The Communicator (Annual Report, 2024-25)

FROM THE DEAN

I was pleased to see that this edition of The Communicator was going to focus on the Bellisario College’s community and culture – two qualities of which I’m particularly proud. And because they are so deeply immersed in our success, they’re a joy to write about.

From a communications perspective, community is the people – the audience, the ensemble cast. It is our students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, donors and all of those who support, engage with and shape the Bellisario College.

The people make the culture, which is our college’s collective voice. It is our shared principles and values. It’s our welcoming atmosphere.

Since joining the Bellisario College in 2007, I have seen it every day in our classrooms, labs, studios and offices. And that spirit goes beyond the University Park campus.

Our alumni have it as they build careers at organizations across the globe. I’ve seen it in faculty members conducting important research that will help build a better tomorrow. I have seen it in our students experiencing life-changing moments interning in major cities and studying abroad.

You’ll see it too in this issue of The Communicator. We spotlight great people doing the important work that makes the Bellisario College one of the best communications colleges in the world. Learn about faculty members leading projects with global impact. See how professors are modernizing standard courses to meet the challenges of the day. Meet the leaders who make sure every student feels welcome in the Bellisario College. Get to know our students who make me feel good about the next generation of communicators. I hope you enjoy reading about our people and programs.

I am grateful to have been part of this community for 18 years, and I am honored to serve as interim dean over the next year. I can’t say enough about Marie Hardin who not only left us with a solid foundation, but a pedestal several stories high. Thanks to her leadership, we are closer to our goals than ever, and thanks to her legacy, we are encouraged to reach even higher.

Lastly, thank you for staying connected and taking the time to learn more about the Bellisario College.

You are an important part of our community, and I hope you are proud of the culture we share. It reflects the learning experience we provide students and the broad impact we have locally, nationally and globally.

I look forward to working with you to ensure it continues.

We Are …

Denise Bortree, Interim Dean

Norway’s Aida Husic Dahlen competes in the women’s singles table tennis semifinals at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The photo, for The Associated Press by Aidan Conrad (’25), won first place for sports photo in the annual Student Keystone Media Awards.

Meghan McFillin laughs under a rainbow during the “Messy Olympics” at Camp Kessen in Green Lane, Pennsylvania. The camp is designed for children ages 6 to 18 impacted by a parent’s cancer. The photo,

by Magill Williams (’25), won first place for feature photo in the annual Student Keystone Media Awards.

Teammates cheer as Penn State’s Isabella Salcedo lands after completing her routine on the balance beam during a women’s gymnastics meet versus Michigan State. PHOTO BY AIDAN CONRAD (’25)

12 COMMUNITY & CULTURE

By Steve Sampsell (’90)

26 PENN STATE LAUREATE Faculty member becomes first from Bellisario College selected for role

18 SERVANT LEADER

Denise Bortree steps in as interim dean

34 FACULTY FAMILY

Couples serve students, support each other

50 MASSIMO, MASSIMO

Students share name, passion for success

56 ON HER TOES

Student balances ballet, college degree

The Communicator magazine is an annual report of activity in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications for alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends.

INTERIM DEAN

Denise Bortree

EDITOR

Steve Sampsell (’90)

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Jonathan McVerry (’05)

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Paris Palmer (’17)

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Whitney Justice

GRAPHIC DESIGN

INTERN

Erin Conaway (’26)

All items relating to the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and its faculty, staff, students and alumni will be considered for publication.

PNA Hall adds six Penn Staters

CORRESPONDENCE

The Communicator

Penn State Bellisario College of Communications 201 Carnegie Building 319 Fraser Road University Park, PA 16802 bellisarioinfo@psu.edu @PSUBellisario bellisario.psu.edu

Three alumni and three former Bellisario College faculty members were among the 100-member class that the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association inducted into its Hall of Fame in November 2024 as part of its 100th anniversary. Those honored were former faulty members John Curley and Gene Foreman, along with former dean Marie Hardin and alumni Sara Ganim (’08), a Pulitzer Prize winner, Coulston “Skip” Henry (’64), a former member of the Board of Visitors, and Terry Mutchler (’87). an Alumni Fellow and a member of the Dean’s Advancement Council.

Senior journalism

major Yeyya Wane plays a video clip as Steve Kraycik, an associate teaching professor and director of student television, listens to the audio during an international reporting class trip to Kazakhstan in March.

Aldarweesh earns Oswald Award

Sukainah Aldarweesh, a Schreyer Scholar, who is consecutively earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in media studies, was one of four Penn State students to earn the 2025 John W. Oswald Award.

Nominators called her an “extraordinary individual whose academic excellence, leadership and commitment to public service make her an outstanding candidate for this prestigious recognition.” She earned the Outstanding Adult Student Award in 2023.

As an undergraduate research ambassador, Aldarweesh promotes research opportunities for undergraduate students. She’s also a teaching assistant and peer mentor. Aldarweesh is a research assistant at the Rock Ethics Institute. There, she plays a critical role in contributing to projects that address societal challenges related to communications. She’s also a news literacy ambassador with PEN America, which promotes media ethics and literacy.

The John W. Oswald Award, established in 1983, annually recognizes graduating seniors who have provided outstanding leadership in at least one of several areas of activity at the University.

No. 2

The Bellisario College ranked No. 2 in the world for communications, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, which released its 2024 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

ON THE COVER

Four tour guides who typically introduce visitors to the Bellisario College.

PHOTO BY EMILY ROSIO (’26)

CoMmUnItY & CuLtUrE

Tour guides put a powerful personal touch on telling the Bellisario College story

BY

PHOTO

EMILY ROSIO (’26)

When people on his tours start asking questions, trying to find out more about the Bellisario College and how students can get connected and thrive, Briggs Ireland knows he’s doing his job well. He’s not there just to guide prospective students and their families through a building, and he’s certainly not there to follow a script.

He’s telling a story, often his own, to let people know more about the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and Penn State.

Ireland wants people to be curious and engaged, and he wants them to choose Penn State. It’s especially important to him because a large reason he chose the University himself was as the result of a tour as a prospective student.

PERSONAL CONNECTIONS

“I had a really good tour guide, and it was the same person for my admitted students’ day and for my orientation: Nick Volpe. When I saw him on campus early last fall, I told him he was a big reason I ended up coming here,” says Ireland, a sophomore film production major from Richmond, Virginia. “My roommate had him and felt the same way. Nick just made the tour such a welcoming environment.”

During the fall semester of the 2024-25 academic year, Ireland participated in a first-year seminar conducted by Emily Clevenger, the Bellisario College’s recruiting manager. When she mentioned the opportunity for students to become tour guides, Ireland expressed his interest and signed up.

He’s hoping to have the same success attracting students as Volpe, who joined MLB Network as a broadcast associate not long after graduating in May.

Honesty plays a big role in Ireland’s tours. Again, it’s an approach he learned from Volpe.

“Nick wasn’t afraid to talk about some things he didn’t like. After all, as a student you’re probably not going to like every part of your college experience, and people understand,” Ireland says. “If you tell personal stories and share things you know, obviously telling people the best things we do, it’s OK for you to talk about the things that you think could be better, too. People know when you’re being sincere — and that mattered for me.”

It matters to all the students who serve as tour guides for the Bellisario College. They know their job is to connect and inform, and they do that with a mix of enthusiasm and honesty.

Plus, they know the strongest selling point for the Bellisario College is its people.

“Every school has awesome equipment but what we have is the community. We have 2,600 students and I feel like I know a lot of them,” says Ella Rosloniec, a senior advertising/public relations major from Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Every time I give a tour I talk about what this place has given me. And every time I walk through the Bellisario Media Center with a group, I end up talking to 10 other people — just friends in the building.

“People on the tour get a kick out of it because so many of us know each other. When we end up talking about a project, or I tell them I’ll call them later about a meeting or something. It just happens, and it’s clear we’re not staging people on tours to wave at us.”

