely from within my home. Our project is creating an architectural precedent guide that highlights the work of underrepresented architects, which we hope to provide to Penn State and other colleges around the country. We had the...
Video: Every Little Farm Makes a Difference: Feasibility Analysis of Backyard Farming Business in State College
Learn more about Amanda's experience by watching his video here!
Video: #HereToo Theatre & Activism Project
Learn more about Frederick's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Becoming a Fitness and Nutrition Blogger
Learn more about Yuhan's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Association Between Genetic Variation in Dopamine Genes and Alcohol Consumption in College Students
Learn more about Anna's experience by watching his video here!
Video: “Sew” How Can I Help?
Learn more about Claire's experience by watching his video here!
Video: Leading the Initiative to Reinstate the Engineering Leadership Society
Learn more about Ethan's experience with Engineering Leadership Society by watching his video here!
Mapping the Potential Energy Surface of Complex Oxides during Cracking
From May to August, my experience took place in my home about 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh, PA, where I could abide by the Center for Disease Control guidelines on physical distancing. Working remotely under Penn State faculty, Dr. John C. Mauro and graduate student...
PennEnvironment Volunteer Intern
PennEnvironment is a statewide environmental advocacy organization that transforms the power of our imaginations and our ideas into change that makes our world a greener and healthier place for all. The organization does this by educating everyday Pennsylvanians about...
“Guat” to Help the People
We went to Guatemala to provide medical care for the people of the community who are not offered medical care and do not have easy access to prescriptions and medications they may need. We opened a medical clinic for 5 days and went around spreading the word to those...
Meeting Basic Needs in San Antonio
For my experience, I went to San Antonio, Texas for Alternative Spring Break. The focus of this trip was helping provide basic human needs such as access to nutritious food and safe and affordable housing. On Day 1 of service, we spent the morning painting curbs and...
San Antonio Service Experience – Access to Healthy Living
Alternative Spring Break is a week-long opportunity to dedicate your spring break to service. We traveled to San Antonio, Texas where we focused on the theme of Access to Healthy Living. Projects included volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, completing house...
Providing Access to Public Art in Natural Locations
March 2020, I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to research two extremely unique demonstrations of what is considered a public art destination in a natural setting. The first was Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, located in the remote Rozel Point of the Great Salt Lake...
Teaching Technology Skills in a Retirement Home
My experience consisted of working with a local retirement community in Berks County. I had multiple meetings with the event coordinator at the retirement community to help gain awareness of the event and use their facilities. On the day of the event over...
Lessons Learned from Fighting Back Against Cancer
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Kylie Kuhns: 2019 SEN: What was your major? K: Labor and Employment Relations SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience founding Kelsey's Dream and running it while at Penn State? How has that impacted your current role?...
MGMT 496 Leads the Way towards Career Success
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Tim Byrne: Spring 2019 SEN: What was your major? T: Finance SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience in the MGMT 496 Consulting Practicum while at Penn State? How has that impacted your current role? Are there any skills...
Global Health in Senegal Leads to Enriched Future
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Victoria Oladipo: May 2018 SEN: What was your major? V: Biology – Vertebrate Physiology focus SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience completing the Global Health minor, including traveling abroad, while at Penn State?...
Learning from the Academic Rigor of Student Athletes
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Rachel Gerberick: May 2018 SEN: What was your major? R: Human Development and Family Studies SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience as an Intern at the Morgan Academic Center while at Penn State? How has that impacted...
Studying the Biology of Cancer in Beijing
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Nicole Hatchard: May 2018 SEN: What was your major? N: General Science and Biological Health Profession SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience studying abroad in Beijing while at Penn State? How has that impacted your...
Niche Work in a Large Team leads to Great Impact
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Ceci Richardsen: May 2019 SEN: What was your major? C: Biomedical Engineering SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience in research while at Penn State? How has that impacted your current role? Are there any skills or...
How Penn State Experiences Influenced Founding Beemia
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? Andrew Strause: 2017 SEN: What was your major? A: Management Information Systems, Minor in Sociology SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience in FindItU/Beemia while at Penn State? How has that impacted your current...
Achieving My Dreams as a Research Technician
The SEN Grant allowed me to further my research in the lab as well as present my information at scientific conferences. It allowed me to pursue the aspects that come along with being a researcher like professional representation and development of interpersonal skills...
My Personal Growth Through Professional Development
This summer, I was given the unique opportunity to intern for the Head Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court in Boston, Massachusetts, which is the highest appellate court in the state. My specific duties included completing two data projects and logging in evidence...
Using Historical Anecdotes in Theater
I conceived, wrote, and directed a cabaret dedicated to the collaborations of Broadway producer Harold Prince and composer Stephen Sondheim entitled A Salute to Sondheim & Prince. I secured a venue in the Theatre Building, hired a pianist and lighting designer,...
Entrepreneurship goes deeper into specific topics
I had the honor of representing Penn State as one of 1,000 Forbes Under 30 Scholars selected from universities across the world. This three-day event took place in Detriot, MI, one of the up-and-coming innovative capitals in the US. I was able to hear from founders of...
Radio City Taught Me Vital Skills for Success
This Fall, I spent four weeks in “The Showplace of the Nation”, Radio City Music Hall. I worked on the Radio City Christmas Spectacular as the Lighting Design Intern. I spent the first two weeks in an office on the 9th floor of the historic theater, creating and...
Expressing Myself Through Art
Happiness is one of the basic emotions that exist across cultures. As happiness is a universal emotion, no matter where people come from, they may have the same expression of happiness, such as smiling, laughing, and being approachable. However, people of different...
Finding Real-World Application at Networking Conferences
My experience took place in Detroit, Michigan. I was selected as a recognized scholar to attend the 2019 Forbes Under 30 Summit. This 4-day conference was an amazing opportunity for me to learn from the world’s greatest leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators such as...
The Importance of Loyalty, Accountability, Resourcefulness, and Accuracy At Sea
I went on a cruise to the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico for nine days. We were on a tall ship with experienced crew members and learned about oceanographic techniques used to learn more about the health and status of the Atlantic Ocean...
Discovering Cultural Diversity Within Biology
My name is Andrew Miles and over the past semester (Fall 2019) I had the opportunity to be a research intern at the Central Pennsylvania Research and Teaching Laboratory for Biofuels at Penn State Harrisburg. This is a unique lab in the fact that the focus is on plant...
Chasing My Dreams Across the World
For my abroad experience, I flew across the world and landed in Sydney, Australia. There, I would be spending two weeks studying not only the art which made up this beautiful city, but the culture and history of Australia itself. We spent most days traveling by foot...
Found Confidence in Post-Grad Life Through Study Abroad
My experience occurred between December 29th through January 6th of 2019-2020, aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer. It started at Gallows Bay in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands and ended in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The experience focused on oceanography, which involved the...
Expanding My Global Awareness Through Chilean Agriculture
During the 2019-2020 winter break, I spent 17 days in Chile with my ERM 499 classmates. While in Chile, our schedule was rigorous; we traveled to all four main regions of Chile. We visited the Capital region in Santiago, The Lakes District, Patagonia, and the Atacama...
Nursing Through A New Cultural Lens
I went to Kochi, India to teach healthcare topics to a women’s empowerment group. We traveled to Munnar on the weekend to visit museums and tea plantations too! This was important to me because it was a part of the world I wouldn’t expect myself to travel to normally....
Teaching English as a Second Language Encourages Class Engagement
I completed my required 12 weeks of full-time student teaching in the state of Pennsylvania. This was done with the help of a mentor, and supervisor in a 2nd grade classroom. Then, I went to Thessaloniki, Greece the day after my teaching was finished. I lived on my...
Built Research and Teamwork Skills through Collecting Oceanography Data
I sailed from St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands to the British Virgin Islands to San Juan Puerto Rico where we collected biological oceanography data in the waters along our voyage. This experience was important to me because my goal is to go to graduate school for marine...
Milagro House
I was an assistant education director at Milagro House in Lancaster, PA. I helped single mothers and their children who would otherwise be experiencing homelessness reach their education goals. I also implemented a STEM program for the children living in the house. I...
Interview with Penn State Alumnus, Jeremy Frank
SEN Intern: What year did you graduate? What was your major? Jeremy Frank: BS Mechanical Engineering – 1997Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering – 2001MBA World Campus – 2005 As you can see, I am over-educated and 100% inbred with PSU education, which I am glad for. But, if I...
Days for Girls
MY STORY Growing up in a biracial family with two immigrant parents, multiculturalism embodies my life and fuels my identity. While this was an identity I did not want as a child, being that I was so different from my peers, I slowly grew to fill the shoes that were...
