Student Success

They Did Dance All Night

Five students represented Penn State Behrend at this year’s IFC/ Panhellenic Dance Marathon, or THON. Joshua Lewis, Joshua Turton, Samuel Krantweiss, Julien Bergeron and Ryan Johnson, above, raised nearly $73,000 for this year’s event—a record amount for Behrend and the second-highest total among all campuses outside of University Park!

Fun for Wee Ones (and Grown Ones)

Early Childhood and Elementary Education majors in ECE 479: The Young Child’s Play as Educative Processes hosted a spring education carnival for nearly 100 kindergarten students from the Montessori Regional Charter School in Erie. The Behrend students worked together to create a dozen activities that were not only fun but educational. This type of project-based learning gives future teachers an opportunity to put skills they have acquired into practice.

Grant Will Help Student Understand the Underserved

Jenna Seigworth, at left, a senior English major, was awarded a $3,500 Erickson Discovery Grant for her independent research project, “Understanding the Underserved: Why Farmers Market Access Is Not Equitable.” Erickson grants are intended to fund projects conceived or led by students. Seigworth, a Schreyer Honors Scholar, is minoring in Sociology and Sustainability Leadership.

“A focus of the research will be determining consumers’ motivations for choosing where to shop, and how marketing, advertising, and physical and logistical limitations influence these choices,” Seigworth said. “This research will produce vital information regarding how to revise marketing strategies and best accommodate historically excluded groups.”

Students Do Well At Sigma Xi

Behrend had plenty of winners at the recent Penn State Behrend-Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment Conference. The annual event brings together undergraduate science students from across northwestern Pennsylvania to give oral or poster presentations on the research they have been conducting. Sigma Xi is an international scientific research honor society with more than 500 chapters in North America. Behrend works with the northwestern Pennsylvania chapter to present the conference. A complete list of winners can be found at sites.psu.edu/behrendsigmaxi2023/award-winners/.