Rosloniec’s sincerity comes through for visitors — so much so that her recently completed summer internship with FCB Health New York resulted from a group tour of the media center.

After she shared her story and noted she hoped to pursue a career in copywriting, an interested parent got her attention and gave her a business card, offering to make a connection for a potential copywriting internship. Rosloniec followed up and made the most of an eventual application and interview process to secure the internship.

It was an instance when the big school became small for Rosloniec, and she added another bit of success to her growing list of accomplishments. She appreciates the irony in her ability to succeed — and encouraging others to follow her footsteps — especially considering her arrival at the University.

Every school has awesome equipment but what we have is the community.

–Ella Rosloniec

During the eighthour ride from Michigan to Happy Valley for move-in day, she cried almost the

appreciates

Ella Rosloniec

the connections in the Bellisario College.

PHOTO BY EMILY ROSIO (’26)

entire way. Leaving home became a bigger deal with every mile the family traveled east.

“My parents actually asked if I wanted to just come home and go to community college. It was a sad scene getting out of the car and when they left,” Rosloniec says. “But within an hour, I’d met my roommate, and we went to the HUB Lawn and later we went to the weird concert that advisers, RAs and tour guides always encourage you to attend — and we bonded over how weird it was afterward.

“All of the college stuff, and especially the communications stuff when students come in with big resumes, can be intimidating. I didn’t do any of that in high school. But once you show up and get involved, you realize we’re pretty much all the same. Everybody just wants to chat and make friends.”

GETTING INVOLVED

If anyone had reason for a strong case of homesickness, it would be Daliyah Abdulkareem, who arrived in Happy Valley confident only in that she’d look good in blue and white and not knowing much about Penn State. She applied online, initially didn’t notice her acceptance email and eventually deferred her admission from fall to spring.

When her plane arrived at State College Regional Airport after her trip began 13 hours earlier from her home in Saudi Arabia, the facility and the weather made an impression. “I thought spring meant flowers and trees and I landed in the middle of a snowstorm. I didn’t have any jackets because I just wasn’t ready for the weather,” Abdulkareem says. “Plus, we flew into State College and my first thought was ‘This is such a small airport. Wow.’”

She has four older siblings, and one of them reminded her they had a cousin who had attended Penn State, so Abdulkareem was prepared for what she expected would be a quality educational experience. And she describes herself as outgoing and social, so getting connected was easy.

She initially joined PSN-TV and later tried Valley Magazine. As she completed some initial classes and learned more about the Bellisario College’s academic options, along with the nearly three dozen communications-specific clubs and organizations, Abdulkareem pinned down a major (advertising/public relations). “The more I learned about the major, it just clicked that that’s what I wanted to do,” she says.

She also learned she was part of something bigger. Sure, a big school, but more specifically she found a community.

“Once I started taking classes, I would see the same people in classes. Plus, because I was leading tours the faculty and staff got familiar with me. They’d ask me how my day was going, and it was clear they were looking out for me — and not just me, but all the students. They see you and support you.

“I honestly thought college was an individual experience and you had to go through it on your own, but once you get involved, join things and people start knowing you, you have all this support. That makes it so much easier. I’ve never once felt left out. Ever.”

VALUABLE SUPPORT

For Lily Pergola, a junior advertising/public relations major from New Providence, New Jersey, the intended career path was journalism, but an introductory public relations class changed that. The large lecture class led by longtime faculty member Steve Manuel, an associate teaching professor known for his high standards, and for having a soft spot for hard-working students, made her rethink her plan.

She joined Happy Valley Comm, a student-run agency that works with local businesses and nonprofits to address their communications and marketing goals. She also joined the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM), and Penn State’s chapter of the national organization has been one of the more active and successful in the nation during the past decade.

Both provided a necessary mix of engagement, hands-on opportunities and support. Those experiences, when combined with Pergola’s ever-growing network of Penn State connections — from alumna Destiny Sanchez (who offered advice before Pergola arrived on campus) to faculty member Steve Kraycik (an assistant teaching professor and director of student television) and Kendall Stalicky (the AWSM president who graduated in May) — helped Pergola gain confidence and feel comfortable on campus.

She has already had younger students approach her and thank her for the impact her efforts as a tour guide had on their decisions to attend Penn State. She invariably offers a pay-it-forward response in those situations, challenging and encouraging those students to support others and encourage future Penn Staters in any way they can.

At the same time, Pergola appreciates how all the individual interactions make her college experience special.

“The big-school-with-a-small-school-feel thing we talk about is true,” Pergola says. “The Bellisario College feels so much like a family. I can come into the media center at almost any time of day and see someone I know. I didn’t expect that to be true when they told us that, and I’m sure people on my tours have the same doubts, but that’s what happens.

“It’s just so comforting to be three hours from home with different people, and I can still be my same self.”

FACULTY FIT

It’s not just students who adapt and find a comfort level in the Bellisario College. The collegial culture of interaction and support has been heightened since the Bellisario Media Center opened in 2021. With faculty, staff and students from all majors often in the same building, collaborations and interactions happen thanks to intention, and thanks to bump-into, hey-here’s-an-idea moments as well.

Eleven faculty members joined the Bellisario College for the 2024-24 academic year — almost a 10% increase in total faculty — and their integration was universally smooth. Many moved into leadership roles quickly. That included:

• Tom Davidson, a professor of practice of entrepreneurship and innovation, leading entrepreneurship efforts and making valuable connections between campus and community;

• David Joachim, a professor of practice of journalism, leading efforts to coordinate the introductory news writing and reporting course that has at least 10 different small sections (20 students) every semester;

• Amy Kristin Sanders becoming the John and Ann Curley Center of First Amendment Studies and embracing the public-facing duties of the role regarding the First Amendment and journalism writ large; and

• Neda Toloui-Semnani, who took charge of the Maymester in D.C. course, leading a group of students through a series of hands-on experiences and visits in the nation’s capital.

Jiyoung Cha, an associate professor of telecommunications, teaches courses on media management/economics, emerging communication technologies, media ethics and media entrepreneurship. Cha’s research interests include media management/ entrepreneurship, media industries, communication technology and consumer behavior.

Cory Barker, an assistant teaching professor of media studies, created a reality TV course and his expertise regarding second screen viewing and with public media made him a strong addition the “News Over Noise” podcast that focuses on news literacy and related topics. Likewise, Rachelle Pavelko, an assistant teaching professor of advertising/public relations, brought an energy to the classroom that resonated with students, along with ample practical experience and a desire to connect students with ways to serve nonprofits.

Adding to the Bellisario College’s family feel, Barker and Pavelko are one of four husband-and-wife teaching combinations in the college.

Hunter Overton, an assistant teaching professor of advertising/ public relations, joined the faculty after nearly two decades in industry. His background includes experience in business, operations, analytics and advertising, as well as serving in the U.S. Air Force. He played key roles in business analytics at Avail Technologies and served as director of technical operations at Advanced Video Group in Columbia, South Carolina. His wife, Holly, is an associate professor of advertising/public relations.

PRAGMATIC, PROFESSIONAL

The value the college places on practical experience seems to enhance collegiality as faculty members bring — and expect from students – a work ethic. That mindset allows people to focus on bigger-than-me efforts, along with necessary deadlines and quality.

The latest faculty additions include two alumni as professionals in residence — Adriana Lacy, journalism, and Giancarlo Pitocco, advertising/public relations. Lacy founded her own consulting company and before that Journalism Mentors to advance opportunities for emerging journalists. She’s previously held positions at The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Axios. Pitocco was a senior artificial intelligence adoption consultant at Covestro and previously held positions at Meta, Apple and Ogilvy, and over the course of his career pioneered approaches to digital transformation and strategic planning.

Rounding out the group of recent additions, Mark Ronquillo was an executive vice president/executive creative director at Saatchi & Saatchi for 16 years and worked for McCann Erickson, Lowe Worldwide, APL, MVBMS/Euro, BBDO West and The Richards Group during his career.