Study Abroad in Japan
During the summer of 2019, I studied abroad in Japan and South Korea for a summer architecture studio. My friend and I arrived four days before the program started and visited several architectural museums, went on a firm tour, and – for one of the days – explored...
Analyzing the PRV-263 Virus
This summer I stayed on campus at Penn State and worked in a Dr. Szpara’s research lab. I was given the project of analyzing the PRV-263 virus. I was looking at the genome in order to confirm that a cassette, Brainbow, had been inserted properly in to the PRV-263...
Studying Inborn Errors of Purine Metabolism in C. Elegant
My engagement experience took place over the course of the 2019 summer term. I spent the summer conducting research in Dr. Wendy Hanna-Rose’s lab at the Penn State University Park campus. The Hanna-Rose lab primarily focuses on studying inborn errors of purine...
Research on Metal Organic Framework Type Materials
This summer I got the opportunity to work with Dr. Van Der Sluys at Penn State Altoona conducting research on Metal Organic Framework Type Materials (MOF) based on metal oxalate compounds of the general formula MC2O4 where M = Cr2+ and Mo2+ ion. MOF are essentially...
Bangkok to Phuket: An Immersion in Thai Culture
This past May, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Thailand. Our objective was to study the effects of natural hazards within a developing country. Our class partnered with Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. Similar to Penn State, Kasetsart University...
Civil Engineering Impacts in Vietnam
I traveled to the Mekong Delta of Vietnam to learn about the challenges surrounding their water management. We spoke to farmers, water purification plants, and local people to learn about their experiences. As well, we took water samples from wells, pipes, and water...
The Power of “Yes”: My Month-long Experience in India
This past summer I spent a month in Kodaikanal, India exploring their healthcare system with a small non-profit. We lived in a guesthouse taking bucket baths, washing clothes by hand, and having conversations stretching throughout the quiet hours of night. We visited...
World Architecture in Japan
During the summer of 2019, I participated in the Japan/Korea study abroad for design majors. I spent two weeks traveling through Japan, visited over nine cities while exploring both ancient and contemporary works of architecture. I then spent four weeks along with...
Biotechnological Production of Sustainable Indole-3-Acetic Acid in Germany
I was fortunate enough to secure a DAAD RISE research internship to spend 12 weeks in the summer of 2019 at the Volker lab at Universität Bielefeld, located in the city of Bielefeld in the north-west of Germany. The focus of my research was on the biotechnological...
Internship for Global Women’s Issues
During the summer of 2019, I interned in the Department of State’s Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. I had the opportunity to live in Washington, DC for ten weeks and be at the center of government and policy initiatives. The Global Women’s Issues Office...
A Supreme Summer
This summer, I was given the unique opportunity to intern for the Head Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court in Boston, Massachusetts, which is the highest appellate court in the state. My specific duties included completing two data projects and logging in evidence...
Internship on the Ranch
This past summer I had the incredible opportunity to return to Otter, Montana as a ranch intern. During my time in rural southeastern Montana, I was able to build on the skills I fostered last summer as a ranch intern, strengthen my bonds within the community, and...
Empowerment to Save Endangered Species
We spent 7 days on Oahu and 5 days on the Big Island of Hawaii. While on the island of Oahu we spent multiple days either at the Bishops museum or with Marques, the cultural advisor of Hawaii. While on the Big Island of Hawaii we spent several days hiking the...
My Hands-On Neuroscience Experience
I participated in the 2019 Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I worked in the Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences lab, where I assisted with research using stra6-/- Zebrafish. The first goal was to use stra6 -/-...
Building Resilience to Obstacles Through Research
During the summer of 2019, I conducted an independent research project at the Crowley lab, led by Dr. Nicole Crowley, at Penn State- University Park. Here, I had the opportunity to study the implications of the somatostatin hormone in the brain in alcohol use...
Personally Developing Through Travel
We went to the Hawai’ian Islands of Oahu and Hawai’i to study with an Environmental Studies course. On this trip I learned about Hawai’ian culture, history, biology, evolution, conservation, and geology from the leading experts in the field. We were in the field at...
Realizing A World Outside of My Bubble
I took Art 299:Foreign Studies. The topic of the study abroad class was Indigenous Cultural Studies in the Visual Arts. We visited New Zealand and Australia for a total of three weeks. In New Zealand, we learned about the history and culture of the Maori people. In...
Having An Impact On the World of Agriculture
In many developing countries, farming is the source of both food and income for many families. These nations face many challenges unlike those of the United States. One such issue is the control of parasitic plants, which are pest plants that compete with economically...
Communicating With Different Cultures
For my engagement experience, I went to Hershey, PA and worked at Penn State Hershey Medical Center for 10 weeks. I worked there as a Nurse Extern, and with this role I worked alongside a nurse mentor. I assisted the nurse with her shift’s tasks by caring for...
Found Myself as a Global Leader
I participated in IES Abroad: Sydney, Australia. Through this program, I studied at the University of Sydney. During my semester abroad I took classes involving Outdoor Education, Aboriginal Culture, and The Future of Business. I spent a lot of my time exploring the...
Life is a Journey, Not a Linear Path
Three weeks ago, I left all my comforts of home behind, took a personal leave of absence from work, left my dog with my boyfriend, and got on a plane bound for my Environmental Studies class in Hawaii. I was excited but also very nervous, I had never travelled alone...
Witnessing Chemical Balances First Hand
On my first day on Oahu I traveled to many different Heiaus. With each stop I felt empowered to be able to visit such sacred places. At the first Heiau which was dedicated to healing, the first thing that struck me was the picos. The three picos really spoke to me...
Finding My ‘Ohana Abroad
The sound of my alarm startles me, its 3:00 A.M. already and I haven’t slept much from all the excitement. The only time I ever find myself getting up this early is the opening day of deer or turkey season in Pennsylvania. But I am not going hunting this time, instead...
Research Beyond My Comfort Zones
This trip was an eye opener for me. It expended my view towards the cultural aspect and the way people live and interact within each community on the different islands. It was a great experience that I believe many people in the future would regret not being a part...
Understanding Human Impact On Island Environments
I partook in a field study on the islands of O’ahu and Hawai’i where I learned about the formation of hotspot island chains, unique island biogeography, and how humans have interacted with the islands for centuries. This was a great opportunity to observe geographic...
Brought Together Ethnicities Through Design
I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain. I studied for six weeks with about fifteen other classmates, learning about the urban landscape and architecture, and the impact it has on those who inhabit and travel to the area. Much of my time spent in Spain revolved around a...
Rediscovered Passion for My Career Path
I spent my spring semester studying abroad in Granada, Spain with the IES Granada: Study in Granada program. For five months I stayed with a host family, took all of my classes in Spanish and completed a communications and translation internship with a local travel...
Exploration of Diversity in Conservation Needs
This past May, I traveled to two Hawaiian Islands, Oahu and The Big Island, as part of an embedded program through the Penn State Altoona campus. While on the islands, we learned about the unique Hawaiian culture, natural history, and geology.This experience was...
Changed Environmental and Cultural Perspectives
We spent the later half of May 2019 in Hawaii as part of a combined environmental studies and cultural study. The first week was spent on O’ahu, where we went to several different types of heiau (temples) and the Bishop Museum. The second week we spent on Hawai’i...
Aloha ka ‘Āina
I went on an environmental studies trip to the Hawaiian Islands that was the most memorable and influential experience I’ve ever had. Once I got to the islands I was introduced to an entirely different lifestyle than the one I live. When we arrived in Hawaii, we were...
E Ola Oi, E Ola Makone
This trip to Hawaii really opened my eyes. What we learned in the classroom kind of set me up for what we were going to see/do, but it paled in comparison to actually being there. Before I dive into the extravagant trip that explored deep into the areas of culture,...
Challenged and Inspired to Try New Things
Hawaii changed my life in a lot of positive ways and made me realize so many things about not only myself, but different cultures as well. When I first heard about this trip I was very excited to go but I did not know what to expect, considering I had never even been...
Learning More About Global Health
This summer I spent five weeks in Tanzania with a cohort of Global Health students completing the fieldwork for the minor. The entire trip taught us about the Tanzanian healthcare system, public health, and Tanzanian culture. Our trip began in the largest city and...
Community Based Solutions Inspired Me
While most of my family and friends were at home enjoying mashed potatoes and gravy, Black Friday shopping, and professional football, I was busy experiencing the most incredible Thanksgiving break as a member of the Tropical Systems in Agriculture study abroad trip...
