Behrend Magazine Spring 2022

BEHREND M A G A Z I N E PENN STATE

SUMMER 2022

Leaping

LIONS! BEHREND HIGH JUMPERS REACH NEW HEIGHTS

From the CHANCELLOR

Philanthropy powers excellence Penn State Behrend would not be what it is today were it not for the support and generosity of others.

The names of facilities across campus—Black, Metzgar, Prischak, and Smith, for example—reveal the transformative impact of the many individuals and organizations that have shared their financial resources in support of our students.

That impact is less evident, but no less powerful, in the scholarships that make a Behrend education affordable for so many students and in the programs and initiatives that engage them fully in academic and extracurricular life on campus.

Certainly, the success of our students hinges on a faculty committed to excellence in teaching and research. It likewise depends on leaders and staff focused on meeting student needs.

Unquestionably, though, student success is rooted in access to the college and its resources. Financial support, including scholarships, opens the door for students and expands their opportunities for learning.

Nearly 75 years ago, the generosity that has helped define the Behrend student experience began with one individual, Mary Behrend. It continues today, as the University concludes its current fundraising campaign—with Behrend among the top 10 fundraising units at Penn State.

Beginning on Page 20, you can read more about the giving that has propelled us to a final campaign total of more than $75 million—30% higher than our original campaign goal. Represented in that total are: • More than 50 new scholarships, now generating an additional $1.4 million in new funds to be awarded to Behrend students annually.

• A new home for Susan Hirt Hagen CORE at Federal House, allowing for the expansion of CORE programming and support to area youth and youth-serving organizations.

• An investment in Knowledge Park that will amplify the role of the park as an engine for economic growth in northwestern Pennsylvania.

• An endowment that will expand support for entrepreneurs and innovators working with student talent in our James R. Meehl Innovation Commons.

• Vital support for our regional Women’s Health Initiative being undertaken in partnership with Magee-Womens Research Institute.

In all, more than 4,500 individual and organizational donors made nearly 17,000 gifts to the campaign.

To every one of you, we owe a debt of gratitude—for contributing the resources that make excellence in education, research, and outreach possible. Thank you.

Chancellor Ralph Ford rmf7@psu.edu

Volume 39, No. 1 Penn State Behrend Magazine is published twice a year and provided free to alumni and friends of Penn State Behrend by the Office of Strategic Communications.

Executive Editor: William Gonda wvg2@psu.edu. Editor: Heather Cass hjc13@psu.edu. Design: Martha Campbell mac30@psu.edu. Contributors: Robb Frederick ‘92 rgf10@psu.edu.

Photos: Rob Frank ‘06, Matt Kleck.

Change of address/Unsubscribe: Development and Alumni Relations at 814-898-6089 or amm74@psu.edu.

Correspondence: Behrend Magazine, 207 Glenhill Farmhouse, 4701 College Drive, Erie PA 16563-1902. Phone 814-898-6419.

Copyright ©2022 Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

This publication is available in alternative media on request. Penn State is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. U.Ed. EBO 22-283.

BEHREND PENN STATE

BEHREND MAGAZINE

M A G A Z I N E ON THE COVER

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Brady Smith, at right, a high jumper on Behrend’s track-and-field team, was always a standout jumper for the Behrend Lions, but he reached new heights this year, thanks to another high-flying teammate, Sam Hetrick, at left. The teammates’ friendly rivalry generated some impressive results.

The two finished the indoor track season ranked third (Smith) and fifth (Hetrick) overall in the NCAA Indoor Track Championship, earning AllAmerican honors. They each had a final mark of 2.03 meters. Read more about Behrend’s top leaping Lions on page 30.

INSIDE

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U.S. News Ranks Engineering Programs Among Best Innovation Commons Gets $2.13 Million Virtual Reality Educational Opportunities Expanding Chef Shares Some Favorite Behrend Recipes Alumna Makes Screenwriting Dreams Come True DIGIT Grad Lands Job with NFL/NBA in New Orleans Engineering Projects Illustrate Open Lab at Behrend Athletics Season Report

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Alumni News Meet a Few “Pioneer” Alumni

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SUMMER 2022

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In BRIEF

Dr. Bendapudi visits Behrend

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n March, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, then president-elect of Penn State, visited Behrend as part of a listening and learning tour of Penn State campuses across the Commonwealth. During her visit, she met with students, faculty, staff, and members of the college’s Council of Fellows board of directors. Bendapudi began her tenure as Penn State’s 19th president in early May, replacing Dr. Eric Barron, who retired. With a nearly 30-year career in academia, Bendapudi previously served as president of the University of Louisville.

U.S. News ranks engineering programs among nation’s best THE LATEST “BEST COLLEGES” RANKINGS BY U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

place Penn State Behrend’s undergraduate engineering programs among the top 40 in the nation for institutions that do not offer a doctorate.

The Behrend programs were tied for 39th on the list, which was released in September. The Black School of Business also appears in the new listings as a “Best College” for undergraduate business programs.

“The best engineering ranking is a testament to the continued commitment of our faculty and staff to prepare our students to be leaders in the engineering discipline,” said Dr. Tim Kurzweg, director of the School of Engineering. “This past year required us to adapt our pedagogical approach to the changing environment, and this ranking is one indicator that we were successful.”

To develop its rankings, U.S. News evaluates schools on seventeen measures of academic quality, including graduation rates, class size, financial aid availability, and alumni giving. This year, nearly 1,500 schools were assessed.

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BEHREND MAGAZINE

Innovation Commons gets $2.13 million and a new name A NEW $2.13 MILLION ENDOWMENT

will expand Penn State Behrend’s Innovation Commons product ideation, design, and prototyping lab. The endowment will provide funding support for the lab, which offers early-stage product design, computer-aided drafting, no-cost 3D printing, and Industry 4.0 training, among other services.

Since it opened in 2016, Innovation Commons has supported more than 240 projects for local entrepreneurs, startups, and community groups. That work has led to fourteen new companies and twelve patent applications.

“Innovation Commons is the embodiment of our Open Lab approach to engaging students with businesses and innovators as part of the undergraduate experience,” said Amy Bridger, senior director of corporate strategy and external engagement at Behrend. “Through the Open Lab model, students apply classroom learning to product design challenges that lead to economic growth for regional businesses and entrepreneurs.”

The endowment was created through an array of private and corporate gifts with a combined value of more than $1.06 million. Those gifts have been matched

one-to-one by Penn State’s LaunchBox Matching Program, bringing the total endowment to $2.13 million.

In recognition of the largest of the gifts, made by a private donor, the lab has been named the James R. Meehl Innovation Commons powered by Penn State Behrend. The Meehl family has had a strong association with Behrend faculty, programs, and athletics that began when James Meehl’s grandson, Aaron Meehl, a 2012 graduate, first enrolled as a student more than a decade ago.

SUMMER 2022

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In BRIEF

$6 million investment will expand economic impact of Knowledge Park A $3 MILLION GIFT FROM ERIE BUSINESSMAN SAMUEL P. “PAT” BLACK III AND HIS DAUGHTER, SUMI JAMESBLACK, will amplify the role of Penn State

Behrend’s Knowledge Park as an engine for economic growth in northwestern Pennsylvania.

A one-to-one University match doubled the gift, generating a $6 million investment in Knowledge Park. The match was provided through Penn State’s Economic Development Matching Program, which leverages University funds for initiatives that will drive job and business creation in Pennsylvania.

At the announcement of the gift in September, Knowledge Center, a facility utilized by all tenant companies in the park, was renamed the Samuel P. Black III and Sumi James-Black Knowledge Center.

“The Black family’s quiet but consistent support of fledgling businesses and forward-thinking entrepreneurs is an investment in the future of Erie,” Chancellor Ralph Ford said. “We are fortunate that their vision aligns with the mission of Knowledge Park, the region’s premier

Samuel P. “Pat” Black III and Sumi James-Black

research environment and a fundamental component of our Open Lab model of innovation.”

The Open Lab approach matches students and faculty experts with partners in business, industry, and community organizations, who work together in teams to advance technologies and refine prod-

BEHREND TALKS

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ucts and services. Much of that collaboration occurs in Knowledge Park, where twenty-two companies employ more than 600 people.

For tenant companies, a key decision in locating to Knowledge Park is gaining access to Behrend student talent, faculty expertise, and facilities.

Tune in to chancellor-hosted podcast Behrend Talks is a podcast featuring a variety of guests talking about topics key to the growth and success of the Erie region and beyond. The talks are hosted by Chancellor Ralph Ford and cover everything from the impact of COVID-19 on supply chains to plastics engineering to politics with former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Find past episodes at behrendtalks.buzzsprout.com or subscribe to Behrend Talks on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or Google Podcasts.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Building Boom at Behrend Erie Hall “Topped Off” THE STEEL FRAME FOR THE NEW ERIE HALL, a $28.2 million fitness and recreation center, was completed this spring when the final beam—a 32-foot, 1,200-pound length of steel bearing the signatures of students, faculty, staff, and alumni—was set into place. Nearly 40 percent of the funding for the project came from Behrend students, who committed more than $10 million from the Student Facilities Fee. The new Erie Hall is expected to open in the winter of 2023. A camera near the worksite is providing real-time images and time-lapse videos of the project, which can be viewed at behrend.psu. edu/eriehall.

Susan Hirt Hagen CORE complete The new home of the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research and Evaluation (CORE) has been completed.

The complex incorporates the renovated Federal House, which is believed to be the oldest brick structure in Harborcreek Township, as well as a modern addition that created 11,000 square feet of new meeting, training, event, and office space.

The renovation and expansion was funded by private support and by the University. Susan Hirt Hagen CORE provides school-focused and community programs for area youth as well as research and evaluation services to youth development organizations, social service agencies, and other groups in northwestern Pennsylvania.

SUMMER 2022

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In BRIEF

STEAM Fair returns to Junker Center

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fter a pandemic-forced hiatus, Penn State Behrend’s STEAM Fair, the largest of the college’s many K-12 outreach programs, returned to Junker Center in March.