With all those connections, and all that collaboration and support — among students as well as faculty — it was appropriate (and probably a bit overdue) when Gary Abdullah, the assistant dean for diversity and inclusion, requested Bellisario College Family T-shirts. Initially they were to be a way to identify faculty and staff and help drive home Abdullah’s accurate and consistent points about the family approach in the college.

The shirts, and then sweatshirts, were a hit because they looked good. More importantly, they were an accurate summary of the Bellisario College vibe.

Along with collaborations, locations play a role in the feel and mentality, too. The arrival of the Bellisario Media Center has

concentrated college activities into two buildings that are across the street from each other. And faculty offices are not separated by discipline. That approach has driven home the sense of community for years.

“We’re all spread out. So, my office was next to somebody in advertising and somebody in film, and I think it develops a camaraderie,” says Distinguished Professor Ford Risley, who retired in June. “I’m not sure you get the same feel if one part of a hallway, or one floor is all people from the same discipline.

“It’s just the way the college has grown. There’s been so much growth, in terms of curriculum, program and even students, and we all feel like we’ve gone through that together in part because of where we’ve been located as it happened. Plus, we respect each other as individuals — the courses we teach and our research. It’s just sort of the culture of the place that people get along.”

The Bellisario College tour guides take pride in sharing that culture with people when they visit. In many cases, the students are the first to give prospective students and their families an in-person taste of the place. They’re happy to share their stories and help bring additional life to online searches or impressions shared by family and friends.

There are many impressive and tangible things about the Bellisario College — award-winning advertising teams and newscasts, those three dozen clubs and organizations, three annual internship and job fairs specifically for communications students, state-of-the-art equipment and so much more.

Even at a tradition-rich place like Penn State, Bellisario College students have special opportunities because they bring things like the Homecoming Parade and the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) to people around the world through livestreams.

Still, beyond all that, the tour guides know that personal stories, true stories, matter most.

Briggs Ireland said he always felt he was really being recruited when he was considering Penn State. And since he’s been here classes with instructors like Chris Mauer have been instrumental in his success.

“I did a video for class that I sunk a ton of time into, really thought it was good, turned it in and didn’t get a 100 — and that’s what I wanted. I thought it was good but there were certainly things that needed addressed and being graded like that and getting feedback is what makes you better. So that was great.”

Ella Rosloniec missed class two days in a row and found out someone noticed.

“It’s a 300-person lecture. I blew off a non-attendance-required class and got an email from the faculty member asking me if I was OK,” she says. “I responded that actually I was not doing OK, there were some family things, and the next day I was at class there was a donut at my seat. I just remember being like, ‘Wow, they care.’”

Former Dean Marie Hardin with Viv and Donald Bellisario, wearing their Bellisario College Family T-shirts.

W HEELS TURNINGKEEPING THE

Denise Bortree ready for role as interim dean after valuable experience as associate dean

Denise Bortree, a seasoned academic leader with a deep commitment to faculty support, student success and ethical communication, has been named interim dean of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Building on her successful tenure as associate dean for academic affairs and her national reputation in research and higher education leadership, Bortree is well-positioned to lead the college through a pivotal year of transition and continued momentum.

Her selection was a natural choice — and her journey to the dean’s suite started with a formative experience.

In 2019, Bortree was an associate professor and director of the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication. That year she was chosen to be one of five faculty fellows representing Penn State in the Big Ten Academic Leadership Program, a pipeline for university leadership. She started the program with some uncertainty, exploring whether academic leadership was a good fit. But, during the year-long program, the answer became clear.

“Most faculty in the Big Ten Academic Leadership Program are already associate deans or department chairs, so the program gave me a chance to look under the hood to see what challenges might lie ahead,” said Bortree, who has been a Penn State faculty member since 2007. “What surprised me was their passion for solving problems that improve the experiences of those around them – faculty, staff and students. That’s when I knew I was among like-minded folks; academic leadership was a place I belonged.”

Bortree, a professor of advertising/public relations, became associate dean of academic affairs in the Bellisario College in 2020. For the past half decade, Bortree has been an important contributor to the Bellisario College’s academic and administrative missions. Curriculum, assessment and scheduling areas report up to her, as do advising, internships and career services, and even online education.

All that valuable experience made her the logical candidate to serve as interim dean with the departure of Marie Hardin at the end of the 2024-25 academic year in June. Hardin, who had been dean since 2014 and a faculty member at Penn State since 2003, was named president of Quinnipiac University, effective July 1.

“We are fortunate to have Denise in this role during the leadership transition,” said Tracy Langkilde, interim executive vice president and provost. “Denise is an accomplished leader and possesses the skills and experience needed to lead the college. I am thankful to her for stepping into this important position as interim dean, and I know she will be a strong champion for the Bellisario College.”

RESEARCH AND OUTREACH SUCCESS

Bortree’s research focuses on nonprofit organizational communication and sustainability. Externally, Bortree sits on the boards for the International Public Relations Research Conference and the Commission for Public Relations Education. She has held other prominent leadership positions in the Association for Edu-

cation in Journalism and Mass Communication, including chair of the organization’s professional freedom and responsibility committee and head of the public relations division.

In addition, Bortree is a past chair for the association/nonprofit division of the Public Relations Society of America. She also sits on two academic journal boards, the Journal of Public Relations Research and the Journal of Public Interest Communication, and is a member of Page, an association for distinguished executives and experts in the field of corporate communications.

Bortree has co-edited two books, has authored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented more than 70 conference papers at national and international conferences where she has won numerous top paper awards.

Bortree will continue her role as director of the Page Center, a research center based in the Bellisario College since 2004. Over the past 10 years, she has led significant growth for the Page Center in key areas of research, education and outreach targeting ethics and responsibility in public communication.

Under Bortree’s direction the center has diversified and expanded its board while better connecting with many different public communication industries. Thanks to those strategic moves — and an investment in public scholarship and research through its grant program — the Page Center has become an international leader in ethics research and education.

“We’re investing in more research than ever – and ethics is woven into every part of it,” Bortree said. “We have research about crisis, digital, stakeholder and sustainability topics — along with many other areas. As we’ve expanded the board to include more professionals, they’re advising us on different topics, and our scholars are thinking about ethics in so many ways. All of that has helped the Page Center make a huge contribution to the field.”

SETTING A TONE

As interim dean, Bortree hopes to build on the success she’s had as associate dean, including an emphasis on quality teaching and a pervasive community feel. She also knows there’s a high standard to uphold. With a nationwide search underway for the Bellisario College’s next leader, Bortree cannot just maintain or tread water during her anticipated yearlong tenure.

We have so much creativity and talent that we’ll be able to maintain our level of success.

— DENISE BORTREE

The quality of the people and programs in the Bellisario College demands a forward-thinking approach.

“This is my 18th year at Penn State, and we’ve always had really strong leaders across the college who prioritized the work of faculty and student success,” Bortree said. “That sets a tone in the college for people respecting one another. And, that respect will help us navigate any changes moving forward.”

With a busy year ahead, Bortree plans to approach it as she has all other challenges during her career — directly, with a strong mix of collegiality, determination and pragmatism.

SHIFTING GEARS

In 2009 Bortree was a tenure-track faculty with a preschooler at home. To manage the stress of her dual roles, she joined a women’s biking group and started biking on a regular basis. When Bortree earned the Deans’ Excellence Award for Research and Creative Accomplishments from the Bellisario College in 2010, she used the honorarium that accompanied the award to purchase her first high-quality road bicycle.

In recent years, she has taken up gravel riding and sits on the board of the Happy Valley Women’s Cycling team and community group, which focuses on getting women on bikes. “I just sort of fell in love with all of it,” she said.

She rides all year round, indoors when necessary but outside as much as possible. Typically, that means five days a week of riding in preparation for four to five races per year.