Applying Class to Real Life
Our class had the great opportunity to visit the city of Rome for spring break. We were tasked to incorporate our previous religious understandings from class into the cultural lifestyle displayed by the city’s monuments and overall structure. This experience was very...
Finding International Similarities and Differences Through Politics
The biggest aspect I learned is that there are a few critical factors to why Russia is the way it is. I think of these to be: geography, survival, and the origins and history of Russia. One of the coolest parts of the trip was seeing that Russia is not Easter or...
A Week of Being “On” In Puerto Rico
For one week two separate Penn State campuses became one. From March 2ndto March 9th, 2019, the campuses of Penn State New Kensington and Penn State Greater Allegheny, coming to be known as Greater Kensington, embarked on their annual Alternative Spring Break (ASB)...
Off to Law School with A Deepened Appreciation
I interned at Mifflin County Children and Youth Services in Lewistown, PA. I worked as a caseworker assistant, doing most of the daily tasks a caseworker does in their day-to-day. My supervisor, Dana Bubb, is the Administrator of MCCYS, and my mentor is a supervisor...
Diversity in Higher Education
I went to the 2019 American Association of Blacks in Higher Education conference in Indianapolis, Indiana for four days. The first three days consisted of presentations varying in topics within higher education, and I was able to present my own research on the final...
Discovering My Desire to Travel
I studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain this past spring semester through the IES program offered through Penn State. I took 15 credits while abroad which included courses to fulfill my general education courses. This experience was important to me because I wanted to...
Keeper of the Earth
In February 2019 I began my internship with the National Park Service at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, located in the Sonoran Desert on the Arizona border with Mexico. For an outdoor enthusiast and aspiring Park Ranger, I knew this was going to be a...
Education Beyond Institutions
We went to Washington, DC to help homeless people. We handed out blankets and toiletries and also worked in shelters. This experience was important to me because it allowed me to see what life is like for other people and it is not a picture-perfect world. It...
Enriching My Experiences for Graduate School
I interned at The Residence at Silver Square in Dover, NH. I was the Resident Engagement Intern and I worked closely with the Resident Engagement Director. Everyday I had the privilege of working with the residents making sure they were up and doing things within our...
Teaching to Inspire Students
I was in Nakuru, Kenya for 3 and a half months helping to run a gap year program for students who just graduated high school. My role was to be an adult presence on campus and to be the first line of contact with the students. I taught sessions and engaged with the...
Professional Experience Guided My Goals
I went to New York City with around forty other Behrend students to network with business professionals. This engagement experience opened my eyes to the great world of business and what it has to offer.Throughout many site visits, I was able to network with great...
Learning Multicultural Awareness
I spent the last semester abroad, taking classes and studying in Barcelona, Spain. While I was there I lived with a host family and roommate from Illinois. Barcelona is such a great and colorful city and I had so much fun learning about its history and exploring...
Returning with Renewed Appreciation
I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad during the Spring 2019 semester at Temple University’s Rome Campus. I continued taking core classes towards my mechanical engineering degree as well as courses in Italian and Roman history. My four months in Rome were an...
Growing Beyond My Personal Limits
Starting in September, 2018, my supervisor and I set out to research how a former irrigation pond on Penn State Behrend property evolves over time. This research aimed to define the physical/limnological characteristics of the pond over three seasons (fall, winter,...
Staying True to Myself
I lived and studied in Barcelona for four months during the 2019 spring semester. I was unsure of exactly what I would learn, but I knew that immersing myself in a foreign country would force me to face situations out of my comfort zone. During my time abroad, I...
Increasing Visibility through Marketing
I travelled to Israel to participate in a study abroad program that also had an optional internship program. I arrived two months prior to the start of classes to take advantage of this unique, professional opportunity. I interviewed with multiple companies, and in...
Informing My Community
I studied two streams (Rock Run and Camp Run) in Clinton County, PA that have been impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD) since the late 1970s. I spent my day-long experience with the scientists and engineers who have designed treatment systems and studied the impact of...
Influenced by History and Culture
For Crim 425: Organized Crime, I had the opportunity to go to Curacao for Spring Break 2019. It was a week full of activities and of learning about the Dutch Caribbean. Earlier in the week, I got the chance to experience Carnival, see the different influences in their...
Uncovering Similarities
Over winter break, I was granted the opportunity to revisit Malayaka House, a self-sustaining orphanage---nay, family-- in Entebbe, Uganda. I am beyond lucky to have revisited the community, with my first trip being over Spring Break 2018. A group of us from Empower...
Developing as a Scientist
I conducted research in Dr. Kenneth Keiler’s lab in the BMB department for my engagement experience. The research focused on antibiotic resistance, which is the phenomenon of bacteria developing ways to overcome the killing mechanisms of antibiotics. The projects I...
Sustainability Abroad
For my experience, we went to Costa Rica to look at how they are practicing sustainable agriculture. We learned many of the ways they practice this – including renewable energy sources and biodigesters. We even helped install one for a local farmer. Aside from the...
Preparing for Pediatrics
Over spring break 2019, I traveled with the club on campus FIMRC (Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children) to our project site at Alajuelita, Costa Rica. While there, I was able to volunteer my time at the main FIMRC clinic as well as multiple pop-up...
Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone
I was a part of a group of Penn State Brandywine students who traveled to Puerto Rico. This was a trip was strongly focused on serving and learning. We arrived in San Juan Puerto Rico and were greeted with a warm welcome. We were working with a group called Caras con...
Gaining Service Experience
During my engagement experience, I went to Los Angeles California and helped to feed the homeless. During the experience, we made burritos in the Share-A-Meal truck that we then walked around and distributed to less fortunate individuals. We also handed out socks,...
Helping to Restore Puerto Rico
I attended the Alternative Spring Break Trip to Puerto Rico from March 2nd to March 9th. The purpose of the trip was to do a variety of community service projects around different areas of Puerto Rico. The projects were: reforestation in Las Cabezas Nature Reserve,...
Discovering Universality of the Human Experience
I traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa on an embedded spring break program. The main focus of the program was to better understand the media structures of South Africa and compare them to the United States. During the trip we experienced a mix of media outlets,...
Emerging Myself in a Different Culture
Over spring break, myself and six Penn State Brandywine students embarked on a service trip to Puerto Rico. I was one of those 7 students. The purpose of this trip was to help restore mangrove plants that were damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and learn more about...
Implementing Positive Change
This past spring break, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Honduras with the Global Brigades Water and Engineering club. In Honduras we visited three separate communities. In the first community, we analyzed their current water piping system and devised a...
Appreciating Rich Biodiversity
From March 2nd to March 10th, the ERM 499 class spent time in Costa Rica to learn about sustainable agriculture and natural resources. The first day in Costa Rica we drove about two hours from the airport to Earth University, where we would be staying for the next few...
Providing Water Access
I travelled to Honduras over spring break with 13 other students through Penn State’s Global Water/Engineering Brigades. There we helped design and implement a water system in two different communities. In the first community we surveyed the land and gathered data...
Influencing Leaders
After two months of learning about the history and importance of our nation’s capital, I was thrilled to see firsthand all of the wonders in Washington DC. From visiting most of the monuments/memorials, the Department of States, Department of Labor, Pentagon, Bank of...
Providing Access to Healthcare
This past spring break I volunteered in The Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC)’s clinic in San Jose, Costa Rica with Penn State’s FIMRC chapter. The site, named Project Alajeulita, is located approximately five miles outside of San...
Discovering the Psychology of Religion
We traveled from Pittsburgh, PA to Rome, Italy, and had a day trip to Pompeii. We visited the major religious buildings, museums, art galleries as well as locations of interest such as the Coliseum, the Baths of Diocletian, the Spanish Steps, the Jewish Ghetto, the...
Offering Support to Puerto Rico
I traveled to Puerto Rico during spring break to participate in an Alternative Spring Break Trip. Our goal was to help local communities repair and clean up after Hurricane Maria. We spent many days near Playa Guayanes, located on the south east of the island. This...
Putting Knowledge to Work
This past spring break, I visited Costa Rica with the ERM 499 class titled Costa Rica Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources. The entire week was an educational experience where we were constantly learning about the country, sustainability, farming techniques,...
Exploring Community Health
Over spring break I had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco De Yojoa, Honduras. While in Honduras my classmates and I worked with an organization called Healthy Niños. This is an organization whose main goal to reduce the number of malnourished children in the...
Expanding My Cultural Knowledge
I went to Rome, Italy for my experience. We visited around 30 churches, such as the Sistine Chapel and specific baroque and gothic style churches. We also visited the Jewish ghetto and Pompeii. I learned about the culture of Italy through my stay in the apartments...