Nearly 1,300 youth, their families, and others attended the K-12 focused science-and-tech open house to visit exhibits and engage in hands-on activities designed to promote STEAM learning.

“We try to make it fun, entertaining, and engaging,”

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Melanie Ford, director of Youth Education Outreach and the Engineering K-12 Outreach Center, said of the STEAM Fair. “When families are here and having fun, the educational component slips right in behind that.”

Ford was eager to return to an in-person format. The best way to ignite a child’s interest in science, technology, and mathematics, she said, is through hands-on educational play: LEGO robots, dry-ice bubbles, greenscreen animations, 3D doodles, and more.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

SAVE THE DATE !

WOMEN’S ENGAGEMENT COUNCIL 5K RUN FOR WOMEN

08.28.22 AREA RUNNERS, RUNNERS-TO-BE, AND WALKERS are invited to participate

esports program begins play COMPETITIVE GAMING HAS ARRIVED AT BEHREND, and the new esports

program had a strong showing in its first season.

Students in the program, which launched as a club sport in the fall, compete against gamers from more than 125 other colleges and universities in the Eastern College Athletic Conference esports league.

More than sixty Behrend students are registered to compete across eleven teams playing five different games: League of Legends, Valorant, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Expansion into other titles is possible in the future.

The teams play in a renovated space in Perry Hall that has been outfitted with twenty-eight high-end gaming workstations, gaming-centric furnishings, and a broadcast room for the streaming of matches.

In the fall of 2021, five of the teams made the ECAC playoffs, highlighted by the varsity League of Legends team winning its division with an undefeated record!

in the inaugural 5K Run/Walk for Women at Penn State Behrend Sunday, August 28.

Presented by the Penn State Behrend Women’s Engagement Council, the run is designed to give female runners what organizers describe as “the opportunity to be front runners and cross the finish line first.” Participation in the run is open to all, regardless of sex, gender, age, or ability.

Proceeds from the race will benefit the Women’s Health Initiative at Penn State Behrend and research work being done by faculty members and students on women’s health issues. Need more incentive? How about free Berkey Creamery ice cream at the finish line?

For more information and a link to register, visit behrend.psu.edu/WEC5K. To learn more about the Women’s Engagement Council, visit behrend.psu.edu/WEC.

RICARDO ESTREMERA, assistant teaching professor of Span-

ish, won the Erie Runners Club’s 2021 Turkey Trot 10K and 5K with blazing fast times of 31:49 and 15:35, respectively. Estremera came in first in both events, which were held Thanksgiving morning at Presque Isle State Park. Estremera, who is a member of Puerto Rico’s National Track and Field Team, can often be seen running around campus—if you look fast enough! The San Juan native missed the chance to represent his homeland in the 2021 Summer Olympics by mere seconds, finishing just short of the qualifying standard in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, a grueling event featuring twenty-eight barriers and seven water jumps.

SUMMER 2022

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In BRIEF

New Center for Family Business launches FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES are the backbone of the U.S.

economy, including the Erie regional economy, and for all of the strengths these businesses have in common, they also share many challenges unique to them.

Helping such companies meet common challenges is the idea behind Penn State Behrend’s Center for Family Business, an outreach effort of Behrend’s Black School of Business. Launched in 2021, the center is a member-driven organization designed to help companies navigate issues familiar to family-run and privately held businesses, from financing to family dynamics to succession planning.

The Center for Family Business hosts forums led by experts on a variety of topics and coordinates peer-group roundtable meetings where business owners can discuss common issues and concerns.

The center recently hired its first director, Mary Beth Wilcher, a wealth-management strategist and former credit union CEO. Wilcher brings more than twenty-five years of experience in finance and marketing to the role.

PENN STATE BEHREND’S HOUSING AND FOOD SERVICES (HFS) GROUP won the

2021 People’s Choice Award at Erie’s March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction. The team, led by Managing Chef Kyle Coverdale, second from left, offered tandoori seared scallops with couscous and turmeric and chili charred baby carrots with cumin yogurt sauce and cilantro lime vinaigrette. Pictured with Coverdale are HFS staff members, from left, Jeff Truitt, Sara Hollobaugh, and Morgan Snopkowski.

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Mary Beth Wilcher is the director of the Center for Family Business.

The annual membership fee for center programs and support is $500. To learn more, or to join, visit the Center for Family Business online at behrend.psu.edu/familybusiness.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

In Memoriam

Two longtime friends of Penn State Behrend and a retired faculty member passed away recently.

CAROLYN LANE,

wife of former longtime Behrend English and German professor Benjamin “Ben” Lane, died September 11, 2021.

In the formative years of the college, Lane, together with other faculty women and wives, worked to provide social opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. She was viewed as a “mother” and friend to many at the college; after her husband’s passing in 2011, Lane continued to live in the little yellow house on Jordan Road, just below Burke Center, until she was well into her 90s.

WILLIAM C. WITKOWSKI

was the owner and former CEO of Port Erie Plastics, Inc., one of the Erie region’s foremost plastics companies. In the mid-1980s, Witkowski was among a number of local industry leaders who played an active role in the development of the college’s Plastics Engineering Technology program. He was a member of the Penn State Behrend Council of Fellows and was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow, representing Behrend, in 2005. The Witkowski Building in the Science Complex is named in recognition of his commitment to the college.

Through the years, he and his wife, Jean, supported a number of Behrend programs and scholarships. Witkowski died December 7, 2021.

DR. DONALD “DON” MCKINSTRY, associate

professor emeritus of biology, died January 30, 2022. McKinstry taught organismal biology and microbiology courses at Behrend from 1970 until 2004. His research focused on reptiles and amphibians, but he also published papers on an eclectic mix of scientific topics. Among McKinstry’s other projects, he inventoried reptiles and amphibians on Presque Isle and in French Creek.

Dr. Pam Silver, a former colleague in the biology program and now associate dean for academic affairs, described him as “a kind and wise mentor to many biology students.”

SUMMER 2022

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A Whole New Virtual/ Augmented World

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Faculty member’s vision becomes reality in nationally ranked VAR Lab f it weren’t right in front of your eyes, literally and figuratively, it might be hard to see how quickly one good idea can bloom into a world of opportunity.

What started as an effort by Dr. Chris Shelton, assistant professor of clinical psychology, to reduce barriers to accessing mental health support with virtual technology has expanded into a nationally ranked, and very busy, Virtual/Augmented Realty (VAR) Lab at Behrend.

Animation Career Review, an online resource for those aspiring to careers in digital and graphic arts as well as game design and animation, recently placed the virtual and augmented reality programs of Penn State Behrend, offered through the VAR Lab and the Digital Media, Arts, and Technology major, among the top ten on the East Coast. This placed Behrend’s programs among powerhouses like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Rochester Institute of Design, Cornell University, and Harvard University. Among the programs of all the public schools and colleges in the United States, Behrend’s VAR Lab ranked fourteenth.

It’s a welcome, if somewhat astonishing, honor, said Shelton, who leads the VAR Lab and has been shepherding growing activity there over the past three years with the help of considerable grant funding, student research talent, and partnering faculty expertise. Current projects range from smartphone apps to virtual tours of Wintergreen Gorge to immersive history projects for the Hagen History Center in Erie.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ROOTS

Why would a psychologist be involved in virtual and augmented reality, an area many people might associate with engineering?

In fact, Shelton explained, some of the earliest work in VR was done by psychology researchers who were trying to help treat combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“They used it to do exposure therapy with veterans,” Shelton

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said. “More recently, though, we are seeing a lot of research suggesting that this type of technology can be quite effective at helping to address a wide variety of mental health issues, including overall wellness and stress management.”

Shelton’s personal interest in virtual technology stems from a desire to overcome obstacles to mental health treatment. “I call them the 4 As: accessibility, availability, affordability, and acceptability,” he said. “Digital mechanisms can help address these issues.”

Case in point: Serene is a mental health resource and mindfulness smartphone app developed by a team of Behrend students.

The team launched the app during the pandemic to help users track their emotions and suggest activities and resources that could help with overall wellness. Following the successful launch of Serene, work is now underway, in partnership with the college’s James R. Meehl Innovation Commons ideation lab, on a new app targeting stress and depression in college students.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

OPEN LAB EXEMPLIFIED

Most recently, the technology, equipment, and interests of student researchers have led to a variety of projects following Behrend’s Open Lab model of learning, which brings students together with external partners to develop solutions and address challenges.

The VAR Lab has been collaborating with the Hagen History Center in Erie on a variety of immersive exhibits, including the demonstration that accompanies the Oliver Hazard Perry telescope on display at the museum.

On a 55-inch touchscreen monitor, visitors can get an up-close look at the artifact from all angles, zoom in to see the inscription, play an “eye-spy” game that illustrates what it might have been like to spot ships through a telescope in 1813, and dive deep into the history of the Battle of Lake Erie to learn more about the warships and commanders involved.

REVOLVING AROUND STUDENTS

While Shelton runs the VAR Lab, the work is firmly student-centered, providing opportunities for Behrend students from across the college to experience, research, and implement the technology. Dozens of students are engaged in VAR activities, doing research work or teaching others how to use the technology in a new learning space on campus known as VAR Edu. VAR Edu features eight active user and five stationary user spaces for students and faculty members to experience immersive technologies, including AR and VR headsets as well as VR-capable PCs, TVs, and more. VAR Edu is open 12 hours a week for drop-in “play” and offers more than 300 titles in its immersive content catalog.

The space will also be used to teach faculty members from across the college how VR technology can be integrated into course curriculum and enhance the learning environment of all students at Behrend, regardless of major.

LOOKING FORWARD

Future plans for the VAR Lab include further expansion into industry, with students helping to connect external partners with immersive technology solutions. The VAR Lab is already working with U.S. Steel. Plans are also underway for a VAR Studio for 3D modeling and production as well as reality recording.

“The lab has seen immense growth in just three years,” Shelton said. “I’m excited about the future and all of the student-driven endeavors that are already underway or in the planning stages. I do think the best is yet to come.”