Along with obvious physical health benefits, Bortree appreciates her cycling time for the mental health boost it provides. Plus, depending on the situation, cycling can build camaraderie — if she’s riding with others, which she really enjoys — or it can be a time for self-reflection.

In and around Centre County, she especially enjoys trips to Black Moshannon State Park or Whipple Dam State Park. This year, along with her interim dean duties, she’ll be training for a cross-country ride in 2026 that would take her from Washington, D.C. to Florence, Oregon.

“It’s enjoyable and has so many benefits,” Bortree said.

A Pittsburgh native, Bortree enjoys being back in her home state for her career. Her parents live conveniently close to State College just west of Pittsburgh and her husband’s mother is in the Harrisburg area.

Family plays an important role for Bortree, and it has influenced her on-campus approach in some ways as well. When her daughter Brynn started considering colleges and eventually matriculated to Penn State — she’s a rising junior completing a double major (mechanical engineering and astronomy/ astrophysics) — Bortree got to experience Penn State from a different perspective.

“Seeing the admissions process from the other side, and even the challenges once a student arrives on campus, helped me realize how complicated the process can be if you’re unfamiliar with it,” she said. “There are so many opportunities for students and an abundance of resources, but students need to understand how to access them. Student advocacy is something we prioritize in the Bellisario College.”

That “all of us” mentality is prevalent in the Bellisario College — and that’s a big reason for Bortree’s optimism as she embraces the role of interim dean during a year that includes a once-every-six-year accreditation visit along with work on a strategic plan and the usual ups and downs of an academic year.

“I’m really optimistic,” she said. “We have fantastic leadership, great faculty/staff and a super culture. Nothing’s going to change significantly in the next year and at the same time we have so much creativity and talent that we’ll be able to maintain our level of success.”

Award-Winning Faculty

Barash Award for Human Service

Katie O’Toole, an assistant teaching professor of journalism in the Bellisario College, was named the 2025 recipient of the Barash Award for Human Service at Penn State.

Created in 1975 by the family of the late Sy Barash, the award honors a full-time member of the faculty or staff or student body on the University Park campus who, apart from his or her regular duties, has contributed the most to human causes, public service activities and organizations, or the welfare of fellow humans.

Nominators said O’Toole has been engaged in Centre County philanthropic and volunteer events for many years and has improved the lives of residents through her work with WPSU, the Penn State Forum, Spotlight PA, the Centre County Historical Society and the Mid-State Literacy Council.

O’Toole volunteers with the Centre County Historical Society and the Mid-State Literacy Council. Nominators said she served on both boards and continues to remain engaged. One notable event, the Mid-State Literacy Council’s annual spelling bee, is organized and hosted by O’Toole. O’Toole also promotes the historical society; she’s often the public face of the nonprofit and also produces a podcast, fundraises and plans lectures.

O’Toole also volunteers with the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, Spotlight PA and the Schlow Centre Region Library.

Nominators said O’Toole was instrumental in bringing Spotlight PA to the region. She serves as the newsroom’s Centre County community campaign chair, and, in 2023, as the volunteer fundraising chair for the State College Regional Bureau, she helped to secure almost $20,000 in funding. Nominators also said her work led to a $600,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. Part of the foundation’s decision was based on the successful fundraising support Spotlight PA has received from the Centre County community, a nominator said.

Faculty Outreach Award

Matt Jordan, professor and head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies in the Bellisario College, received the 2025 Faculty Outreach Award from Penn State.

The award honors faculty who have positively and substantially affected individuals, organizations or communities through problem solving or development as a result of extending their scholarship.

Nominators said Jordan has spent his career being an advocate for outreach, linking the public to the arts. He created and ran the Collegetown Film Festival from 2014 to 2018. The nonprofit festival, which was attended by both members of the Penn State and community at large, brought internationally acclaimed film directors and their work to the region.

He’s also a fixture in the media, writing for news outlets including the Huffington Post and The Conversation. Nominators said his work at The Conversation garnered more than 1.7 million reads and has been translated into several languages.

Using a grant from the Mellon Foundation in 2019, Jordan launched the Humanities Institute’s documentary series “HumIn Focus.” He’s transitioned into an executive producer and creative consulting producer with HumIn Focus, producing nine documentaries for outlets such as WPSU. HumIn Focus received an Emmy nomination for single program documentary in 2020.

More recently, Jordan became the director of Penn State’s News Literacy Initiative, an ongoing outreach project that offers K-12 continuing education credit seminars, delivers lectures for courses and organizations at Penn State. He also produces the podcast and radio show “News Over Noise,” dedicated to exploring the challenge of separating spin and clickbait from good journalism.

Marie Hardin selected to lead Quinnipiac University

Dean Marie Hardin, who led the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications since 2014 and was a member of the Penn State faculty since 2003, officially became the 10th president of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut on July 1, 2025.

“I have been fortunate beyond words to occupy the dean’s office in the Bellisario College at Penn State,” Hardin said. “My role has been supporter, champion, facilitator and ambassador for the work of a standout group of faculty and staff, who have helped scores of students succeed and pursue their dreams. As I leave, the memories of that generosity, collegiality and dedication will propel me forward.”

During her decade leading the Bellisario College, the largest accredited mass communications program in the country, Hardin directed efforts that bolstered the program’s reputation for high-quality undergraduate and graduate education, broadened its impact in interdisciplinary research and expanded its outreach. Under Hardin’s leadership, the Bellisario College’s ongoing success has been the result of internationally renowned faculty and a highly collegial, collaborative culture fostered by employees and high-achieving, motivated students.

UNDER HER

$57,174,455.80 Giving Total 131 Funds Created

Created 19 Annual Reports & Communicator Issues

Among the most public moves during her tenure, Hardin led the Bellisario College’s rebranding in 2017 after securing a $30 million gift from 1961 Penn State alumnus Donald P. Bellisario. The University committed an additional $45 million in support of Hardin’s vision for a new media center, which opened in 2020.

For the first time in the history of the Bellisario College, the media center brought all departments and majors together to fulfill its mission to prepare the next generation of digital storytellers and industry leaders. The Bellisario College offers some of the largest majors at the University, and it maintains consistently robust graduation rates. Since Hardin became dean, revenue generated through online degree programs has more than tripled, and its annual research expenditures have increased more than four-fold, along with its external support for research.

Hardin served on numerous University-wide committees and led efforts that engage other colleges at Penn State, other institutions of higher learning, and private-sector partners. She has twice been elected to lead Penn State’s Academic Leadership Council, which represents all deans and chancellors across Pennsylvania. Hardin also was part of the committee that helped

to design Penn State’s budget allocation model; led a committee that designed the University’s COVID classroom response in 2020; and spearheaded the collective buy-in of units across the University to launch the Center for Immersive Experiences, which was named a signature initiative for Penn State in 2019.

Hardin served as president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals, in 2019. She chairs the committee for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She is also on the leadership board of the Alliance of Schools and Colleges of Communication and Journalism and is chair of the steering committee for the Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Hardin arrived at Penn State in 2003 as an assistant professor. In 2007, she was promoted to associate professor. In 2009, she was one of four Penn State faculty recipients of the University-wide George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. She also was appointed the Bellisario College’s associate dean for administration. Hardin was promoted to associate dean for graduate studies and research in 2010. She was elevated to associate dean for undergraduate and graduate education in 2011. She was promoted to professor in 2012. She has also held leadership roles in the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication and the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism.

Hardin has taught graduate and undergraduate classes that examine the interplay of sports and society. As dean, she regularly taught a large-enrollment first-year class that focused on college success and career preparation. Before joining Penn State, she taught at Florida Southern College and the State University of West Georgia. She earned her doctoral degree in 1998 from the University of Georgia.