Volunteering in D.C.
My experience was in Washington D.C. to help people battling homelessness. We worked with many organizations like, DC Central Kitchen, SOME, Food for Friends, Joyful Food Market, Capital Area Food Bank, and the Central Union Mission. We sorted, package, and served...
Impacting the Puerto Rican Community
I went to Puerto Rico from March 2nd through the 9th. We stayed at Camp Yuquibo in El Yunque Forest. We did community service (reforestation, painting, and landscaping) in various places around the island. We went to the boys and girls club one day and spent a few...
Reviving My Family Heritage
My class and I travelled to Rome, Vatican City, and Pompeii, Italy over the course of 8 days. We visited numerous museums and churches. We also fully immersed ourselves within the Italian culture by staying in apartment buildings and giving every local cuisine a shot....
Volunteering at Food Banks
For a class on homelessness, a group of us went to Washington D.C. during spring break. While we were there, we learned about those experiencing homelessness while also doing service work. We went to food banks and kitchens such as DC Central Kitchen, SOME, and...
Shifting My Views of Government
For my experience, I went to Washington DC to communicate with institutions that represented the government, the lobbying industry, and the media. Throughout the week I was fortunate enough to meet with officials from the State Department, the Department of Labor,...
Learning About Religion in Italy
I went to Italy and visited Rome, Vatican City, and Pompeii. We visited places such as the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Pantheon, Great Synagogue, and many more religious sites. The whole point of the trip was to learn more about religion,...
Making an Impact
I went to Puerto Rico for an Alternative Spring Break to help the victims who were affected by the hurricanes in 2017. We replanted trees, painted houses, and worked at a school that has been closed since September of 2017. We also went to the Boys and Girls Club of...
Understanding Different Religions
During February 28 to March 10 of 2019, I and a few other classmates traveled to Rome, Italy for a psychology class focused on why people believe in religion. On this trip, we stayed in local apartments within the city. This helped us be emerged within the culture and...
Creating Unique Research
I worked as an undergraduate intern at the Center for Excellence in Science Education (CESE) at University Park. A year ago during a pedagogy course taught by Dr. Jennelle Malcos, I realized that educational research blended my technical and scientific mindset with my...
Providing Help After Hurricane Maria
I got to be a part of the Alternative Spring Break trip to Puerto Rico. We completed work in San Juan, Fajardo, and Luquillo where we completed a number of clean-up projects, including painting, paint chipping, and clearing out overgrowth. In addition, we spent time...
Understanding Complexities in Healthcare
I was fortunate enough to have spent my last semester as a 4-month Administrative Intern with the Mount Nittany Physician Group. MNPG is a multispecialty group of providers across 18 practices in Centre County, Pennsylvania. This fall, I was placed in the Department...
Helping Those in Need
We went down to Washington D.C. to help local shelters and food pantries, as well as give necessary supplies to the homeless population in the area. We volunteered most of our time helping others and learning about the homeless population and what they have gone...
Developing an Antiviral Drug
I conducted research at Western Psychiatric in Pittsburgh, PA with Dr. Nimgaonkar’s group. More specifically, I worked with Dr. Leonardo D’Aiuto to perform immunohistochemistry experiments to support the characterization of an iPSC neuronal drug screening platform....
Adapting to Obstacles
I flew to a small town in northern Norway, Andoya, along with several other students on the project, to participate in NASA’s launch of a rocket (G-Chaser) with our payload on it. We were involved with the Andoya Space Center for a week and a half, in which we took...
Connecting Class to Real-Life Application
This winter break I traveled to Malayaka House Orphanage in Entebbe, Uganda, for the second time with the Penn State club Empower Orphans. As volunteers at Malayaka House, our primary job is to spend time and bond with the children, whether that means playing games,...
Gaining a New Perspective
I traveled from Pennsylvania to Boston, Massachusetts for my experience. While in Boston, I stayed and worked with Brandyn Schult who is the senior cybersecurity researcher at Boston Cybernetics Institute. Mr. Schult graciously let me stay in his home with his family...
Conserving the Reefs
I went to Tom Owen’s island in an ocean sanctuary specifically for research and volunteer purposes. The island is 26 miles off the coast of Placencia, Belize. I participated in reef conservation and earned my PADI rescue diver certification. For the conservation part...
Exploring Diversity in Theatre
My SEN funded experience was to write a play exploring diversity in theatre through researching the experiences of women of color and white women and crafting a story in which these two types of women learn to uplift each other. I held three different hour-long...
Building My Own Research Project
This semester, I had the opportunity to engage in an undergraduate research experience in the Miyashiro lab at Penn State. I studied bacterial communication using the symbiosis that exists between the Hawaiian squid Euprymna scolopes and the marine bacterium Vibrio...
Creating Efficient Processes
From August to December of 2018, I was given the opportunity to participate in a project with Penn State faculty, colleagues. and Bechtel employees. Bechtel is an engineering, construction, and project management company. Bechtel employees (mainly managerial figures)...
Optimizing Environmental Conditions
From January the 3rd to 10th of 2019, I participated The Green Program to study clean energy and sustainability in Iceland. The major event of this program was that the participators took lectures in Reykjavik University and completed a small Capstone project about...
Empowering Heart Disease Patients
This engagement experience was held within the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) Home Health and Hospice of Lackawanna County. For this experience, I worked with Dr. Michael Evans and the Executive Director of VNA, Beth McGuigan, to assess current patients with heart...
Delivering Quality Care
For my internship rotation at CarolinaEast Medical Center, I was paired with Dawn Jenkins, Director of Quality Management. Having a teacher with such an important role, vast array of knowledge, and thirty-eight years of experience at CarolinaEast, I was able to attend...
Embracing Differences Abroad
I traveled to Curacao, an island within the Caribbean Islands over Thanksgiving Break. While I was there, I studied the issues of race within the criminal justice system and learned about multiple aspects that are different from the American Criminal System. We spoke...
Polishing My French
I spent the week following the end of the semester in Paris, France for a short-term French studies course at Language Studies International. While here, I developed my French comprehension skills and learned about French history and culture. Studying French in Paris...
Studying the Curaçaoan Justice System
Over Thanksgiving break I traveled to Curaçao with my Crim 451 class to study racial issues and the justice system in the country. I got to travel to the University of Curacao where I had the opportunity to talk with the students about the racial divide in the...
Gaining Confidence in Theatre
This fall, I spent a week in New York City assisting award-winning sound designer Curtis Craig on a production of Antigone with the Classical Theatre of Harlem. This involved assisting with the setup of the sound system, taking notes throughout the technical...
Turning Passions into a Career
My colleague and I went to New York City to visit nonprofits and organizations working to make their communities more sustainable. We had the chance to sit down and talk with Force Blue, WE DO, and BSR. On top of that, we were invited to see a show hosted by The Moth,...
Finding My True Self
In November 2018, I went to the oSTEM conference hosted in Houston, where I was able to participate in several panels and conversations surrounding the topics of being out and how that affects being in and working in STEM, and intersectionality in general. I was also...
Breaking Stereotypes and Insecurities
My experience took place in Barcelona, Spain. I created YouTube videos that were meant to inspire that travel is possible for minorities or those from income families. I didn't really see anyone that looked like me on TV when I was growing up so I didn't think that I...
Preparing for Corporate Sustainability
I went to New York City to visit four nonprofits in the area that are engaged in sustainable development. These organizations were selected to complement the work that we are doing in the Council of Sustainable Leaders. The Moth focuses on using storytelling to...
Stepping into the Political Field
My internship allowed for me to get first-hand experience in the political field. It allowed me to help bring about change in small communities as well as on the big stage. While interning for a political campaign, I was able to canvass for my candidate and really...
Improving Urban Food Sustainability
I am a World Campus Student and I participated in the Study Away Philadelphia program which has a focus on social justice in the city. My placement/fellowship was with Greensgrow Urban Farm located in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. This placement offered...
Shaping My Future Plans
This year, with the help of the Student Engagement Network Grant, I developed a prospective cross-sectional interventional survey design study to determine if an investigator developed educational intervention could impact knowledge and attitudes regarding palliative...
Finding Myself in Rome
I had an internship at Le Cicogne, an Italian startup founded in 2012. On the first day of my internship, I was told that the CEO wanted me to learn about all aspects of the company, not just one project. I started out doing researching new business partners; I found...
Broadening My Horizons
This summer I had the opportunity to study abroad for five weeks in Iringa, Tanzania. The program was a part of Penn State’s Global Health Minor and was the capstone event for the minor as a required fieldwork. Before going abroad I had to take courses in...