Visit behrend.psu.edu/varlab to learn more.

BY THE NUMBERS

Animation Career Review helps high-school students find the top university programs in animation, game design, and graphic design. In the publication’s first ranking, Behrend’s augmented and virtual reality programs placed in the: f Top 10 on the East Coast (#9) f Top 25 Nationally among Public Schools and Colleges (#14) f Top 50 Nationally (#26)

SUMMER 2022

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Injury Leads to New Life for Rail Lover ‘I was 38 years old without a job, and I didn’t know what to do.’

It’s hard to imagine that anyone could love a job in which you are on call 24/7 and have no holidays or weekends off, but Warren Fargo did. He worked as a railway engineer in Buffalo for sixteen years (once working for ninety-three days in a row) before suffering a career-ending back injury.

“Sixteen years down the drain,” he said.

His injury required back surgery, which was successful, but limited his lifting ability.

“So, at that point,” Fargo said, “I was 38 years old without a job, and I didn’t know what to do.”

He started researching trade schools.

After his niece was accepted at Penn State Behrend, Fargo looked into Behrend’s associate degree in Electrical Engineering Technology (EET).

“I felt that Behrend would be a better fit for me than a trade school, but I was told I had a lot of catching up to do, especially in math, before taking the entrance exam,” he said.

No stranger to hard work, Fargo got tutoring help, passed the exam, and started classes in the fall of 2002, twenty-four hours after leaving his job with the railroad.

As with most things Fargo does, he went all in.

“Over the next three years, I believe I spent every single day, seven days a week, at school,” he said.

He graduated in 2005 with two associate degrees from Penn State: EET from Behrend and Telecommunications Engineering Technology, earned through the Wilkes-Barre campus.

Having never lost his love of locomotives and given his past career experience, he quickly landed a job in the rail industry.

“My great-great grandfather, greatgrandfather, grandfather, father, and his three brothers all worked for the railroad,” 12

Warren Fargo ’05, a senior field service specialist with New York Air Brake Corporation, at work in Australia.

he said. “It’s in my blood.”

Today, he is a senior field service specialist with New York Air Brake (NYAB) Corporation, where his primary responsibilities are to troubleshoot and resolve locomotive air brake issues. He travels all over the world but spends many of his days working for NYAB at Wabtec in Erie.

“I receive trouble calls from all over the world and have traveled all over the United States and Canada and to South Africa and Australia,” he said. “I get to meet and work with a broad range of people, and it’s a good feeling to know that I can often resolve issues for someone halfway around the world.”

His work also provides a tangible sense of pride.

“When I see a train, I know there’s a good chance the products that I support are on those railcars or on that locomotive,” he said. “I really enjoy what I do, and I’m glad that I decided to go to college and that I stuck with it.”

His advice to older adults considering a return to the classroom: Definitely do it, but don’t follow exactly in his footsteps.

“If I had it to do over again, I would start with just a couple of classes at first, instead of jumping right in with fifteen credits in my first semester. That was really tough.”

BEHREND MAGAZINE

ENJOY A TASTE OF BEHREND

Shrimp pan roast, cheese curd cheesesteaks, salmon-lettuce-and-tomato sandwiches, Cajun chicken and biscuits, Mediterranean chickpea and zucchini sliders, pork chops with apple brandy sauce …

Menu items at the hottest new gourmet restaurant? Nope. They’re all dishes whipped up recently by the chefs at Penn State Behrend to please students’ palates. Dining hall cuisine has come a long way from fish sticks and instant mashed potatoes.

Craving a taste of “home”? Try one of these signature Behrend recipes that Kyle Coverdale, managing chef, shared during the pandemic shutdown.

CHEF KYLE’S DETROIT STYLE PIZZA INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 batch pizza dough (store bought or homemade, recipe below) 8 oz. sliced pepperoni 16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese Pizza sauce PIZZA DOUGH 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon rapid rise yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup warm water Olive oil for brushing the bowl and pan 1. Put flour, salt, yeast, and sugar in a stand mixer with a dough attachment. 2. Add 1 cup warm water, then mix until a ball forms, about 1-2 minutes (if a ball does not form, add a bit more flour). 3. Mix for another 2 minutes. Then roll into a tight ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. 4. Set in a warm location until the dough doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.

MAKE THE PIZZA 1. Move oven rack to bottom of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. 2. Pour oil in a large, square, metal, cake pan.

Put the pizza dough in the pan and gently stretch until dough reaches the corners. 3. Let the dough rise in the pan for 20 minutes. 4. Spoon pizza sauce on top of dough, then top with cheese and pepperoni. 5. Bake in ultra-hot oven until bubbly and golden, about 10 to 15 minutes.

CHEF KYLE’S SALMON ENTRÉE (SERVES 1) INGREDIENTS 4 oz. salmon (substitute chicken or shrimp if you like) 3 oz. baby potatoes, Yukon potatoes, or red potatoes 3 oz. peas 2 teaspoons butter 1 pinch fresh-cut garlic 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil 1. Boil potatoes until tender. After cooling, smash them to make them flat.

2. Make the pea purée: steam 3 ounces frozen or fresh peas until tender.

Transfer to a blender and add a dash of butter and lemon juice. Blend to a smooth purée. Set aside. 3. Heat oven to 400 degrees and cook potatoes for 30 minutes. 4. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. 5. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and sear both sides of the salmon until golden brown.

Set aside. 6. When the potatoes have 10 minutes of cooking time left, put the salmon in the oven to finish cooking with the potatoes. 7. In the pan that you used to sear the salmon, add some olive oil and fresh garlic, and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat and add in remaining butter and lemon juice. Swirl to make a sauce. 8. Make sure the salmon has reached 145 degrees internally. 9. Plate your dish: Put pea purée in center and smooth into a circle. Place the potatoes on top of the pea purée. Place the salmon on top of potatoes. Top with the butter sauce.

CLIPPER’S FAMOUS ANCHOR BURGER (SERVES 4) INGREDIENTS: 4 burger patties Worcestershire sauce Seasoned flour (1 cup flour, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. onion powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper) 4 slices of bacon 4 oz. smoked cheddar, sliced 4 oz. onions, sliced 4 oz. canned jalapeños, drained 4 large eggs 1 cup of buttermilk ½ cup of mayonnaise 2 cloves of garlic Rolls FIRST, MAKE A FEW ITEMS: 1. Cook bacon in a 375-degree oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

2. While bacon is cooking, peel garlic and coat in olive oil. Place in oven with bacon; roast until golden brown.

3. Slice onions thin and add onions, jalapeños, and a few dashes of hot sauce to the buttermilk and swirl.

4. Add roasted garlic to mayo and blend in a food processor. Set aside.

5. After the onions and jalapeños have soaked in the buttermilk for a bit, drain them, and then toss in the seasoned flour. Fry at 350 degrees in neutral oil until golden brown. Set aside on paper towels.

PUT YOUR BURGERS TOGETHER: 1. Cook burgers on a grill or in frying pan. Season each patty with salt, pepper, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Cook to an internal temp of 155 degrees. Top with bacon and smoked cheddar to melt. 2. While burger is cooking, fry eggs over easy.

When done, place on top of burger patty. 3. Toast buns and spread garlic mayo on both sides. 4. Place your burger on the bun and top with fried onion straws and jalapeños.

For more recipes visit behrend.psu.edu/alumni/ penn-state-behrend-recipes

SUMMER 2022

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‘I’ve Laughed, Cried, and Danced in Writers’ Rooms.’

Creative Writing alumna working as screenwriter in Los Angeles

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hikodili Agwuna wanted to be a writer from the time she was in elementary school, but it was in a fiction writing class at Penn State Behrend that she learned what kind of writer she wanted to be.

“I had written a short story about a very sad topic, but the writing was pretty funny,” said Agwuna, a 2015 Creative Writing alumna. “My classmates talked about how visual it was, and I realized that whenever 14

I wrote a story, I’d imagine it as a movie.

That’s when I decided to make screenwriting my goal.”

She started reading scripts and watching shows, taking note of how stories evolved from page to screen. Two favorites: Game of Thrones and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

“Game of Thrones really helped me understand how to write action scenes in a way that made it easy to visualize and Brooklyn Nine-Nine helped me learn how to structure a comedic script,” she said.

A writing credit on a 2021 episode

of the Netflix animated comedy series Tuca & Bertie made it clear Agwuna had achieved what she set out to do.

“That was a special accomplishment for me because I’m not a staff writer yet,” she said. “I love that show and everyone who works on it. It was a dream to get a cowrite with Shauna McGarry in season two and to write on my own for the upcoming third season.”

Agwuna stands out. She always has.

She was an active and well-known student at Behrend, and former professors remember her well.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

CHIK BITS

“She always had a great sense of character and a good ear for dialogue,” said Dr. Tom Noyes, professor of creative writing and English, who directed Agwuna’s senior thesis. “I think sometimes people think of writers as reserved and introverted. This is not Chik! She was active in many campus clubs and organizations and has a wonderful, warm sense of humor.”

Agwuna has a gift for befriending people. It’s been an asset for her.

“The film industry is very relationship-based, so when I moved to Los Angeles after graduation, I knew I’d have to put myself out there and make friends right away because I had absolutely no industry contacts,” she said.

In L.A., she enrolled in Loyola Marymount University’s Writing for the Screen graduate program. She soon scored her first gig as a production assistant on a pilot, thanks to her former Behrend roommate, Vee Butler, who had a friend in the business.

“Honestly, every job since then I have gotten through some connection I made when I first moved to L.A.,” she said.

During her final semester of grad school, she landed a full-time job as a showrunner’s assistant on BoJack Horseman, an adult animated comedy-drama on Netflix.

“One of my roommates at Behrend— Christina Ngo—started watching BoJack in our senior year, and I watched it with her and fell in love with it,” she said. She

was the first person I told when I got the job. I think that show really changed the adult animation landscape. It didn’t get nearly the accolades or awards it deserved.”