10,613

Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded

2003 Center for Sports Journalism established

2004 Carnegie Building’s 100th birthday

2004 Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication created

2004 First THON webcast

2006 Donald P. Bellisario makes $1 million gift

2006 Blue and White Film Festival moves off campus for the first time

2007 Marie Hardin promoted to associate professor, associate department head (journalism)

2008 Inaugural international reporting class trip (to Mexico)

2009 Marie Hardin named Associate Dean for Administration

2009 Marie Hardin earns George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching

2009 CommRadio begins annual coverage at the Super Bowl

2010 Marie Hardin named Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research

2010 Marie Hardin named director of Page Center

2011 Marie Hardin named Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Education

2012 Marie Hardin promoted to rank of professor

2012 Bellisario College earns first of three consecutive Hearst Program national writing championships

2014 Marie Hardin named dean

2015 First group of students participates in Penn State Hollywood Program

2017 A $30 million gift to transform (and rename) the Bellisario College

2018 Inaugural group of Bellisario College Fellows selected

2019 Inaugural Centre Film Festival

2021 Classes begin in the Bellisario Media Center

2023 Bellisario College Chocolate Pretzel Crunch debuts

2024 S. Shyam Sundar named Evan Pugh University Professor

Always collegial, productive and steady, journalism professor Ford Risley retires

Longtime Bellisario College faculty member built legacy as a historian, teacher and, most importantly, a colleague

Around 3 o’clock in the afternoon on a sunny spring Saturday in Happy Valley, Ford Risley pulled an Atlanta Braves ballcap from his pocket, put it atop his head and walked out of the Bryce Jordan Center carrying his academic regalia over his arm.

Undergraduate commencement exercises for the Class of 2025 had ended — and so had one of Risley’s final official duties as a faculty member in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.

Risley, a distinguished professor of communications, was headed out of the arena and toward retirement after 30 years as a Penn State faculty member. It was a far cry — and maybe 70 or so degrees warmer — from how his career as a faculty member started.

He joined the University as an assistant professor in 1995, having earned his bachelor’s degree at Auburn University, his master’s at the University of Georgia and his doctorate at the University of Florida.

“I’m from the South and had never experienced the kind of winters we get here,” Risley said. “It was cold — bitterly cold.”

Risley survived that first winter, though, and he thrived during his tenure — improving as a teacher, maintaining his research and writing productivity and providing a model of collegiality and hard work that set a standard in the Bellisario College. He also established the foundation for a legacy that’ll continue for years.

“I’ve enjoyed pretty much every minute of it,” Risley said.

PRODUCTIVE AND STEADY

Risley did not rush toward retirement, nor toward the finish line, and he made his decision with the kind of level-headed pragmatism that defined his career. He just knew it was time, he said, three decades passing maybe a little more quickly than anticipated because he was so busy.

He taught American journalism, mass media history, reporting methods, feature writing, pedagogy in communications, and many other courses. He also earned the Bellisario College Alumni Society Board’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

Risley served as associate dean for undergraduate and graduate education from 2014 to 2020. Before that, he was head of the Department of Journalism from 2002 to 2014.

His research centers on mass media history, especially Civil War-era journalism. He was the editor of American Journalism, the quarterly scholarly journal of the American Journalism Historians Association, from 2014 to 2020. In 2020, he received the AJHA’s Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism History.

Ford Risley joined the faculty 30 years ago and served in numerous leadership roles while consistently making an impact in the classroom.

Additionally, he authored, co-authored or edited five books, including “How America Gets the News: A History of U.S. Journalism.” His book, “Abolition and the Press: The Moral Struggle Against Slavery” won the American Journalism Historians Association’s award for the best book on media history. He also has published articles, essays and book reviews in American Journalism, Civil War History, Georgia Historical Quarterly and Journalism History.

Risley also founded the Newspaper Journalists Oral History Program, housed in the Bellisario College, which will continue after his departure, coordinated by David Joachim, professor of practice in the Department of Journalism.

Risley’s influence was steady and wide ranging, impacting undergraduate and graduate students alike. Early in his career, he learned from colleagues like Dan Pfaff, a professor who provided mentorship and friendship when he first arrived, and Risley later built relationships with colleagues like Russ Eshleman, who succeeded him as department head.

HARD WORKING AND HUMBLE

In the history of the Bellisario College itself, Risley’s hard-working, humble presence provided an important foundation as the college grew in reputation and size while he was a faculty member and leader.

He’s enjoyed the journey, he said.

“I fumbled around my first couple of years and was not as good a teacher as I am now. I’m a better scholar too,” Risley said. “I think I understand historical scholarship better and I understand the importance of history — where we need to go and how history should be presented. I could always put things together and tell a story, but good history is more than a story.

“History is analysis and much more. I’m better at that and a lot of that comes with experience. In terms of teaching, a lot of it is just being in the classroom and working with students more and more. I love seeing students grow and gain confidence in their work.”

Risley’s effort and productivity earned the respect of those at Penn State and beyond.

“Ford uplifts us all. He is the scholar’s gold standard,” said Tom Mascaro of Bowling Green State University, chair of the awards committee for the American Journalism Historians Association, which presented him with that lifetime achievement award in 2020.

Still, other opportunities have arisen and become appealing. Risley has served on the board of the Centre County Historical Society for more than 10 years and for the past three years he has co-edited the Centre County Encyclopedia of History & Culture. He said he and his wife Mary also want to spend more time with their children and grandchildren.

“I still consider myself a southerner because that’s where I grew up and where my heart is, but I’ve developed a great appreciation for Pennsylvania and love this area,” Risley said.

So, Risley worked his way toward retirement, thinning files in his ground floor office of Carnegie Building more than two months before his official retirement date of June 30, 2025.

As a historian, he said, he needed the time. A “mad dash” to the end would prohibit him from poring over things like one of the first syllabi he developed when he arrived at Penn State three decades earlier.

Plus, he played an active role in planning the Keystone News Summit, which was held in mid-May in Harrisburg and offered a forum for educators and journalists from across the commonwealth to discuss the challenges facing local journalism and ponder potential partnerships and solutions. More than 120 people attended the event, which was a career bookend, of sorts, because one of Risley’s first official duties as a faculty member included a trip to the state capital.

The respect he had from those in both higher education and journalism was obvious at the event, and it was an example of Risley’s career-long work ethic. When he arrived at Penn State, he knew nothing about Pennsylvania. That’s changed greatly thanks to his appreciation for history, as well as his curiosity and work ethic.

Risley said he’s not sure what’s ahead in retirement but he’ll maintain his strong diet of daily news consumption, play golf a bit more (“I’m lousy but it’s fun.”) and just see what happens.

As always, at a smooth, steady and productive pace.

A sampling of Ford Risley’s publications.

Filmmaker and professor Pearl Gluck named 2025–26 Penn State Laureate

First Bellisario College faculty member to hold the role

Pearl Gluck, award-winning filmmaker, educator and community arts advocate, has been named the 2025–26 Penn State Laureate.

Gluck, associate professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, joined Penn State in 2014. Her teaching focuses on screenwriting, directing and producing, helping students discover their unique storytelling voices while balancing creative exploration with technical discipline.

Through her work with Palinka Pictures, Gluck has explored themes of gender, class, faith and autobiographical storytelling. Her films have earned numerous honors, including three Fulbright grants, a Sundance Producer’s Lab fellowship and support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her feature film “The Turn Out” (2018), which blends documentary and fiction to address domestic sex trafficking, won several awards including Best Debut Feature at the Female Eye Film Festival.

Gluck’s other notable works include “Castles in the Sky” (2024), “Write Me” (2020), “Summer” (2018), “Junior” (2016), “Where Is Joel Baum” (2012), and “Divan” (2004), her debut documentary film that opened theatrically at New York’s Film Forum and premiered on the Sundance Channel. Her films have screened at festivals such as Cannes and Sundance and have been featured by NPR, PBS and other major outlets.