Reinvigorating My Passion
I went to Iceland with the GREEN Program in June of 2018. The focus of the trip was Sustainability and Renewable Energy. We studied both in class at Reykjavik University (taking courses with area experts in Geothermal Energy, Hydropower, and Energy Policy), and in the...
Creating Artwork for the Community
For my engagement experience I fabricated and installed a large welded metal sculpture at a local sculpture garden. As a sculptor with both smithed and foundry-cast metalworking experience, I furthered my own skills in the area of welded metalworks by creating a...
Providing Renewable Energy in Roatan
I am the engineering leader of a Penn State club, Engineers Without Borders. I designed and installed a solar array to power a well in Roatan, Honduras. The solar array is now fully functional and the community can now deliver much more water to their citizens for a...
Impacting the Penn State Community
The research project that I was involved in this summer focused on developing and implementing innovations in health care delivery that would meet the needs of the Penn State employee and beneficiaries who are covered under the University’s health benefits program. My...
Building a Foundation in Research
My experience was mainly conducted within the Psychology Lab at Penn State Scranton. It was in the lab that I was able to assist my professors on an ongoing project called “Process Evaluation of the Lackawanna Treatment Courts.” Much of my assistance involved coding...
Defining My Dream
This past May I went to the Cannes Film Festival in France as part of my internship with American Pavilion. As an intern I worked for the social media team, live-tweeting panels and roundtables as well as posting content across all social media platforms. I’m a film...
Preparing to Work in a Global Setting
During the fieldwork portion of the Global Health Minor, I traveled to Iringa, Tanzania where the group and I toured different NGO’s and healthcare facilities that work to increase health and community wellbeing throughout the region. There was a wide range of NGO’s...
Extending My Research in Forensic Science
This summer, I continued my undergraduate research in the Penn State Forensic Science Program. The project involves looking at three-dimensional fabric impressions in vehicle paints. Recently, the focus has been on finding techniques to visualize and photograph the...
Gaining Technical Skills in Geoscience
From early June to late August, I completed fieldwork in southeast Iceland with an Icelandic professor and a French student. Every day, we travelled to remote locations on the island to set up GPS stations. Finding each new station was comparable to geo-cacheing, and...
Seeing Patient Perspectives
This past summer I was fortunate enough to be able to volunteer and observe audiologist, Dr. Jennifer Titus, at the Warren Campus of St. Luke’s Hospital in the Balance Center. A typical day included greeting patients, using technology to examine their level of...
Designing Solar Power Systems
My experience involved researching and designing a small-scale power inverter system for photovoltaic grid tied applications (solar power system). My research began in Spring 2018, focusing on background information and a literature review. In the summer of 2018 I...
Inspired to Work in Human Rights
I went to Bariloche, a city in the Patagonian province of Rio Negro in Argentina, for a class trip. The course centered on the relationships between the indigenous Mapuche and Argentine territory over time. While we were in Bariloche, we met with various Mapuche...
Humanity in Healthcare
This past June I traveled to Leogane, Haiti with a group of 30 students, physicians, and other various health professionals to do medical mission to the surrounding community. Leogane was the epicenter of the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010, and the people have...
Introduction to Social Activism
Throughout the summer of 2018, I traveled along the east coast to Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York to attend various cultural events. I was very fortunate in that I was able to attend eight different events and meet an incredibly diverse group of...
Giving Back to Penn State
My engagement experience occurred during the summer of 2019, when I worked for the Penn State Office of Student Orientation and Transition Programs as the Campus Liaison for the New Student Orientation Welcome Crew. During my experience, I worked at New Student...
Conducting Fitness Assessments
I completed my engagement experience by performing human subject research in the Center for Fitness and Wellness located in the IM building on campus. There, I worked as a student intern conducting fitness assessments and blood assays to examine the health levels of...
Developing My NGO
I traveled to Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Zanzibar for my experience. I own a small adventure travel company in East Africa that specializes in grassroots adventures/expeditions in Tanzania and Kenya. While on location, I worked on my concept for a...
Celebrating Differences in Others
I went to Seville, Spain in order to participate in an intensive language and culture class. While in Spain, we went to Granada and Cordoba to learn about the interesting history of Spain. We found out that Spain has been ruled by leaders of many religions before...
Defining My Ambition
I worked in four cities and three states in my first company, Storyclip Co. In State College, PA, Philadelphia, PA, and Topeka, KS, I primarily focused on software development of the company’s second mobile app. I also travelled to San Francisco, CA to consult with a...
Becoming an Advocate
I completed my 5-week global health minor fieldwork experience in Senegal this past summer. My small group consisted of 4 students from the global health minor program here at Penn State. Throughout our 5-week fieldwork we shadowed the physicians, nurses, and public...
Making Global Connections
This past summer, I interned with Underdogs United. Underdogs United works to promote sustainability and global stewardship through the lens of sport. In my role of business development, I helped to form partnerships with professional athletes to get involved in our...
Realizing My True Passion
For my engagement experience, I studied abroad in Townsville, Australia for two weeks. During those two weeks, I took part in many conservation efforts and citizen science projects. I was able to experience the different biomes and wildlife in Australia firsthand and...
Breaking Down Medical Barriers
I spent 6 weeks interning at Hershey Medical Center in PA with genetic counselors. Specifically, we were in the Cancer Institute and meeting with patients who have either a personal or family history of cancer. Our job was to translate genetic scientific jargon into...
The First Step in an International Career
I studied abroad at Temple University Japan Campus and participated in an internship with the Global Community Planning Subsection of Minato City Hall in Tokyo, Japan. During my internship, I was able to be a narrator for an annual event to inform the public of how...
Engaging Others Through Global Sports
This summer Underdogs United provided me the opportunity to work remotely and to gain incredible professional and personal experiences. While I was unable to go to Kenya with other members of Underdogs United’s team, I actually had a better opportunity to expand my...
Becoming Fluent in Chinese
From June 12th to August 10th, I participated in an intensive Chinese language program in Kunming, China. Apart from classes, I also had the opportunity to go on various cultural excursions to other cities in Yunnan Province, including Dali, Puzhehei, and a few...
Seeing My Classes Come to Life
My study abroad experience took place between July 2nd and August 6th. During that time, I traveled to Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Veenhuizen in the Netherlands. I took two difference classes, CRIM 499 (Foreign Studies) and CRIM 406 (Deviance). While on both programs I...
A Chance to Challenge Myself
My internship experience took place in Karlsruhe, Germany in the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The length of my internship was approximately two months. Every day, I’d commute by bus and train from Pforzheim to Karlsruhe to assist Mike Kemper, a senior...
Developing Unforgettable Connections
During the summer of 2018, I embarked on the Pennsylvania State University’s six-week, faculty-led study abroad program in Puebla, Mexico. I was required to take 9 credits of Spanish classes. Additionally, almost every weekend we travelled to culturally or...
Learning about International Development
This summer, I worked as a Public Affairs Intern with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C. As an intern in the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, I worked with the communications team that drives Agency messaging, as well as the...
Appreciating Finance in a Business
This past summer I interned for Johnson&Johnson’s Medical Device sector, DePuy Synthes, in Raynham, MA. Depuy-Synthes creates medical devices to help better the lives of patients. I was in the finance department and had the opportunity to impact several projects,...
Helping Students Learn Chemistry
For my student engagement experience, I was a learning assistant for Chem 110 over the summer at Penn State’s University Park. During my time as a learning assistant, I helped students gain a better understanding of chemistry by answering their questions either in...
Researching Cell Tissue Growth
Throughout the summer, I met with four other students and four professors from the University of Delaware. We had meetings every week, and the students and I discussed the progress we each made on our research while the professors gave suggestions and guided us. My...
Applying Computer Science in the Real World
Over the summer of 2018, I participated in a ten-week internship in Delaware at JP Morgan Chase & Co. The grant helped me pay for the food, living, and transportation costs associated with the internship and made it possible for me to complete it. At the internship, I...
Advocating for Social Justice in Education
In May 2018, I spent two and a half weeks in Washington, D.C. completing the Penn State Social Justice Fellowship. I taught my own lessons on social justice in the classrooms of two D.C. public schools. I also had the opportunity to meet with stakeholders in the...
Adapting to a New Culture
This summer, I participated in a two-week long study abroad in Nantes, France. In Nantes, several Penn State students, including myself, completed an engineering design course at Ecole Centrale de Nantes. Some of us arrived in France several days before the class and...