From showrunner’s assistant, she progressed to writer’s assistant to script coordinator, working on a variety of shows along the way. (See sidebar for list.)

“Usually, you might progress all the way up to script coordinator on one show,” she said, “but with the shorter seasons and runs of shows today, a lot of people at my level end up jumping from show to show.”

Agwuna just landed a job as a staff writer on Criminal Minds. She’d also like to get back on stage herself.

“I won a comedy standup competition a few years ago,” she said. “I was struggling with my mental health and trying to write comedy, and I had fallen into a slump. I entered that competition and spent seven minutes being open and honest about depression and anxiety and how they were currently affecting me. I realize that doesn’t sound very hilarious, but in allowing myself to be vulnerable, I found the funny side again, and I killed on stage.”

Turning tragedy into comedy, words into pictures, acquaintances into coworkers, Agwuna is not only a talented writer, but a master at transforming opportunity into achievements.

On her name: “My parents are Nigerian immigrants. Chikodili is Igbo and means ‘in God’s hands.’ It was tough having a unique name growing up, but by the time I got to college, it was a conversation starter.”

What she writes: “Mostly comedies with a few action movie exceptions. Outside of screen writing, I write short stories and some poetry, but those may never see the light of day.”

Shows she has worked on: BoJack Horseman, Tuca & Bertie, Criminal Minds, Bust Down, A League of Their Own, Yellow.

Best job perk: “A free lunch.

The bigger the show, the more food they have. When I was on Criminal Minds the first time, I never bought groceries because I ate all of my meals on set.”

Delayed gratification: “It takes a long time for a show or movie to be made. By the time a show I’ve worked on airs, I have often already completed another season on a different show.”

On conciseness: “You have to write visually, but without as many words as a book. When I started, it felt so limiting because I was used to going on and on to describe a setting in my stories. Eventually, I learned to be just as descriptive with fewer words.”

On team writing: “The best thing about being on a team is that if we’re stuck on a scene or a plot point, we can talk it out and help one another find a path forward. I’ve laughed, cried, and danced in writers’ rooms.”

What she wishes for students today: “Get to know people who aren’t like you. Education doesn’t just happen in the classroom, but at events, in Bruno’s, and all over campus. Get out of your comfort zone, and you’ll learn a lot.”

On returning to Behrend: “Maybe one day I’ll get a call from the Lion Entertainment Board to do a Friday night standup set.

Those were some of my favorite events at Behrend.”

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Raise a Glass for Lake Erie Faculty members partner with Erie Brewing Company and Pennsylvania Sea Grant to create awareness of invasive species.

S

cientists are inherently creative, always looking for new solutions to old problems.

Consider the problem of aquatic invasive species (AIS)—non-native plants, animals, or pathogens—in Lake Erie. They’re one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and native communities of species, and they can spread easily through unwitting human assistance and connected waterways, such as the Great Lakes.

Biologists know that AIS harm the environment, the economy, and human and animal health, but how can they teach others and enlist the help of the public in fighting AIS? Last year, a team from Behrend came up with a novel answer: an awareness 16

campaign involving craft beer.

“Good beer needs high-quality, clean water, and invasive species threaten our freshwater supply,” said Dr. Lynne Beaty, assistant teaching professor of biology.

“So, we thought a collaboration with Erie Brewing was a great way to promote AIS awareness because controlling invasive species can help improve water quality. We were thinking, too, that this might be an excellent way to reach adult audiences who may accidentally transfer AIS when they move boats to different water bodies.”

Beaty developed the campaign with Dr. Sam Nutile, assistant professor of biology; Dr. Adam Simpson, assistant teaching professor of biology; Kristen McAuley, lecturer in marketing; and Sara Stahlman, extension leader for Pennsylvania Sea Grant.

The group met with Erie Brewing’s

brewmaster, Tate Warren, who agreed to create a draft series of special AIS-themed brews for invasive species awareness.

The first, Mysterysnail Ale, “an amber ale loaded with flavors of bread, biscuit, and caramel malt,” debuted at a launch party at Erie Brewing in Knowledge Park last summer. Visitors had the opportunity to try a new brew and learn about many AIS at tables staffed by faculty members from Behrend’s School of Science and staff members from Sea Grant, a research, education, and outreach program administered by the college.

“Mysterysnails are so named because females produce young, fully developed snails that ’mysteriously‘ appear. They’re a group of invasive species that originate in Asia but have found their way to Lake Erie,” Beaty said. “They compete with native species, alter nutrient ratios, and transmit parasites to wildlife.”

The second beer in the series was released in December. Round Goby Rye was inspired by the invasive round goby, a small but aggressive bottom-dwelling fish that affects Great Lakes food webs by outcompeting native species and feeding on their eggs and young.

For each of the beers, a promotional poster not only advertises the beer and its distinct flavor, but also gives facts about the highlighted species. QR codes on the posters lead users to more information about the featured AIS. Two more brews were released at a launch event in May: a Zebra Mussel Malt, and a Hazy Hydrilla.

The AIS draft series is currently on tap at Erie Brewing and other participating Ale Trail breweries, including Lavery Brewing, Arundel Cellars and Brewing, Twisted Elk Brewing, Brewerie at Union Station, Nostrovia, and Erie Ale Works.

For more information about aquatic invasive species, visit seagrant.psu.edu.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Shooting Star “Surreal” is how Josh Sige described one of his first days on the job earlier this year as a videographer and content creator for the New Orleans Saints NFL football team.

“I WAS STANDING AROUND the Superdome at a home game and I turned, and Sean Payton (former Saints head coach) is standing next to me,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had made it to the big leagues.”

Sige got there fast, having graduated from Behrend in 2021 with a degree in Digital Media, Arts, and Technology. It wasn’t luck. He had worked for it, moving steadily—albeit quickly—up the ranks in the sports world, poised with a camera on a lot of sidelines, from developmental leagues to WNBA (Seattle Storm) to his current position, which also includes working for the New Orleans Pelicans NBA basketball team.

Sige helps create digital content for the social media handles of both teams and also produces video and photo packages and graphics for in-arena viewing. Working for two national teams with overlapping seasons was a baptism by fire for Sige, who has put in as many as seventy hours a week at times.

“It is an insane amount of work for our fifteen-member team, but it’s all worth it when that crowd, 70,000 strong, stands up and cheers for your team after watching the video you created on the scoreboard,” he said. “Although we are not on the court or in the field playing the game, fans are cheering for our work and the show we put on screen for them. It’s really cool.”

Sige feels fortunate to have found his passion early on when he did an internship with the Erie SeaWolves double-A baseball team in Erie. After that, he actively sought opportunities to grow in his field. His determination—and Penn State Behrend connections—opened doors.

Matt Bresee, a 2000 Communications graduate and former president of the Erie BayHawks (D-league basketball) team in Erie, offered Sige a job working on the creative and social team for the BayHawks.

“I was given the chance, as a college student, to actually help make creative decisions for the team while also learning the ins and outs of professional sports,” Sige said. “The experience I gained there, at the very beginning stage of my career, was crucial to my development.”

He also credits Rob Frank ’06, lecturer in photography and owner of R. Frank Media in Erie, for guiding and supporting him. “He gave me a world of expertise and knowledge,” he said. “He not only taught me camera skills, but also how to conduct myself as a professional and a person. I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for him.”

Sige is already paying it forward. “One of my proudest moments happened when an intern who was working for me received multiple full-time job offers before his contract had even expired,” he said.

“It felt great to play a role in his success in the same way that other people had invested in me and my career.”

On living in The Big Easy: “The heat and humidity took getting used to, but it’s a great place full of culture and fun-loving people who are big sports fans. Everyone treats you like an old friend here.”

Best job perks: “Flying around the country with an NBA team on a private jet and watching NFL games from the sidelines.”

Words he lives by: “ ‘The obstacle is the way,’ by Marcus Aurelius.”

In his free time: “I love exploring New Orleans, playing basketball, or just going out and taking photos. I’m also a killer chef.”

Advice for wannabes: “The best way to learn to do this job is to do it. Take any work you can get. Give up your weekends and dollar draft nights with friends. Those sacrifices will pay off later. Take any gig. People will recognize your work ethic and tell others. Do the grunt work now so that you can be the boss later.”

Website: jsige.com

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FASENMYER DESIGN CONFERENCE

SHOWCASES STUDENT INGENUITY 18

MORE THAN 280 STUDENTS presented their capstone projects

during the School of Engineering’s Richard J. Fasenmyer Engineering Design Conference. The projects included a robotic drum kit, a cold-weather pickleball, and a titanium-alloy container for the core samples NASA plans to collect from the Psyche asteroid.

“Capstone research teams work closely with business and industry sponsors to develop creative solutions to engineering design challenges,” said Dr. Tim Kurzweg, director of the School of Engineering. “The process distills what students have learned in class and in the lab and applies that knowledge to integrated engineering projects.”

This year’s conference included projects sponsored by Northrop Grumman, Parker LORD Corporation, Wabtec, and Westinghouse Electric. NASA funded six teams, each of which advanced an element of the Psyche mission, which will study the remnant core of a metal-rich asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

A SPACE CAPSULE

A ROBOTIC DRUM KIT

THE PSYCHE SPACECRAFT is scheduled to launch in August

WHEN THE DRUMMER HAD ANOTHER COMMITMENT, Alison Huffman would sometimes sit in with the Penn State Behrend Jazz Ensemble.

“The drummer is the core of any band,” she said. “They’re the time-keeper. When you don’t have that, it’s a lot harder for the rest of the band to practice.”

Dr. Joel Hunt, associate teaching professor of digital music and director of the jazz ensemble, asked Huffman to come up with another option. She and two classmates, Kushal Kharel and Katrina Stevenson, designed a robotic drum kit, with a control box that simultaneously can play a cymbal, snare, and kick drum. The system can maintain different tempos in four time signatures.

“It took a lot of trial and error to get there,” Huffman said.

“Technology is binary. It’s very black-and-white. Music isn’t like that. It’s a real challenge to make technology match up with anything related to art.”