Beyond filmmaking and teaching, Gluck has made a significant impact on the arts community through the Centre Film Festival, which she co-founded in 2019. Hosted across historic theaters in Philipsburg, State College and Altoona, the festival showcases multigenerational storytelling and regional voices, providing masterclasses and hands-on workshops with visiting filmmakers. Now entering its seventh season, the festival was recently named “Best Festival/Event of the Year” by the Happy Valley Tourism Board.

As Penn State Laureate, Gluck will expand the Centre Film Festival’s programming across the University’s Commonwealth Campuses. She plans to bring traveling workshops and screenings to inspire regional storytelling, foster student connections across campuses and create pathways for future collaborations, residencies and artistic engagement. Through this initiative, she aims to promote inclusive access to the arts and celebrate Pennsylvania’s rich legacy of historic theaters and emerging cinematic voices.

Gluck is the first Bellisario College faculty member selected for the role.

The Penn State Laureate is a full-year position awarded to a full-time faculty member in the humanities or arts, designed to bring greater visibility to the arts, humanities and broader university mission. Each laureate brings a unique scholarly or artistic perspective to a wide variety of audiences across Pennsylvania.

An award-worthy lifetime of achievement

Charles Dumas, professor emeritus in the Penn State School of Theatre and a versatile actor, director and writer with more than 400 films, plays and TV shows to his credit, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2024 Centre Film Festival.

Among his many accolades, Dumas holds an ensemble Emmy award for “Separate But Equal,” three AUDELCO nominations and a best actor award from the Hollywood/Beverly Hills NAACP. He has been recognized as a “Living Legend” by the International Black Theatre Festival.

Dumas’s recent acting credits include “All The Queen’s Men,” “How Not to Die Alone,” “The Crowded Room” and “A Complete Unknown.” One of his works, “911/A Day in The Life Of A People,” was selected for the 10th-anniversary commemoration at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Also, his play “Sankofa/Katrina” was presented at both the University of New Orleans and LSU in remembrance of Hurricane Katrina. Dumas has been an active civil and human rights advocate for over 60 years, with the last 30 dedicated to State College. He and his wife of over 50 years, Bellisario College faculty member Jo Dumas, live in State College.

Faculty member unveils top day hikes in upcoming PA Wilds guidebook

BY JONATHAN F. MCVERRY (’05)

Experienced hiker and author Ben Cramer, a teaching professor in the Department of Telecommunications and Media Industries, spotlights more than 50 hikes in the Pennsylvania Wilds in a new guidebook set to hit bookshelves in late 2025.

The PA Wilds region spans more than 2 million acres across 12 counties in northern Pennsylvania. It is ripe with diverse ecosystems and hiking trails that organizers admit can be intimidating, but they want to change that.

Through a collaboration with the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship and the Keystone Trails Association (KTA), Cramer penned “Hiking in the Pennsylvania Wilds,” a guidebook that condenses the 1,600 miles of trails into more than 52 day hikes.

“People who live outside the PA Wilds region often don’t know what goes on up there,” said Cramer. “It’s a great place to visit, and I hope this book gets people interested in what Pennsylvania has to offer … and I hope they gain a greater appreciation for the outdoors and for this particular region.”

Last summer, Cramer hiked nearly every trail in the PA Wilds to prepare for the book. He said there are “epic hikes, day hikes and everything in between.” He has written seven other guidebooks that mostly focus on long-distance backpacking. This time he wanted to showcase everything the PA Wilds offers in smaller, more digestible hikes.

“In the book, I have everything from one-mile hikes to ninemile hikes,” he said. “They are set up where you start out on trail A, you turn on trail B, do a loop and come back to your car at the end.”

In addition to identifying popular trails with scenic vistas and waterfalls, Cramer also provides information about the local ecology and landscapes.

According to Ta Enos, founder and CEO of the PA Wilds Center, hiking guidebooks help visitors “navigate and connect with special places and experiences.” Making the PA Wilds more approachable and welcoming is a big part of what she hopes Cramer’s book will do.

“The region has the greatest concentration of public lands in Pennsylvania,” she said. “That can be both appealing and intimidating for new visitors.”

The PA Wilds Center provided the initial idea and funding for the book, while the KTA leveraged its connections such as connecting with Cramer to lead the project.

“Our mission is conservation and economic development to strengthen and inspire communities in the Pennsylvania Wilds,” Enos said. “In Ben’s book, there’s something for everybody.”

Shorter hikes are important for KTA executive director Brook Lenker, who said easing into the hobby can lead to commitment later. It’s how he and many others got into hiking, and he said guidebooks are an important part of that introduction.

I hope this book gets people interested in what Pennsylvania has to offer … and I hope they

gain a greater appreciation for the outdoors and for this particular region.

– Ben Cramer

“I got drawn to some of my earlier hikes because I read about them in guidebooks,” Lenker said. “They provided me enough information to safely experience a particular trail or route.”

Lenker hopes Cramer’s book will do the same and that many new hikers will take the next step — literally and figuratively — toward a life on the trail.

“We’re hoping that it will move some people from just enjoying the trails to actually helping to take care of them, he said. “It’s very important.”

Cramer, a lifetime KTA member, agrees. He said that trail maintenance is a significant undertaking that requires a lot of people and equipment. Powered by volunteers, the KTA coordinates trail maintenance efforts across the state.

“It’s not just about hikers clearing small obstacles … it’s removing fallen trees and repairing cave-ins requiring construction tools and equipment,” he said. “It’s a small chapter, but I explain the work that goes into keeping trails accessible in the book.”

Credit: Ben Cramer

Retired professor’s book details rich history of media effects study in United States

A book edited by a retired Penn State faculty member describes a rich and varied history of the study of media effects in the United States, with work dating from the late 19th century to the mid-1930s.

The free open-access book, “Early Media Effects Theory & the Suggestion Doctrine,” was edited by Patrick Parsons, professor emeritus in the Bellisario College, and focuses largely on the early 20th century concept of “suggestion,” or the idea that consumers accept the information presented by media outlets without critical review.

The book is available online and as a free download in PDF and ePub. A paperback version is also available thanks to Mediastudies.press, a scholar-led, nonprofit, open-access publisher in the media, film and communication studies fields.

Parsons’ book consists of more than 30 public domain works originally published from the late 19th century to the mid-1930s and reveals the amount of study of media effects before mid-century. The works collected in “Early Media Effects Theory & the Suggestion Doctrine” include the original statements on the subject from many of the leading social theorists of the age, among them figures such as Gabriel Tarde and Gustave Le Bon in France and James Baldwin, Edward Ross and Floyd Allport in the United States.

Much has been written about the history of media effects research in the United States, but most of it focused on efforts since the 1940s. Parsons’ anthology is one of the first efforts to delve deeper into the history of such research.

Parsons, a faculty member and administrator for more than 35 years in the Bellisario College, taught and conducted research in the general areas of media technology and social change, and media ethics and responsibility. His research interests include cable television history and operations, emerging media technologies and society, media technology and ethics and normative philosophy.

He is the author, co-author or co-editor of four books, including 2008’s award-winning “Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television,” which has been hailed as the definitive history of cable television.

Parsons was named as the inaugural holder of the Don Davis Professorship in Ethics at Penn State in 2005. He served on the editorial board of several journals and presented numerous conference papers, organized conventions and convention sessions. He also served as a discussant and paper reviewer across a range of media-related research areas, with a special emphasis on telecommunications issues.

Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, Parsons was an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at California State University at Fullerton. He earned his doctorate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, where his work focused on cable television policy and history. Parsons has a professional background in print and broadcast journalism, having worked as a wire service reporter and television news writer in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s.