Presenting My Research Internationally
This June, I travelled to Waterloo, ON, Canada for the 2018 International Deep Drawing Research Group (IDDRG) conference, which was created to share research on the formation of sheet metal. I presented my undergraduate research on an experimental investigation of...
Creating My Own Path
My experience took place in State College, PA. I worked in a genetics research lab investigating the sex ratio incidence using Drosophila as a model organism. I also worked with Reflexion, a startup looking to provide more objective concussion management to athletes...
Predicting Lyme Disease Severity
This summer I was given the opportunity to continue my undergraduate research. The lab I work in is focused on the ecology of diseases, including Lyme disease. For the past year, I have been working on a modeling project that aims to find a more reliable way to...
Examining the Qualitative Side of Finance
I explored my interests in the more quantitative side of Finance, combining some of the Business Building software, such as the Bloomberg terminals, with statistics and elements of computer science methodologies. Specifically, I performed and expanded upon my role of...
Helping Australian Wildlife and Oceans
I had the privilege to study abroad in Australia, in both Townsville and Magnetic Island. There, I learned about and assisted in field research on sea turtles and freshwater turtles at James Cook University. I had the opportunity to complete a few scenic hikes,...
Gaining Hands-On Patient Care Experience
My responsibilities during this internship aided in the organization of the hospital. When on the floors I was in charge of delivering medical equipment, transporting medical records, trips to the pharmacy, taking dirty medical equipment to sterile processing,...
Spending a Summer on the Ranch
This summer, I had the opportunity to travel to eastern Montana to work as a ranch hand on a grass-fed beef operation. I was involved in every aspect of ranch, from branding and ear-notching calves, to selling finished beef at regional farmers markets. No two days...
Exploring Facets of My Field
This summer, I was required to complete a 300-hour field experience under a registered dietitian (RD). I decided to split my internship 150/150 to get the best experience possible. My first 150 hours were completed at Chilton Medical Center where I worked on the...
Becoming a Resourceful Researcher in Linguistics
I traveled to Palenque, Colombia for two and a half weeks to conduct a linguistics experiment on speakers of Spanish and a Creole language called Lengua Palenquera. My experiment, which I had designed with Dr. John Lipski for two semesters prior to the experience, had...
Finding My Future Career
I spent two weeks in Washington, D.C. being a Social Justice Fellow in the D.C. Social Justice Fellowship program. While I was there, my teaching cohort and I worked in various high schools in the area and conducted research on a topic of our choice to present at a...
Examining Human-Environment Interactions in Tanzania
This summer, I studied abroad in Tanzania through the Biology of Eco-health course (BIOL 498A). Over the course of three weeks, I traveled throughout Tanzania to learn about human-environment interactions, as well as gain first-hand experience with biological issues...
Implementing 3D Printing in Kenyan Healthcare
I am a rising junior pursuing a major in Biomedical Engineering and a minor in Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE). Penn State’s HESE program works on various social-driven humanitarian ventures aimed to help people in specific parts of the...
Appreciating a Different Culture
I went to Beijing, China for two weeks in July to take a Biology of Cancer course at Peking University (PKU). It was a faculty-led study abroad program with Dr. Zhi-Chun Lai. Throughout the week we took classes and learned about cancer biology. During our time, we...
Creating Products for the Singaporean Population
This summer I was given the incredible opportunity to study abroad in Singapore at the National University of Singapore, one of the top technical universities in the world. While in Singapore, I took a class titled Fundamentals of Product Development which was...
Eco-Health Class Trip to Tanzania
This summer I had the amazing opportunity to do a travel-abroad experience in Tanzania for three weeks. I was enrolled in the Biology of Eco-Health course, and as part of this course I participated in lectures and discussions about human-environment interactions,...
Providing Clean Water to the Roatan Community
In May I took a trip to Roatan, Honduras with the student organization Engineers Without Borders. Due to extremely high electricity costs and low-income living conditions, communities often struggle to obtain clean water from the ground on a regular basis. It was our...
Studying Veterinary Practices and Wildlife Health in Belize
This summer, I spent a month in Belize studying large animal veterinary practices, as well as wildlife health and conservation. During the first two weeks, we were able to visit a raptor conservation center, a baboon sanctuary, the Runaway Creek Nature Reserve, and...
Preserving a Fading Culture
This summer, I traveled to Benin in West Africa with six other students as an extended learning opportunity through the Linguistics course Languages in Africa. After a few days of exploring Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, we traveled to a small village called...
Studying Monkey Vocalizations in Peru
I went to Los Amigos Biological Field Station on the Madre de Dios in Peru. It is a field station in the Peruvian Amazon. I was a Research Assistant on a project studying behavior and communication on two species of tamarin monkey. I spent about half my time going on...
Conducting I/O Psychology Research in the Workplace
I spent the semester working at the Penn State organization, Aurora with my advisor and graduate mentor (Rachel Heinen) to design a study to help this organization better understand their leader dyads and perceived effectiveness in the outdoor orientation program. I...
Researching Hummingbirds in Costa Rica
I spent ten days at La Selva Biological Research Station in Heredia, Costa Rica. The first four days were spent acclimating ourselves to the area by hiking the rainforest trails, visiting local plantations, and getting to know the researchers we would be working with....
Using Language to Connect, Include, and Progress
I prepared extensively for this trip. My research has a class component, and I went to all the lectures and out-of-class meetings. But looking back on my experience, nothing could have actually prepared me. For two and a half weeks, I went with two linguistics...
Gaining a Different Cultural Lens
For my engagement experience, I participated in the HDFS Study Abroad Program in Florence. The program focused on development over the lifespan in an Italian context. In addition to the cross-cultural coursework, we spent our time experiencing the vibrance of the...
Problem-Solving Climate Change in Peru
Over spring break, I travelled to Peru with my research team to collect samples from wetlands in the Andes. The field sites are located in the Ocongate district of the Cusco region. Some of the types of samples we collected were methane flux measurements, microbial...
Promoting Better Nutrition in Colombia
I traveled to Bogota, Colombia to work as a Data Analyst at an organization called Educar Consumidores. I worked on analyzing a basket of healthy foods that the organization put together as part of their project to promote better nutrition in Colombia. I looked at...
Becoming a Future Math Teacher
For the 2017 to 2018 academic school year, I spent 1-2 hours per day 3-5 times per week observing math teachers and math professors both in the local State College Area High School and at the Penn State University at University Park. The experience began at the start...
Tackling Post-Harvest Losses in Kenya
This semester, I visited Kisumu, Kenya with my EDSGN454 class. This class was a continuation of EDSGN 452 and 453, Design for Developing Communities, which I took during the spring semester. In the spring, my team worked on a solution to post-harvest losses in Kenya,...
Observing Iceland’s Sustainability Efforts
I had the opportunity to travel to Iceland with the GREEN Program for 10 days to learn about sustainability and renewable energy. We were able to tour hydropower and geothermal facilities, hear talks on applying renewable energy, go on a glacier hike to see the...
Getting Involved in My Community
I’ve always been involved on campus in numerous clubs, but my experience in Reality Check at Behrend really stands out. I participated in numerous community service projects, and went to Houston, Texas for a mission trip. I also volunteered on my own time at a local...
Preparing for a Ph.D. in Microbiology
My experience took place here at Penn State. I am part of a research lab that studies the interactions between strains of bacteria. These interactions are generally understudied and understanding more about them can help us perturb infections of pathogenic bacteria....
Solidifying an Interest in Game Development
I attended Unpub 8 – a game developers’ conference for people with unpublished games. It was held in Baltimore, MD. I was able to sit on multiple organized talks about creating and publishing games that focused on both the technical and artistic ends of the spectrum....
Investigating the Spread of Invasive Species
During the fall of 2017, I sampled terrestrial invertebrates from a shrubland in Lackawanna State Park. I did this through a combination of malaise traps to catch flying insects and grab sampling directly from shrub branches. The goal of this project was to...
Exploring a New Area of Research
For my engagement experience, I participated in undergraduate research in the Keiler Lab over the course of the fall 2017 semester. Each week, I spent about 10 hours in the lab working on a research project that focused on characterizing a novel efflux system in...
Making Strides in a Career in Research
My engagement experience took place at Penn State Worthington Scranton in the psychology research lab on campus. Given this opportunity, throughout the fall semester, I worked on my undergraduate research collecting, coding, and analyzing data 2-4 times a week. This...
Exploring the Creative Side of Marketing
For the fall 2017 semester, I interned at YWCA York as a Marketing Intern under the supervision of Crystal Patterson, the Marketing Coordinator. As a marketing Intern, my duties were to assist the Marketing Coordinator to create marketing materials that would be used...