Like most capstone projects, the drum kit is a prototype, with some DIY engineering mixed in: The pulley wheels are tied to the pedals with fishing line. Ten-pound dumbbells hold the motor boxes in place.

It works, though. The students ended their Fasenmyer presentation with a brief concert: One note, played again and again, just the way they had programmed it.

and arrive at the asteroid in 2026. Scientists hope to photograph craters on the surface of Psyche in order to learn more about the asteroid’s origins. Some believe it is a failed planet.

Four Behrend students—Colton Hervatin, Easton Hooks, Jacob Sampsell, and Thomas Zbezinski—designed a containment vessel for a follow-up mission, when NASA plans to collect core samples from Psyche and return them to Earth.

“We had to design a vessel that can endure a harsh environment,” Sampsell said. “It also has to protect the samples on their return to Earth. It will take NASA several years to collect that material. We don’t want all that effort to be wasted because of a crack in the container.”

With help from their faculty adviser, Dr. Charlotte de Vries, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, the team designed a vessel that can hold twelve rods packed with core samples.

To close it, they designed a lid with a tucked hinge. They didn’t have to look far for a working model: The charging case for their Apple AirPods closes the same way.

A COLD-WEATHER PICKLEBALL A SECOND TEAM OF STUDENTS—Tristan Grimm, Amy Nolte,

and David Peterson—designed a product for use in another challenging outdoor environment: Minnesota’s pickleball courts.

The students created a cold-weather pickleball. The project’s sponsor, GAMMA Sports, believes the new material—a blend of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene—can extend the northern season for the sport, which combines elements of tennis, badminton, and Ping-Pong.

Pickleballs tend to crack in cold weather. The ball designed by the Behrend team is more durable, due to both the material blend and the decision to spin-weld the ball’s halves. The spinweld eliminates the seam, where any variation makes the ball vulnerable to cracking.

“It also makes the ball bounce faster,” Grimm said. “Good players are going to notice that.”

The students didn’t know much about pickleball at the start of the project. Neither did their adviser, Dr. Gamini Mendis, assistant professor of engineering. Now, he keeps a paddle in his office.

Capstone research teams work closely with business and industry sponsors to develop creative solutions to engineering design challenges.

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In 1948, Mary Behrend initiated a culture of philanthropy by gifting her 400-acre Glenhill estate to Penn State.

Since then, giving by donors, friends, alumni, and the college community has continued, without fail, to bring excellence to the Behrend student experience.

As we conclude the University-wide campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, on June 30, 2022, it’s clear how the vision and generosity of so many is making a difference.

Our alumni, friends, community leaders, and business and industry partners; the members of our Council of Fellows; our college leadership, faculty, and staff: All have contributed to our current success.

By every metric—academics, research, outreach, and service—Penn State Behrend excels. Fundraising is no exception. Among the forty-four units of Penn State that fundraise, Behrend is in the top ten! We began with a campaign goal of $52 million, which was later raised to a target of $60 million.

As of this writing, Penn State Behrend donors have committed more than $75 million to encourage and support our students, advance research, enhance the college, and enrich the community.

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The work doesn’t end on June 30. The past two years have reinforced a basic tenet of life: To thrive, people and organizations must adapt. During its nearly 75-year history, Penn State Behrend has continually evolved to meet emerging student needs and a changing world.

Campaigns begin and end, but the goal of educating our best and brightest remains.

Penn State was founded on the notion that everyone with a desire for higher education should have the opportunity to pursue it. Private support helps to ensure that talented students from every background have access to a Penn State degree that will open doors.

To all those who supported the campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, and to those whose generosity will be evident again in future giving, thank you for making a difference in the life of the college and in the success of our students.

KEVIN MOORE ’89, ’85 DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS KEM7@PSU.EDU

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Encouraging Students The success of every Behrend student relies on the support of many, including generous alumni and friends whose gifts open the doors to a Penn State education and enrich the academic and co-curricular learning experiences of our students. Gifts to Penn State Behrend made during the campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, have combined to make an impressive impact.

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS Since the start of the campaign, Penn State Behrend alumni and friends have established 54 new scholarships, generating an additional $1.4 million annually in new award monies to Behrend students. Many of the scholarships leveraged University matching funds to maximize the impact of donor support.

A Behrend Political Science graduate, Sam Epps IV ’95 and his wife, Zabrina, created an Educational Equity scholarship to benefit students whose gender, race, and ethnic, cultural, and/or national background contribute to the diversity of the Behrend student body. Epps serves on the executive board of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Dr. Bhagwati Prasad Gupta ’69, ’64, who taught engineering courses as an adjunct faculty member at Behrend for more than two decades while working for GE, established an endowed scholarship for high-achieving Behrend engineering students who have demonstrated financial need. The scholarship also honors the memory of Bhagwati’s late wife of 60 years, Krishna Gupta.

Earlier in the campaign, the Guptas’ daughter, Nishi Gupta ’82, established the Gupta Family Educational Equity Scholarship to support students who bring diversity to the Behrend student body. She also created an Open Doors scholarship for engineering students, with preference given to female students in engineering majors.

Brian ’90 and Pam ’89 Kupchella created a Trustee scholarship to provide financial assistance to undergraduate students majoring in nursing who have demonstrated need. Brian is chief executive officer of Clarience Technologies, a role he has held since 2016 with TruckLite. He is also a member of the board of directors of Penn State Behrend’s Council of Fellows.

Friends of the college Mark and Lisa McCain created two scholarships: an Open Doors scholarship to support students in Behrend’s Pathways to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) program and a scholarship that honors Mark’s mother, Patricia McCain, with preference given to graduates of Erie’s Villa Maria Academy.

Retired banking executives Larry ’94, ’84 and Charlotte Neizmik created an endowment to benefit Behrend economics majors who have financial need. Larry, who earned his MBA from Behrend, is a lecturer in economics in the Black School of Business.

James ’68 and Sandra Schlaudecker established a scholarship for adult learners enrolled in Behrend’s mechanical engineering technology and electrical engineering technology programs. James is retired after a long career with Procter & Gamble. The couple also created the Schlaudecker Family Fund for Innovation Commons.

Ann ’99, ’82 and Thad ’83 Scott established an Open Doors scholarship to benefit underrepresented students from the Erie area participating in the college’s PaSSS program. Ann is the current chair

of the board of directors of Penn State Behrend’s Council of Fellows.

To honor the memory of her parents, Arden Sonnenberg ’85 created a scholarship to support students who may benefit from academic or financial support to launch their academic careers.

Sonnenberg previously established the Kenneth Sonnenberg Poetry Award at Behrend in memory of her deceased husband, a 1985 graduate of Behrend and a published poet.

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Encouraging Students THE EXCELERATE PROGRAM With a $1.5 million gift, matched by $2.5 million in University funds, Erie Insurance is collaborating with Penn State Behrend to provide scholarships for first-year students and funding for upper-level students to gain experience working with local businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The program, known as Excelerate, benefits as many as 50 students a year— with scholarships to those participating in Behrend’s Pathways to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) program and with stipends to those engaged in research, internships, or co-op experiences. The program is intended to broaden the pathway to a college education for more Erie area young people and help build the talent that powers economic revitalization of the region.

The Excelerate program is a foremost example of Erie Insurance’s longtime support of Penn State Behrend and its students. The company’s philanthropy to Behrend also funds scholarships, youth outreach programs, financial literacy efforts, and research by Pennsylvania Sea Grant, among other activities of the college.

THE MIRROR PROJECT Earlier this year, Larson Texts Inc. made a $100,000 gift to jumpstart a funding effort to cover the full cost of tuition for Behrend students who major in elementary and early childhood education. The effort, known as The Mirror Project, is the brainchild of Dr. Eric Corty, retiring director of Behrend’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Corty’s vision is for Behrend to contribute to the diversity of teachers in Erie’s public schools by covering the four-year tuition of local students who agree to remain in their hometown to teach after getting their degree. He describes the challenge to be addressed with this project in this way: “Most urban schools have few teachers who look like many of their students. Teachers who look like their students serve as role models and mentors, help students learn and dream higher, and reduce dropout rates. Although it will take time, The Mirror Project can generate the financial resources to produce such teachers.”

The near-term goal of the project is a minimum of $500,000— two-thirds of that amount to come from gifts such as that from Larson Text and the other one-third from a match by Corty.

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BOOSTING ATHLETICS The generosity of numerous alumni and friends of the college is contributing to the student-athlete experience at Penn State Behrend.

A group fundraising effort to honor Dr. Roger Sweeting ’63, former director of athletics and faculty emeritus of exercise science, resulted in the creation of the Roger Sweeting Endowment for Athletics. Sweeting himself gives regularly to numerous Behrend athletic endowments, including those for men’s basketball, men’s soccer, and baseball.

The men’s basketball program is benefitting from the support of a new endowment established in memory of Ethel Kochel by her son and daughter, Jeff Kochel ’72 and Patricia Kochel Young. Ethel was the wife of longtime Behrend administrator Irvin Kochel and a strong supporter of Behrend student-athletes.

The endowment provides much-needed funds for uniforms, equipment, and team travel.

As a first-year student in 1965, Bob Yerkey ’70 began serving as student manager of Behrend’s baseball team, but he reports that his “personal favorite” sport has always been basketball.

Reflecting this, in 2019, he established the Robert L. Yerkey Men’s Basketball Endowment with an initial gift of $50,000, and he continues to add to the fund.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Advancing Education and Research Top-ranked academic and research programs begin with top-tier faculty and world-class facilities and technologies. Gifts to Penn State Behrend through the campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, support the faculty and resources to inspire our students to success.

Ed ’91, ’85 and Elaine ’85 Auslander made a gift of $400,000 to establish an endowed professorship to support the teaching and research of a Behrend faculty member in the first decade of their career. Auslander, retired president and CEO of LORD Corporation, named the endowment in honor of a former English professor, the late Dr. Chester “Chet” L. Wolford, Jr. The Auslanders made a second gift of $400,000 to create the Dr. Martin W. Trethewey Early Career Professorship in Mechanical Engineering at University Park.