BELLISARIO COLLEGE HISTORY

Catharine Axley

When assistant professor of film production Catharine Axley joined the Bellisario College in 2021, she brought with her an impressive record of awards and recognitions. Her documentary “Attla,” which tells the story of 10-time dog racing world champion and Alaskan legend George Attla, was screened at more than 20 film festivals and earned accolades such as Best Documentary at the American Indian Film Festival and Best Indigenous Feature at BendFilm. With previous stops at institutions like the University of Kentucky and Stanford, and the film industry in New York City, Axley has blended her passion for filmmaking with a deep commitment to teaching.

Axley teaches COMM 337: Intermediate Documentary Production and COMM 242: Introduction to Film Production, as well as media writing courses. This year has been a busy one for Axley. In February, she and her husband welcomed a baby boy, their second, to their family. This summer, she is in production for her new documentary on the cruise industry and plans to take the whole family to India for a shoot before the end of the year.

Q: How did you first become interested in filmmaking? Why documentaries?

A: The projects that draw me in are ones that I feel are complicated. It’s almost like you have something bothering you that you’re trying to puzzle over, and you can’t quite dismiss it. I like to approach these questions through a personal lens, finding ways for an audience to see a large societal question through individuals they might not have access to otherwise. Documentary film makes this way of exploring the world possible, but it wasn’t until late in my undergraduate studies as a history major that I even considered that this could be a career. After college, I worked in New York City as an assistant editor, learning on the job and got hooked.

Q: Talk about your current project on the cruise industry.

A: I’m looking at how everyday individuals’ lives are impacted by the cruise industry – in ways big and small, for good, bad and in-between. What does it feel like when your home becomes someone else’s destination? How does your culture shift when your economy is dependent on tourism? What experiences may lead you to dream of working or vacationing on a cruise ship? These are some questions we explore in immersive scenes in an array of eight locations ranging from Miami, the cruise capital of the world, to a ship scrapping yard in Turkey.

Q: When did you realize teaching was your calling?

A: I had an opportunity to teach film for the first time at the University of Kentucky, and it was just so much fun. We were watching and analyzing films and my students’ reactions made me more excited than ever to work on my own films. I love those early moments when students transition from viewer to maker. It’s a reminder of why the medium is so strong. Seeing students put cameras in their hands for the first time, learn editing concepts – watching them light up when they understand the power of moviemaking – it’s pretty infectious.

Q: How do you promote collaboration in your classes?

A: I try to emphasize that films are always shared projects. Sometimes students get caught up in who’s directing or producing, but what really matters is creating the strongest film possible that can move an audience. How can we get to that version of the film together? It’s not about me as a professor telling students what to do or students bossing one another around – it’s about working together as a team with care and respect in service of the film.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring documentary filmmakers?

A: Be prepared to puzzle over something in depth. Documentary filmmaking gives you access to people and places you wouldn’t otherwise experience. It’s about finding those complex stories that you feel need to be told and doing so in a way that connects with an audience. I’m drawn to projects that have multiple layers. With my cruise project, I went back to something that had fascinated me in college – the history of tourism in the Caribbean. It’s about finding those stories that you can’t quite let go of. They continue to intrigue you, and you just need to figure out why.

Q: What drives you to do documentaries on challenging topics?

A: It’s the responsibility to do justice to the stories I’m telling. When you have access to an incredible story and trust from your participants, you have a responsibility to tell it well. It’s about creating something that makes people see the world a little differently.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: We’re hoping to finish shooting the cruise project in 2026, with a film festival release and then a nationwide broadcast on public television, possibly in 2027. The goal is always to make the strongest film possible, even if that means taking a little more time.

An Idea with Impact

Holocaust Education Initiative expands nationally, serving thousands

Since it launched in 2019, Penn State’s Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Initiative, which is based in the Bellisario College, has trained nearly 3,000 K–12 educators and positively impacted the learning of nearly 100,000 students in six states.

This nonpartisan, multidisciplinary professional development provider, part of Penn State’s Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative, empowers educators who then enable K-12 students to develop crucial skills such as critical thinking, fact-finding, active listening, civic discourse and empathy. It accomplishes this through research-based, trauma-informed professional development that supports educators in their teaching of and dealing with difficult topics.

Unlike traditional one-off professional development providers, the initiative builds long-term partnerships with educational partners such as school districts. Educators who participate in the initiative’s offerings — which include year- and semester-long programs, teacher and student workshops and asynchronous online modules — learn to contextualize their lessons to the here and now, meet their students where they are and empower them to sharpen their perspectives while respecting others’.

Interboro School District high-school English Literature teacher Noelle Ackland engages in a group discussion during an Initiative session.

PHOTO BY JOHN

From the Aug. 17, 2024 ceremony,

Jed Hammel, Dena Hammel, Elliott Weinstein, Neeli Bendapudi, Boaz Dvir, Marie Hardin, Vic Hammel and Rich Bundy.

“Research shows our programs greatly improve K-12 educators’ practice and student success, uproot hate, and give children and adolescents the tools they need to thrive in the 21st century,” said Boaz Dvir, the initiative’s founding director and a Bellisario College associate professor.

The initiative’s unique approach has been featured in media outlets across the country, including TIME magazine, PennLive, Aspen Daily News, the Penn Stater magazine and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Its research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as School-University Partnerships, Journal of Practitioner Research, Action in Teacher Education and Journal of Teacher Education.

Independent scholars reviewing the data, research methodologies and findings have described it as “novel,” “innovative” and “widely needed.”

The initiative’s pedagogical experts have presented at national education conferences and Dvir has testified twice before the Pennsylvania State Senate Education Committee. Yet its most powerful testimonies come from its program participants.

PHOTO BY JOHN PENDYGRAFT

“The work is immediately applicable,” said an elementary school teacher who completed three of the initiative’s yearlong programs. “It has emboldened me to try things that I would not try.”

Educators who participate in the initiative’s programs join supportive learning communities focused on helping children and adolescents construct complex, enduring, and ethical insights into difficult topics, as well as the agency and skills to take informed action based on their learning.

In the process, initiative participants and their students become agents of positive change.

The initiative customizes each program to meet school districts’ and individual participants’ needs. It breaks the mold of the ubiquitous one-shot professional development, which is disconnected from teachers’ day-to-day work and rarely involves follow up and support.

Besides in-person work, the initiative offers four free-self paced online modules. Its latest offering, “Leading Amidst Difficult Issues Through Trauma-Informed Practices,” enables K-12 administrators to meet professional requirements. It combines 15 hours of asynchronous online learning with 10 hours of embedded work. The reflection questions ask participants to facilitate discussions of difficult issues and report about their actions and experiences. This course supports school leaders in fostering healthier learning environments.

Administrators who complete this module earn 25 hours toward the requirements of Act 45, which is also known as Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership continuing education.

Pennsylvania administrators must accumulate 180 Act 45 hours every five years.

Annie Dampf, a ninth-grade history and African American studies teacher, Patti Pullin, ninth- and 10thgrade math teacher, and Mike Lafferty, an AP and ninth-grade world history teacher, explore ways to engage students in inquiry into difficult topics.

left to right:

LEARN more about the four, self-paced online modules

Bellisario College Family (and Faculty)

Four faculty couples support students with their expertise — and each other with their presence

BY ANGELIQUE REDWOOD

Not many people get the chance to work hand in hand with their partners, but four husband-and-wife faculty couples make the Bellisario College special — providing an obvious family feel and a unique asset for the hundreds of students who benefit from their expertise daily.

The four couples who call the college home have a presence in almost every academic department and bring an important combination of academic and professional experience to their positions.

FROM CINEPHILES TO A COUPLE

Maura Shea, associate head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, and her husband Rod Bingaman, an associate teaching professor of film production, brought their shared love of film and media to Penn State early in their relationship.

After meeting while studying in Boston University’s graduate program, Shea and Bingaman decided to pursue their passions together. They’ve been at Penn State, together, for more than two decades. The couple raised a family while teaching a variety of introductory and capstone courses — all while growing their self-made Ma & Pa Pictures production house.

You become surrogate parents sometimes – but that’s been the most fulfilling part of it for me.