Immersing Myself in Russian Culture
I studied abroad during the Fall 2017 semester in St. Petersburg, Russia, via the CIEE: Russian Area Studies program. While there, I lived with a host family and took Russian History and Language courses. One of my favorite parts of the experience was playing on a...
Spreading the Message of Diversity and Inclusion
This study abroad experience took place in Sydney, Australia, and it was a fantastic experience for my senior year at Penn State. The embedded experience was through the Art 299 course (Social and Cultural Exploration in the Visual Arts), and the trip took place from...
Serving the Global Community Through Research
During the fall semester, I worked with a global health researcher from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia completing some additional experiments for the summer research project I started during my internship at CHOP. I worked remotely with Dr. Lowenthal on a...
My Approach to Complex Problem-Solving
I helped develop a new graphical interface for an open-source game creation tool, called ENIGMA, that will be used to teach students about computing concepts. The project itself is a clone of the popular software GameMaker, originally released in 1999, which is a game...
What I Learned From My First Internship
I worked at an organization that provides services for children in foster care/adoption care. I would travel to homes that are providing placement for children. I would work with the children doing activities that would help them understand and process their...
The Stages of Child Development
I traveled to the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, PA, once per week to volunteer with the Child Life Department. Each week, I worked with up to twenty different patients to provide therapeutic play services and interacted with a number of Child Life...
A Career in Commuter Rail Lines
In late November 2017, myself, two classmates, and my professor traveled to Philadelphia to tour and create a 360 general education video on SEPTA’s facilities. This experience was important to me because it got me out of the classroom and allowed me to see various...
The Importance of Connections
I worked for Pearl Gluck by finishing up the website I made for her, designing some graphics (such as the poster for her movie The Turn Out), and shooting an afterward discussion of her film The Turn Out at The State Theatre. I did a lot of the work from my apartment...
How to Be a Defense Lawyer
My engagement experience involved two different organizations. The first involved me assisting the head grant writer for the Women's Resource Center in Montgomery County, PA, with various tasks that included writing grants to help women in need in the community. I...
The Social Implications of Civic Engagement
I was a Community Engagement & Land Recycling intern in the Real Estate Department of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA), where I had access to over 80 people across multiple departments within the agency. I also had connections with the mayor's...
Guiding New Students as a Mentor
I was a peer-to-peer business mentor for my engagement experience. My job was to contact my two mentees and help them with whatever they needed. This included answering questions about college, the business major, classes within the major, advice on how to succeed,...
Networking with Like-Minded Students
I traveled in a cohort of four students to Rabat, Morocco, for an international conference surrounding sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The conference was held by the Millennium Campus Network on November 16-19, 2017. This...
Illuminating Backyards One Light Bulb at a Time
My experience took place in Dover, DE, as part of a comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization Plan implemented by the National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor along with the non-profit HELP Initiative Inc., which I represented. The campaign provided...
Helping People Live a Healthier Lifestyle
My engagement experience was located at Penn State Berks in the Beaver Community Center. We analyzed the validity of activity monitors step counts for different walking paces during ground and treadmill conditions. The purpose of this study was aimed to help the...
Teaching Others About Water Stewardship
On October 25, 2017, I gave a presentation on the amphibian inhabitants of wetlands and how to protect their habitat. My presentation included an informational poster as well as tri-fold pamphlets and thumb drives to pass out to the event visitors. The event was...
Bringing My Artwork to Life
For my experience, I created an outdoor gallery space and installed paintings and wooden chairs that I constructed for my senior show. The gallery was built in the courtyard behind the Visual Arts Building at the University Park campus from October 16-20, 2017, from...
Teaching Kids How to Achieve Success in Football
From August to November 2017, I was an assistant coach for the Conestoga Valley football D team. As you may already know, the D team is the youngest team for any midgets football program, so we had our work cut out for us. For the majority of the kids, this was the...
Viewing the World from a Bigger Perspective
I studied at the University of Sussex for four weeks (mid-June through mid-July). The University of Sussex is located in Brighton, UK. I took a class on Health Psychology. I traveled to London with the class and on the weekends, I traveled to Paris, Amsterdam, and...
Getting Down to Business in Dublin
In Dublin, Ireland, I worked in one of the best startup accelerators in Europe, NDRC, at a very interesting biotech startup called Think Biosolution. The founders have developed a product called PulseR that allows medical professionals to obtain patients’ vitals over...
The Importance of Quality Patient Care
This summer I worked in a lab that is validating a test that predicts gestational diabetes in pregnant women. The focus of this project is to use blood lipids as a means to determine insulin resistance in pregnant women in order to identify those at risk for...
A Chance to Work in the City
I interned at Ross Stores, Inc. in New York, NY, this summer. I was a Location Planning Analyst Intern in the Lingerie and Hosiery department. Some everyday tasks that I completed were developing regional product strategies to review with the Location Planning...
A Career in Biomedical Research
I completed work for my thesis research in the Translational Neuroimaging and Systems Neuroscience Laboratory during the summer of 2017. Of course, these results will enable me to complete my thesis and graduate with my degrees, but I also hope to publish these...
Helping Those In Need with Nutrition
I completed my field experience as a nutrition education intern at Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO) under the guidance and supervision of Micheline Orlowsky, MS, RDN, LDN. Based in Wilkes-Barre, PA, CEO is a community action agency that works to reduce hunger...
A Research Proposal for Organ Donation
Over the summer I wrote an Institutional Review Board (IRB) research proposal for a study focused on educating a student population on organ donation. This included calling local schools, meeting with professors on Penn State Worthington Campus, writing a research...
Preparing for Graduate-level Education
I conducted an independent research this summer. I tried to answer the divisions in Lebanese society. To further understand Lebanon, I went over the writings of acclaimed scholars on Lebanon. My adviser suggested Samir Khalaf, Ussama Makdisi, Itamar Rabinovitch, Asher...
Tackling HIV on a Global Scale
I stayed in China for five weeks, where I wrapped up the research progress made in the spring 2017 semester and did some reading into cooperating socioeconomic covariates into our current model in predict prevalence of HIV. In addition, I interviewed some HIV patient...
Welcoming New Experiences and Challenges
This past summer, I stayed at Penn State and worked on my honors thesis in a plant biology lab. I used click chemistry to work towards visualizing the most recently deposited cell wall matrix. This is a part of biology I haven’t had much experience with as a biology...
Aspiring to Be a Software Developer
During this summer I worked on my personal laptop and on the desktop computer located in the Penn State lab affiliated with my research adviser. I utilized Twitter data provided by the Department of Geography and visualized it in the Unity Engine. I programmed and...
Interning in the Oil & Gas Industry
A week after I applied for the grant, I was offered a civil engineering internship. This opportunity was much more relevant to my education and experiences than the Weed Science research position I currently had, so I chose to pursue the engineering internship. I'm...
Blazing a Trail for Women in STEM
I was a camp counselor and a science teacher at a one-week STEM immersion program at Camp Catanese. I found that I shared many values with Camp Catanese; they believe that everyone should have equal access to opportunity and education. The camp and its staff mentor...
Igniting My Passion for Math
Over the summer, I worked under the tutelage of Associate Professor Dr. Carina Curto. I originally met with her to ask about her neuroscience research. Dr. Curto happened to be writing a book chapter for an undergraduate textbook in biological math and asked me to...
Advancing the Forensic Community
My experience was undergraduate research, which I performed at Penn State under Ralph R. Ristenbatt III M.S. The research I conducted was to determine the error in using a specific geometric model to determine the angle of impact for blood stains. This research...
What It Means to Be a Foreigner
I went to São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, for a language program and independent research. For the first six weeks I received Portuguese tutelage and explored the cultural scene of the city. Presently, I’m in Rio, working with musicologists to interview funk...
Unlocking New Doors and Opportunities
This summer I stayed in State College and worked in a cardiovascular research lab under Dr. Keefe Manning. In this lab, my project focused on finding the trapping efficiency of inferior vena cava filters through tests with varied materials and ultimately deformable...
Growing as a Global Citizen
My summer program took place in London, where I had the privilege to study, work, and research—all while learning more about the city itself and growing as a global citizen. My course studied theatre in London and therefore class included our viewing of six different...
Working in a Virus Research Lab
As a participant in the DAAD RISE Summer Internship, I was conducting research in Dresden, Germany, at a clinic affiliated with the Technische Universität Dresden. The Carl Gustav Clinic where I worked housed a large research group focused on cellular immunity. I...