An early-career professorship established with a $150,000 gift from Clarience Technologies will fund research and design projects by Behrend faculty members and students in the field of data analytics over the next three years. Behrend’s School of Engineering has a 15-year history of contributing to research and product development for Clarience’s flagship brand, Truck-Lite.

More Behrend biology students will have the opportunity to engage in undergraduate research experiences through a fund established by the son and daughter-in-law of Irvin Kochel, who served as Behrend’s chief administrator from 1954 to 1980. The endowed fund established by Jeff ’72 and Pam ’73 Kochel supports the college’s Open Lab strategy of learning and discovery, which positions students to engage with external partners from business, industry, and community organizations.

The college’s women’s health initiative, undertaken in partnership with Magee-Womens Research Institute, is advancing with an endowment established by the combined gifts of a number of donors, including Ed ’91, ’85 and Elaine ’85 Auslander, Frank “Shelly” and Shirley Czulewicz, Priscilla Hamilton ’78 and Gary Rafferty, Brian ’90 and Pam ’89 Kupchella, Mary Swed Lincoln, David Meehl, Richard Merwin, Daniel and Elaine Park, Kathryn Smith, Ashleigh Walters, and Halina Zyczynski, M.D., in addition to Hamot Health Foundation and The Erie Community Foundation.

Plastek Industries and the Prischak family are among Penn State Behrend’s most ardent supporters. Their latest investment of $1.1 million will establish the Prischak Automation Lab, to be equipped with state-of-the-art robotics and manufacturing technology to advance mechatronics education in our School of Engineering.

A number of alumni and friends of the college have signaled their support for women’s health research now being undertaken through Penn State Behrend’s partnership with Magee-Womens Research Institute.

An in-kind gift of software from Riskalyze gives students in the Black School of Business access to that company’s investment risk-management tools for use in stock-trading simulations and management of the school’s Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund.

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Enhancing our College Students choose Penn Behrend not only for world-class academic programs but also for enriching experiences that prepare them to become leaders in their fields. Through the campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, the philanthropy of individuals and organizations has elevated facilities and programs that advance student success.

Students in the nursing program are learning in updated and expanded nursing labs as the result of a $900,000 gift from the Orris C. Hirtzel and Beatrice Dewey Hirtzel Memorial Foundation. A second gift of $500,000 is being used to upgrade equipment in the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Center (AMIC) and Otto Behrend Science Building.

The Dr. and Mrs. Arthur William Phillips Charitable Trust made gifts totaling $90,000 during the Greater Penn State campaign—to support enhanced nursing simulation labs, new equipment in the School of Science, and women’s health research now being undertaken by the college in partnership with Magee-Womens Research Institute.

A $1 million investment by Erie-based HERO BX to create a 1,500-square-foot chemistry lab in AMIC is giving students a new opportunity to collaborate with an industrial research partner. In the lab, students are working alongside company researchers to identify ways to reduce the sulfur in biodiesel feedstocks.

When the Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund launched in 2012 with a gift from Vincent Intrieri ’84 and his wife, Joanne, it promised not only to give students real-world experience in investment management but also to generate scholarships once the balance had grown to $1 million. That day has come, thanks to additional gifts by the Intrieris, Samuel P. “Pat” Black III, and others—and, notably, due to the sound investment strategy of student managers.

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SUSAN HIRT HAGEN CORE AT FEDERAL HOUSE

The college’s historic Federal House has been restored and expanded to create a new home for the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research and Evaluation (CORE). The $6.3 million project was funded by private support and by the University to broaden the center’s service to the community, including positive youth development programs that engage more than 3,000 young people every year.

To date, five students have received scholarships.

Numerous individual and corporate gifts have combined to create a $2.13 million endowment that will expand Behrend’s Innovation Commons, where student teams support projects for local entrepreneurs and start-ups. Donors include Eriez, David Meehl, Mark ’88, ’87 and Valerie Rose, James ’68 and Sandra Schlaudecker, and Zurn Industries. The lab now bears a new name: the

James R. Meehl Innovations Commons powered by Penn State Behrend.

Many of the 200 species of trees on the Behrend campus, like the benches that dot the pathways, are the result of gifts by alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the college. They include four Flower of Kent trees—the type under which legend has it Isaac Newton was sitting when the apple fell—that were funded by a gift from former School of Science director Dr. Roger Knacke.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Enriching our Community Penn State Behrend has a rich history of service to the region and beyond.

Through gifts to the campaign, A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, the college is expanding on that commitment—growing its role in economic development; serving business and industry partners; educating and entertaining the community; and providing outreach to area youth and educators.

A $3 million gift from Samuel P. “Pat” Black III and his daughter, Sumi James-Black, will amplify the role of Behrend’s Knowledge Park as an engine for economic growth in northwestern Pennsylvania. Their gift was matched by Penn State’s Economic Development Matching program, which doubles a donor’s impact for select initiatives that drive job and business creation in the Commonwealth.

Family-owned businesses are the economic backbone of many communities, and those in the Erie region are no exception. Penn State Behrend’s Center for Family Business is designed to meet the unique needs of these businesses—with programming, access to faculty expertise, counsel on key issues, and peer group involvement. The center’s membership is grow-

ing, thanks to expanded resources made possible by endowed funds and corporate partnerships from H. Bender; Finish Thompson; Phil and Christina ’02 Katen; Greg ’99, ’85 and Heather ’00 Yahn; Knox McLaughlin Gornall and Sennett, P.C., and Marquette Savings Bank.

One of the college’s longest running cultural programs, Music At Noon: The Logan Series, continues to delight adults and youth with chamber music presented in an informal, welcoming environment. Established in 1989 by the late Kay Logan, the series continues through the support of the Kay Hardesty Logan Foundation, the Erie Arts and Culture Foundation, and the John Nesbit Rees and Sarah Henne Rees Charitable Foundation. During this campaign, the Rees Foundation also made a gift of $80,000 to support scholarships for students who hail from Crawford, Forest, Warren, and Venango counties in Pennsylvania.

Many of Penn State Behrend’s students in education majors go on to teach in the Erie region. A gift of $20,000 made by Dr. Greg ’13 and Janis Filbeck (Greg is director of Behrend’s Black School of Business and Janis a lecturer in English) helps to pay for professional clearances and other costs associated with student teaching. A gift by the Filbecks during this campaign also supported the Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund.

Every year, Behrend engages with more than 24,000 youth and educators in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) programs. Much of that youth outreach programming, such as Math Options and Women in Engineering, is supported by the philanthropy of corporate donors, including Erie Insurance, National Fuel Gas, and Wabtec.

Penn State Behrend’s Knowledge Center has a new name—the Samuel P. Black III and Sumi James-Black Knowledge Center—recognizing the Black Family’s $3 million gift to the college.

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Athletics NEWS

BACK IN THE

GAME(S)

A

fter a year of hit-or-miss athletic events due to the pandemic, the Lions came roaring back this past fall, winning four Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships in women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s cross country.

A few highlights from the fall and winter seasons: • The women’s soccer team finished 19-2, setting a new program record for most wins in a season. The team earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award for fair play, sporting behavior, and limited yellow cards this season.

• Men’s cross country won its thirteenth team title in program history. Led by senior Phoenix Myers, Behrend had seven 26

runners in the top 10 at the AMCC championships.

• Olivia Nola, a first-year student, earned the AMCC individual title in women’s cross country and was named the AMCC Runner of the Year. The newcomer was the fastest runner for the Lions in every race and now holds three of the four top times in the AMCC. She completed the 2021 season unbeaten by any other AMCC runner in any race.

• Both men’s and women’s basketball teams were named the AMCC Co-Regular Season Champions for having the best record in the conference. The men finished with a 19-7 overall record. The women’s basketball team went 21-6 and was named the ECAC Tournament Runners Up. • The women’s swimming and diving team won its twelfth overall AMCC Championship. The team was chosen to the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for the fall 2021 semester.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

The Lions also broke eight team records while competing at Nazareth during the season.

• The men’s swimming and diving team finished second at the AMCC Championships this season. Freshman Tim Compton was named the AMCC Swimmer and Newcomer of the Year.

Compton won three individual events and broke the AMCC Meet Record in the 200 butterfly.

• Heavyweight wrestler Joe Newara, a senior, finished the season at 17-6, leading the team in wins. Newara registered thirteen wins by pin and posted a 5-1 dual-meet record. The 285-pounder had a nine-match winning streak during the season and advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament.

• Both men’s and women’s volleyball teams took first place in AMCC competition, capturing two championships for head coach Phil Pisano.

COACHES OF THE YEAR • • • • • •

Patrick O’Driscoll, women’s soccer Greg Cooper, men’s and women’s cross country Phil Pisano, women’s and men’s volleyball Christine VanHook, women’s basketball Jennifer Wallace, women’s swimming and diving Joe Tristan, women’s water polo

AMCC PLAYERS OF THE YEAR • • • • • •

Kenny Fukon, men’s basketball JP Goodsel, men’s volleyball Brenna McGuire, women’s soccer (offense) Ava Michael, women’s soccer (defense) Olivia Nola, women’s cross country Kristin Reiland, women’s volleyball

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Athletics NEWS

Graduate Students Extend Athletic Careers Paused by COVID FOR THE STUDENT-ATHLETES ON PENN STATE BEHREND’S 24 NCAA VARSITY TEAMS, THE COVID PANDEMIC MEANT A TWO-YEAR TIME-OUT.

“We approached it like an injury,” said Brian Streeter, senior director of athletics.

“We did the best we could to get them back to playing.”

Behrend teams were idled in early 2020 when the NCAA suspended spring competition. Coaches scheduled virtual workouts. Athletic trainers sent stretching and weight exercises that didn’t require bands or equipment.

Months later, when athletes were permitted back on the field, they had to navigate new safeguards: facemasks, a ban on spectators, travel limitations, and pre-game COVID testing.

