by Jennifer Cywinski and Tracy Reilly

Stephanie Jakle Movahedi-Lankarani is a pillar at the University Park campus, having worked there since the mid-80s. She began her PSU career as a part-time reference desk assistant at the Life Sciences Library in Pattee/Paterno where she spent 12 years. In 2000, she began working full time in the newly formed Schreyer Business Library as a library assistant and in the spring of 2003 moved over to the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library as the unit’s supervisor, which includes managing two architecture-related digital image collections.

During high school summers, Stephanie scooped ice cream at the local Baskin-Robbins and while going to the University of Illinois, she worked various retail jobs until getting a position shelving books. While it’s obvious that Stephanie has a passion for everything related to libraries, you may not know that as a child she spent almost a decade studying piano and in her late teens briefly studied at the National Academy of the Arts in Champaign, Illinois.

When Stephanie isn’t working she enjoys spending time with her husband and their three adult children. She also has a passion for traveling to cities in the U.S. and abroad where she takes pictures of cityscapes and urban areas. Stephanie says, “I’m interested in how different cultures arrange their urban and suburban spaces and in how these spaces relate to cultural belief systems and reflect a society’s priorities.” She added that she takes too many photos on these trips!

Stephanie is also a member of the Visual Recourses Association which is a “multidisciplinary organization dedicated to furthering research and education in the field of image and media management.”

 Stephanie’s favorite thing about working for Penn State is that she gets to work with people from places all across the country and around the world!