Exploring New Opportunities in Agriculture
For ten weeks, I have had the great opportunity to work as part of the farm staff at Weavers Way Farms in Northwest Philadelphia which was funded through Penn State Extension. My overall experience at Weavers Way Farms was positive. I highly enjoyed working with the...
The Realm of International Research
I traveled to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to work with a team in the Maternal and Childhood Malnutrition department of the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research (ICDDR). As a research student of Dr. Laura Murray-Kolb (a professor in the Department of Nutritional...
Paving the Path to Medical School
I continued my research with Dr. Meredith in State College, continuing progress on my project. I also continued volunteering at MSLC with my mentee, Richard, meeting with him weekly, along with volunteering at PAWS weekly. This experience was important to me as I was...
Improving the World We Live In
I decided that I wanted to build an application for farmers to use to identify plant diseases that are plaguing their harvest. I decided that for the first iteration of this application that I wanted to stay local and focus on the vegetation around Beaver County. So,...
Extending Beyond My Comfort Zone
For my engagement experience, I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea. I spent seven weeks studying Korean Studies at Yonsei University. I was enrolled in an extra program called CIEE, and this program helped to branch the students out to the various cultural...
Pursuit for Advanced Learning
I worked as a researcher at the Distributed and Decentralized Systems (DeDiS) lab at the Swiss Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) under the direction of Dr. Bryan Ford. The experience took place between June 15 and August 15, 2017. I had the freedom to choose...
Conducting Thesis Research Abroad
I went to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I was conducting thesis research into national identity and electoral conflict in Kawe constituency in Dar es Salaam. I developed a survey and assembled a research team to administer the survey within all ten wards within the...
Working for a Greater Cause
This summer, I was an intern in U.S. House of Representative’s Mike Kelly’s office in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kelly serves the third district of Pennsylvania, which covers north of Pittsburgh to Erie and the Ohio Border. As an intern, I was responsible for carrying out...
Advancing Solar Energy Conversion
We went to Roatan Honduras from August 10–13, 2017, to evaluate sites to build a solar array that will power a well. We used tools and engineering instruments to record our observations and decide which sites were desirable and which were not. We also took the time to...
Facing Weaknesses Head On
Over the summer, I worked in State College and travelled to Houston. I mostly served as a business development liaison for a startup. I worked to improve our device’s application and breadth, while also gaining key connections and developing new business and marketing...
Testing My Russian Language Skills
I went to Astana, Kazakhstan, to study Russian language at Nazarbayev University. This experience was extremely important to me as a foreign language major to have real-world practice with native Russian speakers. It was also extremely helpful to gain a view of the...
Helping Those with Disabilities
This summer, I worked in the lab of Dr. Blair Evans, a professor of sport psychology in the Department of Kinesiology at University Park. I developed an independent study surrounding parental experiences in youth disability sport. Throughout the summer, I developed a...
Creating My First Robot
During my time at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) West I and II at Penn State University, I worked on a ROS node that adapted a previously written code from MATLAB into Python. This code allows the robot to identify the terrain it is traversing, based on...
Sharing Teaching Knowledge in China
The purpose of this experience was to travel to Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, to give a conference on teaching and learning in life sciences. Many faculty from across China attended this conference hosted by Penn State professors. Four learning assistants...
Exploring the Study of Biomaterials
I worked under Professor Ozbolat in his 3D bioprinting laboratory at the Millennium Science Complex in University Park, Pennsylvania. In particular, I focused on developing, processing, and optimizing a bio-ink for bone regeneration purposes. Material synthesis, 3D...
The Hidden Beauty within Nursing
My engagement experience occurred under the guidance of Michael Evans Ph.D., M.S.Ed., RN, ACNS, CMSRN, CNE, Assistant Chief Academic Officer and Assistant Clinical Professor of Nursing at Penn State Worthington Scranton, during his shifts with Visiting Nurses...
Studying Psychology in the United Kingdom
I went to Brighton, United Kingdom, which is located about an hour south of London. I studied Psychology and Social Issues at the University of Sussex. I was there for only the first session, which was from June 17-July 15, 2017. This experience will always remain...
Researching Brook Trout in Pennsylvania
My summer engagement experience was a research study that examined the way that brook trout in Pennsylvania adapt to climate change. Our study took place in Loyalsock Creek, located in northern Pennsylvania, as well as in a bioinformatics lab located on the University...
Building a Global Perspective
I traveled to India and visited the cities of New Delhi, Amritsar, Shimla, Chandigarh, and Jaipur. The trip lasted a month and I spent my time visiting local universities and speaking with undergraduate students of all different fields. I visited many historic sites...
Rehabilitating Wildlife in Centre County
Centre Wildlife Care is a non-profit organization that rehabilitates compromised wildlife to release back into the wild. The majority of the wildlife that enters Centre Wildlife Care are compromised due to human influence (landscaping, hit by car, caught by pet,...
Helping Clients Recover Every Day
My internship was completed at an outpatient facility named Specialty Orthopaedics Rehabilitation in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. I worked from 7:30-4:00 p.m. for 8 weeks in the Occupational Therapy department. I was under the supervision of an Occupational Therapy...
Uncovering an Interest in Research
Through the CHANCE Program (Connecting Humans and Nature Through Conservation Experiences), I took part in an undergraduate research experience in the field of biology with a researcher at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. This was an enriching experience...
Learning About Global Health
Over the summer, I completed the capstone course of the Global Health minor at Penn State at the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. I learned about the nation’s healthcare structure while observing professionals in the burn, oncology, HIV,...
Aspiring to Be a Classroom Educator
This past spring semester and Maymester, I participated in the D.C. Social Justice Fellowship. For two weeks (May 14-28, 2017), I taught discovery-based lessons on social justice issues in the Washington, D.C., public school district. My lessons were primarily focused...
Taking Care of the World We Live In
This summer I was fortunate enough to adventure in Cuba for a once-in-a-lifetime study abroad experience through the CHANCE program. During our stay, we traveled across western Cuba, partaking in many activities including touring an organic farm, snorkeling in...
Discovering the World of Research
My summer engagement experience entailed working in the Millennium Science Complex attempting to identify viruses. During this experience, I learned a multitude of technique like RT-PCR, dsRNA extractions, transformations, cloning, and mini-preps. However, the...
Spreading Knowledge About Astronomy
I conducted research in extragalactic astronomy under the supervision of Dr. Jane Charlton. My project was to investigate absorption systems that are intrinsic to quasars. I finished the project and started writing a paper that will be published in a scientific...
Addressing the Tough Questions
I worked in Tanzania with the Parks & People Program through the landscape architecture department with Dr. Larry Gorenflo and Dr. Carter Hunt. We spent six weeks in southern Tanzania based at a research station on the edge of the Udzungwa Mountains National Park....
Outside the Classroom
I spent 6 weeks in Tanzania doing global health fieldwork, which included shadowing in hospitals, health clinics, and collaborating in a community mental health assessment in a rural village. I also traveled to Kenya to volunteer at Hekima Place Home for Girls. I had...
Pursuing my Passion
My fieldwork experience was at the UPMC Center for Rehab Services in New Castle, PA. I worked alongside a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) to treat the pediatric population. I was able to take over the COTA's entire caseload and learn with hands-on...
The Corporate World
In summer 2017, I completed a manufacturing engineering internship with Novabus (Volvo) in Plattsburgh, NY. During this experience, I took part in various projects and industrial tasks. I worked on a project to increase production by redesigning a part of the assembly...
Fixing Issues in Cuba
I went to Cuba for 9 days between July 7, 2017, and July 15, 2017. I participated in cleaning up the beaches, giving back to local communities, and saving sea turtles. We stayed in Havana and Guanahacabibes. This experience opened my eyes to how much needs to be done...
The Wonders of Cuba
During my CHANCE program to western Cuba, I traveled to Havana, Viñales, and Guanahacabibes National Park. I listened to professional conservationists speak, and talked to Cuban people in each place that I visited. I snorkeled in the Caribbean sea, hiked in Sierra del...
Abroad in Tanzania
My six-week experience took place in various parts of Tanzania. We spent most of our time learning and reflecting on subjects like conservation and ethics. We went to Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, Udzungwa, Mikimi, and Kilwa to see real life examples of these subjects. The...
When In Rome
Myself and thirteen other students traveled to Rome for about three weeks. When in Rome, we walked around the city exploring archaeological sites, visiting museums, and experiencing the city's culture. We also visited Naples for a long weekend and went to Pompeii to...
Sustainability in Tanzania
I studied abroad for six weeks in Tanzania, spanning from mid-May to late June. During this time, I learned about community development, the barriers of sustainable living in rural regions, and the consequences of environmental degradation to a developing region. This...