That backdrop led many Behrend student-athletes to a new level of commitment, Streeter said.

“It gave the upper-division students a chance to lead, and the ability to handle difficult situations,” he said. “They are cherishing the opportunity to play one more time, just for the fun of it.”

The NCAA has added more time to the game clock: Athletes whose seasons were shortened or canceled because of COVID have been granted an additional year of eligibility. At Behrend, where students can enroll in five master’s degree programs, that means team rosters now include some graduate students.

Maddie Clapper, a 2021 graduate from Hollidaysburg, earned a degree in marketing from Behrend’s Black School of Business. She enrolled in the master of business administration (MBA) program in part because she was eligible for another year with the Behrend volleyball team.

“My last year in undergrad was a COVID year, and it left a bad taste in my mouth,” she said. “You never want to 28

Maddie Clapper, a graduate student at Penn State Behrend, received an extra year of NCAA eligibility after her 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic. She helped the team to a 22-6 record.

leave on that kind of chapter.”

Several of her teammates graduated, including a close friend and roommate.

Another opted to return for a fifth year.

Clapper, a defensive specialist, also decided to come back.

“I kind of had to reevaluate my college career,” she said. “I’m happy with the decision I made, but in the beginning it was really tough, knowing I would have to commit so much time (to academics) as a graduate student.”

Jacob Schmidt, a swimmer from Erie, also enrolled in the MBA program, hoping to build on his degree in project and supply chain management. He’s back in the pool, swimming distance freestyle events.

“Last year really had an impact on our

season,” he said. “We only had three swim meets the whole year, and no fans were allowed to attend. That made the meets feel like a practice.”

This season has been an easier adjustment: Because his class schedule is more flexible, Schmidt no longer has to rush to class after morning practices. He now looks to the pool as a “getaway” from his schoolwork.

“It was important to me to compete in an extra season,” he said. “I still wanted to see how fast I could push myself and my teammates. And I still have some unfinished goals that I would like to reach before the end of the season.”

Schmidt helped lead his team to a second place overall finish in the AMCC Championships in February.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Clapper made the most of her fifth season, which ended in November. She helped the Lions to a 22-6 record and an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship. She was named to the All-AMCC First Team and ranked second in the conference in digs, with 372.

“That extra time was valuable to me,” she said. “Sports teach you so much about teamwork, leadership and adversity, and I was able to be a part of that and make memories with people I really care about.

“I resented COVID,” she said. “I hated how it changed my path. But I appreciate now that I had another opportunity to compete.”

Jacob Schmidt, a graduate student at Behrend, earned a fifth year of NCAA eligibility after his 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic. “It was important to me to compete in an extra season,” he said. “I still wanted to see how fast I could push myself.”

ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME

Two classes of the Athletics Hall of Fame were honored this past year—the Class of 2020, whose celebration was delayed due to the pandemic, and the Class of 2021.

CLASS OF 2020. Brian Streeter, senior director of athletics, with 2020 inductees, from left: Brooke (Gallentine) Muraco (volleyball), Sheila Ogden (volleyball), Kayla Frost (soccer), Rob Wittman (Athletics program), Joe Nelson (golf) and Kevin Gorny (cross country/track and field). Not pictured: Andy Iams (cross country/track and field)

CLASS OF 2020

CLASS OF 2021. Brian Streeter, senior director of athletics, with 2021 inductees, from left: Eston Winn (track and field), Elliot Blackstone (tennis), Mike Stark (track and field), Jerry Tortella (soccer), Jenna Fatica (cross country/track and field), Amy (Oldach) Weir (basketball), Justin Kovac (basketball), Dustin Dubensky (baseball), Jon Gray (baseball), Josh Fyffe (baseball), Chris Saltzman (basketball). Not pictured: Dustin Walker (soccer).

CLASS OF 2021

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Athletics NEWS

Lions Leap into National Rankings FOR SEVERAL YEARS, BRADY SMITH SAILED OVER HIGH JUMP BARS, setting

both personal and school records with little opposition. That changed when Sam Hetrick arrived at Penn State Behrend in 2021 and offered Smith the one thing he’d never had: Serious competition in the high jump event.

“It really pushes you, especially when it’s your teammate because he is at every meet,” said Smith, who graduated in May with a degree in Marketing. “I always had tough competition because of Sam.” If that sounds like a negative, Smith and Hetrick—and the heights they both recently reached—say otherwise.

“It was really great having Smith here to jump with,” said Hetrick, a New Bethlehem native and sophomore History major. “When I was in high school, I never thought I’d ever be clearing the heights I am now.”

The two finished the indoor track season ranked third (Smith) and fifth (Hetrick) overall in the NCAA Indoor Track Championship, earning All-American honors. They each had a final mark of 2.03 meters.

Greg Cooper, head track and field and cross-country coach, is not surprised by their achievements.

“Some colleges recruit with the hope that the student will replicate their high school success,” Cooper said. “We recruit knowing that when athletes buy in and work hard, the sky is their only limit.”

Smith, who finished third in state competition in the high jump in his From left, Sam Hetrick, Coach Kevin Gardner ’16, and Brady Smith.

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BEHREND MAGAZINE

senior year at Seneca High School in Erie, chose Behrend after meeting jump coach Kevin Gardner ’16 at a high school track meet.

Gardner was a standout jumper as a Mechanical Engineering major at Behrend. He went to the indoor NCAA Championships and earned Behrend’s first indoor All-American honors.

In 2015, he set a record of 2.07 at the Armory in New York City—a record that Smith and Hetrick broke at the same meet earlier this year with twin 2.08-meter jumps. Hetrick went on to beat that the next weekend, reaching 2.10 meters at Ashland University.

Bittersweet for the previous record holder? A little.

“You’d like to see it stand for a while longer, but I was happy for them, and I’m just glad to be a part of it,” Gardner said. “Sometimes, I feel like more of a fan than a coach.”

Gardner joined the Behrend coaching staff in 2017 to work with the jumpers. There are nine on the team right now who compete in long, triple, or high jump events. Cooper programs the jumpers’ day-to-day training and weight room workouts and leaves the technical jump stuff to Gardner.

“Kevin has been in flight so he has a deep understanding of the sport and what our athletes can do to improve,” Cooper said.

That’s a challenge with Smith and Hetrick, Gardner says.

“They are so good at it that it’s hard for me to tell them what to fix,” he

said, “especially in a meet setting because they usually already know what went wrong.”

As much as Hetrick and Smith gained from working together, the high jumper ultimately leaps alone.

“In this sport, you can’t rely on a teammate to help you out,” Smith said.

“It’s just you and the bar you have to get over.”

As for what makes a good high jumper, Smith boils it down to: Run fast, jump high, and don’t think too much.

“You have to have a goldfish memory,” he said. “When you finish a jump, just forget it, and focus on the next one. The less you think, the better.”

In other words, don’t get in your own head and trust the training. Jumping, Cooper said, takes both mental and physical strength.

“Jumpers have to be fast and maintain speed as they shift from a horizontal to a vertical momentum,” Cooper said. “In addition, they need to be very strong. The weight room is one of our most important training tools. We work on making the jumpers as strong as possible without getting any bigger so they can overcome inertia and defy gravity, briefly.”

It’s a formula that worked for Smith and Hetrick, who set and broke their own—and each other’s—records throughout the track season.

“It’s common in jumping events to keep improving,” Gardner said. “It usually takes a couple of years, but once they really perfect the technique, work out any bad habits, and find their rhythm, jumpers can often keep reaching new heights.”

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Student SUCCESS

Penn State Behrend students succeed in and out of the classroom Here are a few of the many students who recorded remarkable achievements

Future Math Teachers Present Research Four Secondary Education in Mathematics majors attended Pre-Service Day at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in November. The statewide event is intended to provide professional development to ​ pre-service and student teachers about to launch their professional careers.

At the event, the students presented posters of their research: Multiple Representations: Reflections by Catherine Brenc; Three Acts: The Leaky Faucet Activity by Angela Dale; Multiple Representations of Relations by Samantha Jones; and Creating Chefs: A Problem Focused Classroom by Jacob Pelloni.

From left, Angela Dale, Jacob Pelloni, Catherine Brenc, and Samantha Jones.

International Student Wins University Award Laura Gil, who graduated in May with degrees in Business Economics, International Business, and Management Information Systems (MIS), received a 2022 Ardeth and Norman Frisbey International Undergraduate Student Award given by the University. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to global understanding by full-time international students.

As a native of Colombia, Gil bore witness to the economic and humanitarian crisis in neighboring Venezuela, which inspired her to major in Business Economics.

“Then, through research, I learned that even the smallest factors can affect a country’s economy, so I added an International Business major,” Gil said. “I added an MIS major to be able to better comprehend and present data so that other people can understand it.”

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BEHREND MAGAZINE

Standout Seniors Profiled on Behrend Blog Several Class of 2022 students were highlighted on the Behrend Blog for their accomplishments. Here are excerpts from two students who were profiled.

A Degree and a New Business MICHAEL GIBILTERRA, a senior Plastics

Juggling More Than Most CHANTEL RODRIGUEZ, a Communication

major, was like many other students who dive into the college experience and join student clubs and organizations while balancing academics and a part-time job.

To the amazement of her classmates, Rodriguez was juggling much more.

“When people meet me, they are always surprised to learn that I’m 27 years old, a mother of three girls, and that I’ve been married for nearly ten years now,” she said.

She is proud of her time at Behrend, which included writing for the Behrend Beacon, participating in the Academic Integrity Committee, and earning Dean’s List honors several times.

Rodriguez, who graduated in May, wants to work in public relations for a nonprofit organization in Erie.

Engineering Technology (PLET) major, has long had what he calls an “unhealthy obsession with 3D printing.”

“It started back in high school when I built my first 3D printer using motors from some CD drives, an Arduino, zip ties, and cardboard, and the cheapest 3D doodler pen I could find at the time,” he said.

Gibilterra’s curiosity, ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit led him to the James R. Meehl Innovation Commons, Behrend’s product development and prototyping lab in Burke Center, where he was able to turn his obsession into a career.

“I’m currently working to launch my company, Additive Manufacturing Systems, a 3D printer manufacturing company that focuses on producing 3D printers, materials, and software for engineering applications such as aerospace, automo-

tive, and medical,” he said.

When he graduated in May, he had not only a PLET degree, but two patents, and the foundation for his own company.

Read about many more Standout Seniors at behrendblog.com

Business Student Wins CMA Scholarship SAMUEL PISCHERA, a junior dual majoring in Finance and Accounting, recently received the Institute of Management Accountants’ CMA (Certified Management Accounting) Program Scholarship. The scholarship covers the cost of IMA membership, exam entrance and registration fees, and exam-prep materials.

The globally recognized CMA designation supports individuals pursuing a multitude of career paths, including financial analysts, accounting managers, controllers, CFOs, public accountants, and more.

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Alumni NEWS

Totzke named 2021 Penn State Alumni Fellow MATTHEW TOTZKE, a 1996 Behrend mathematics graduate, was named a Penn State Alumni Fellow in 2021. The lifelong title of Alumni Fellow is the highest award given by the Penn State Alumni Association.

Totzke is the president and chief executive officer of Erie-based Larson Texts and Big Ideas Learning, which produce print and digital mathematics learning products.

He maintains a close connection to the college. In 2016, he facilitated creation of a $500,000 Larson Texts Excellence Scholarship at Behrend and helped to establish a program that provides tuition assistance to undergraduate students working at Larson Texts and Big Ideas Learning. The companies also support Behrend’s annual statewide Best Practices in Teaching and Learning Mathematics Conference.

“The connection between Penn State Behrend and Larson Texts is strong, and Matt Totzke is the linchpin in that connection,” said Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford. “He has been with Larson since he was a student, fully committed to its success all that time, and committed as well to his alma mater.”

Alumna Appointed to HSS Post, Earns National Honors DR. ALA STANFORD ‘92, a Philadelphia-based surgeon who began her Penn State studies at Behrend, has been appointed by President Biden to be a regional director of Health and Human Services. She was also honored recently by two national news organizations.

Stanford is founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, which has provided more than 100,000 COVID tests and vaccinations since 2020. She will serve as director of Region 3 of the HSS, covering five states, including Pennsylvania, plus the District of Columbia. She is one of three directors to be appointed for “deep expertise in their issue areas as well as critical relationships with federal, state, tribal, and local leaders,” the White House said.

Late last year, Stanford was also selected by CNN as one of its Top Ten Heroes for 2021, and earlier this year, USA Today named Stanford one of its Women of the Year for her advocacy and leadership.

JOSEPH MICHAELS, a 2018 Mechanical Engineering graduate, was recently elected to City Council in Warren, Pennsylvania. He’s one of the youngest individuals to serve on the council in the history of the city.

KATHERINE DAHLKEMPER, a 2016 Marketing grad-

2021 Alumni Fellow Matthew Totzke, center, with his wife, Rebecca, and Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford.

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uate and assistant manager at Dahlkemper Jewelry Connection in Erie, was recently chosen as one of the Top 20 Jewelers Under 40 by Jewelers of America, a national industry trade association.

BEHREND MAGAZINE

DANIELLE COOK, a 2010

Behrend graduate, was named Superintendent of The Randolph Academy Union Free School District in Randolph, New York, which works to educate and empower children in grades K-12 who have emotional and mental health disabilities. Cook earned her degree in Psychology from Behrend and a master of education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She resides in Warren, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three children.

CARTOONIST DAVE BLAZEK, an Erie native

who attended Behrend before graduating from University Park in 1979, has a new book out. Magnificent Stupidity contains 220 of his best cartoons from the past three years of Loose Parts, his award-winning comic strip syndicated by the Washington Post to newspapers across America. Blazek and his daily comics are two-time winners of the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award for America’s Best Newspaper Panel Cartoon. Visit LoosePartsComic.com to learn more about Blazek and to order books or signed Loose Parts cartoons.

ADELL COLEMAN, a 2009 Communication graduate, recently won two New York Festival Radio Awards for “Say Their Name,” a podcast that she executive produces and co-hosts. The podcast won a silver award for Narrative/Documentary Podcast and a bronze for Social Justice Podcast. Coleman is a chief content officer for DCP Entertainment.

Behrend alumna CRYSTAL VELASQUEZ, who graduated in 1997 with dual degrees in English and Creative Writing, is writing her next series of children’s books. Inspired

by Danny & Ron’s Rescue, the South Carolina nonprofit organization depicted in the documentary Life in the Doghouse, the first two titles, Elmer and the Talent Show and Moose and the Smelly Sneakers, were released by Simon & Schuster in February. Velasquez is an editor at Working Partners, a book packager specializing in children’s books. She is also a freelance proofreader and copy editor.

After seeing nine-figure businesses built through acquisition, ADRIAN PINTO, a 2014 Finance graduate, left a career in private equity and investment banking in New York City and bought an Atlanta landscaping business—Georgia Scapes—to build his own business. Pinto was interviewed for a recent episode of Acquiring Minds, a podcast about buying businesses and entrepreneurship. Pinto discusses why, and how, he got into the landscape industry and how he is growing (pun intended) company profits.

Find the episode on Spotify or follow tinyurl. com/2p99u9p9 to listen.

TOMMY PHILLIPS, a 2007 Communication and Media Studies graduate, wrote Penn State Bowl Games: A Complete History, published by McFarland Publishing. With playby-play coverage of every Nittany Lion bowl game, the book chronicles Penn State football history dating back to the 1923 Rose Bowl.

The book is available in print or as an e-book on Amazon and through various other outlets.

Nesbit named first recipient of the Behrend Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award TESHA NESBIT, a 1993 Communication graduate, was named the first recipient of the newly created Behrend Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.

Nesbit, an entrepreneur and leader on issues of diversity and inclusion, is the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and social responsibility for North American Partners in Anesthesia LLC. Nesbit was honored for her contributions to her profession, the community, and the college. She was presented with the award during a ceremony last October as part of Behrend’s Parents, Families, and Alumni Weekend.

Do you have news to share in the next Behrend Magazine?

Email hjc13@psu.edu.

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Behrend Pioneers Share Memories After featuring one of Behrend’s first students, Robert Betts ’57, in the last issue of Behrend Magazine, we heard from other Behrend pioneers who shared their stories and memories.

Elwin Orton ’52 (Behrend 1948-49) “I grew up in nearby North East and never thought of going to college until my best friend, John Spacht, told me he was filling out an application to attend Behrend Center.

Had I not had that conversation with him, I may have had a very different life!

“I went to Behrend for one year, then completed my degree in Horticulture at University Park. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for a living. One of my professors suggested that I continue my education. He helped me get into a master’s program at Ohio State University. Later, he assisted me in getting into the University of Wisconsin, where I earned my doctorate.

“I spent the next forty-four years as a professor in the Department of Horticulture and Forestry at Rutgers University. While there, I spent my time as a plant breeder, hybridizing plants of many species of hollies and three species of dogwoods.”

Virginia Liebowitz ’63 (Behrend 1959-60) “I was at Behrend for one year before I went to University Park to finish my degree in Elementary and Special Education. I taught in elementary schools before obtaining my master’s in Social Work and eventually becoming a school social worker in New York. I had various roles in the system until I retired at 65. I live in New York City now.

“When I was at Behrend, I lived in Glenhill Farmhouse with five other girls. College was very different then.

There were no clubs, few lectures or events outside of classes, and no organized social activities. Also, none of the girls living there had a car, so it was a quiet life.”

Elizabeth (Lou) Dahlinger ’52 (Behrend 1948-49) “My husband, George, and I met at Behrend and have many fond memories of our time there. I lived in Glenhill Farmhouse, upstairs over the kitchen with three roommates. I recall waking each morning to the delicious smells wafting up the back stairs. The pool was just out the side door, and we would clean leaves from the water daily. One winter day, George came down the sledding hill behind the farmhouse on his toboggan and broke through the ice-covered pool!

“I recall playing tennis, picking sweet cherries from a tree on campus and going to dances where George played the trum36

pet in the band. We also loved to hike in the gorge. All our classes were held in what is now Turnbull Building.

“We went to University Park to finish our degrees. I worked as a registered dietician all my life. After being drafted and serving in Korea in the medical corps, George changed his plan to work in physical education. He went to graduate school to be a physical therapist and later accepted a position to develop the School of Physical Therapy at East Carolina University. He worked there until his retirement in 1995. We had four children.

“George was athletic and became very involved in the Senior Games at the state and national levels, medaling in skiing, swimming, basketball, and badminton, before his death, surrounded by his family, on Thanksgiving Day in 2017.”

BEHREND MAGAZINE

Inscribe A Paver At The Mary Behrend Monument Celebrate your connection to Penn State Behrend with an inscribed paver at the Mary Behrend Monument Walk. Recognize your graduation year, your Behrend experience, or the special Penn State student in your life.

Inscriptions are up to three lines, fourteen characters per line.

Cost of the pavers is $150 each; your tax-deductible contribution will be acknowledged with a receipt.

Order by June 30 to be included in the Summer 2022 paver installation. Order online at behrend.psu.edu/monument.

Questions? Call 814-898-6367.

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Penn State Erie, The Behrend College 4701 College Drive Erie, PA 16563-0101

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PA I D State College, PA Permit No. 1

Visit behrend.psu.edu/weekend and click on the event link for more information.

You’re Invited!

Mark your calendar now to join us for a full weekend of family fun, Behrend-style, at Parents, Families & Alumni Weekend on October 14-16.

A celebration for young and old alike, it will offer plenty of things to do for students, alumni, parents, brothers and sisters, extended family— everyone! There is a lot to celebrate at Penn State Behrend: a beautiful campus, talented faculty who foster academic excellence, a wide variety of extracurricular activities, the opportunity to develop close, lasting friendships, and much more.

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