– Rod Bingaman

They have taught thousands of student filmmakers and produced five feature films.

“Our teaching journey has paralleled our personal journey in that we had our kids right when we came here,” Shea says.

Shea’s expertise in production, sound design and editing naturally overlaps Bingaman’s skills in writing, directing and camera work. It’s no wonder their offices sit side by side on the third floor of Willard Building.

“A lot of people say, ‘You’re in the classroom together?’ We shared an office at one point before we had enough office space in the college. But I think Bellisario’s given us the chance to both work together and have our own spaces and expertise and areas to do our own creative work,” Shea says.

Their parental journey positioned them to become great professors, including how they support their students.

“We’re a tight bunch,” Bingaman says. “You become surrogate parents sometimes – but that’s been the most fulfilling part of it for me.”

Shea adds, “We’ve had numerous encounters with students who don’t know we’re married, and it’s been so much fun when they figure it out.”

SHARING THE DATA LOVE

In the Department of Advertising/Public Relations, Holly and Hunter Overton’s combined love of research is an advantage to their students, especially when looking for real-world examples in the classroom.

After running into each other at a restaurant in South Carolina in 2016, the rest was history. The couple married a year later in 2017.

Associate Professor Holly Overton is laser-focused on ethics, including service as director of research for the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, which is housed in the Bellisario College. She earned her Ph.D. from Penn State and taught at Shippensburg University and the University of South Carolina before joining the Penn State faculty in 2021.

Assistant Teaching Professor Hunter Overton joined the Bellisario College after nearly two decades in industry. His background includes experience in business, operations, analytics and advertising, as well as serving in the U.S. Air Force. He also earned a graduate certificate in business analytics from Penn State.

Before coming to Penn State, he worked in business analytics at Avail Technologies and as director of technical operations at Advanced Video Group in Columbia, South Carolina.

“At work, I feel like the shared love of analytics really helps inform how I teach and also how Holly teaches, too,” Hunter says. “Holly helped me figure out exactly what to focus on. She’s been a huge resource.”

She agrees.

“One thing I’ve really appreciated through Hunter and his skillset is approaching topics from different perspectives and integrating some of the foundational skills I talk about with the students and the clients they work with,” Holly says.

“His perspective and skills, particularly with Excel, have informed and transformed some of my approaches in the classroom and in research by learning from a more hands-on, practical perspective.”

Through her research, Holly brought statistical insights into corporate social advocacy to the Page Center in 2023 and has recently grown her professorship to include being MPS program coordinator for the college.

Rod Bingaman and Maura Shea work together in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies.

Hunter and Holly Overton both serve as faculty members in the Department of Advertising/Public Relations.

“A very important and meaningful skill we like to make sure our students leave here with is a sense of business acumen,” Holly adds. “I’m really grateful to bounce ideas off my colleagues, now including Hunter, to see how that can help complement my perspective.”

POP CULTURE PARTNERS

Assistant teaching professors Rachelle Pavelko and Cory Barker joined Bellisario College at the start of the 2024-25 academic year. They arrived from Bradley University, sharing an enthusiasm for pop culture that shines through their work.

Where Barker highlights the media industry in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, Pavelko brings her health communication and media skills to the Department of Advertising/ Public Relations. Combined, they’ve got big plans to benefit their students.

“I want to help students become deeper and sharper thinkers about the media that they consume,” Barker says.

Barker recently published his book, “Social TV: Multi-Screen Content and Ephemeral Culture,” which dives into the social media revolution promised by the U.S.’s TV industry in the 2010s. Barker helps grow students’ critical thinking skills by teaching the next cohort of Penn State’s News Literacy Ambassadors and by teaching topics in television culture and communication.

Both he and Pavelko hope to empower students.

“A big part of it is just showing students that they can make their field – specifically my area in PR –into what they want it to be,” Pavelko says. “From a teaching standpoint, there are so many cool resources here, and just being able to utilize those and show students you can really go out and create big change for people in your community.

“Through things like the campaigns class, I’m able to show students you can do cool things for your community with nonprofit partnerships, and PR can look like that. It can be working with a local client and creating cool initiatives that put community members together to help solve a problem.”

We

don’t agree on everything, but we have a very similar approach in that we tend to value people over ideas.

For Pavelko, having previous Bellisario College professor Jess Myrick as a Ph.D. adviser allowed her to redefine her public relations perspectives from a pop culture standpoint. “When I got into the Ph.D. program, I started gravitating toward more pop culture topics, specifically health communication and seeing where those overlapped.”

– Colleen Connolly-Ahern

For Barker, the definition of pop culture includes having a wide network of social kinship.

“I take a pretty wide definition of that [pop culture], which I think allows me to be interested in a lot of different media-focused realms,” Barker says. “I think about the ways people use and respond to media to create culture within their lives or participate in subcultures or fan communities.”

COOLEST

INDUSTRY COUPLE

Having a dynamic duo ready and willing to help students prepare to enter the industry is essential, making associate professors Lee Ahern and Colleen Connolly-Ahern indispensable members of the Department of Advertising/Public Relations.

Since their first encounter at the World Trade Center, they’ve been partners in work and life. In 1989, Colleen went on a job interview for a PR position at Dean Witter Reynolds, an American stock brokerage and securities firm. Her interviewer was Lee, and soon after she was hired, they built a professional relationship that helped their romantic relationship blossom.

Colleen came to Penn State in 2004, and Lee arrived at the college in 2008 to study his Ph.D. before officially becoming an assistant professor.

Lee Ahern and Colleen Connolly-Ahern work together in the Department of Advertising/Public Relations.

“For us, we work together really naturally,” Connolly-Ahern says as she reminisces about the differences between industry and academia.

“We were in the unique position among university faculty of having long careers — full careers, really — before we changed to academia,” Ahern adds. “Having that experience is useful when it comes to developing course content for our undergraduates.”

At Penn State, he focuses a bit more on the quantitative side, developing and coordinating the digital media trends and analytics minor, while she uses her qualitative expertise for advertising and public relations research. Through the years they’ve partnered on everything from the mundane, including their short commute to campus some days, to much more intricate efforts, such as international trips with students during spring break.

They’ve served as consistent, strong contributors and leaders in the Bellisario College and across campus, and they’ve done it all together.

From running a marketing communications company to becoming Bellisario College professors, their differences are no match for the similarity that makes them an irreplaceable part of the fabric and family feel of the college.

“We don’t agree on everything, but we have a very similar approach in that we tend to value people over ideas,” Connolly-Ahern says.

For a college that promotes and values its smallschool feel, that community and support — especially when it comes from people who are family members themselves — means a lot.

Rachelle Pavelko and Cory Barker work in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies and the Department of Advertising/Public Relations respectively.

Journalism professor builds resilience through unique student experiences

BY JONATHAN F. MCVERRY (’05)

Standing 11,000 feet above sea level admiring a nearby glacier and running on adrenaline, Mila Sanina was ecstatic. The hike to this elevation was the most physically demanding thing she had done as a teacher. After seeing her student interview a local scientist, she knew the whole trek was worth it.

Sanina is an assistant teaching professor of journalism in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. In 2022, after an award-winning 15-year career at major news publications and local news start-ups, she returned to where her passion for journalism began — a classroom.

Born in the Soviet Union and raised in Kazakhstan, Sanina spent a year of high school living on a farm in Chetek, Wisconsin. The stay was part of a competitive exchange program designed to bring students from communist countries to the United States. The experience was a “triple shock,” Sanina said.

“I grew up in a city of 1.3 million people … I had never lived on a dairy farm,” she said. “I had never been to the United States and English was not my primary language.”

Sanina said she developed a great appreciation for the generosity of Americans. She said the welcoming atmosphere living with her host family and the surrounding community left an impression.

Her most transformative moment, however, happened in a classroom. During a literature class, Sanina said, she was stunned when her teacher asked the class to share personal interpretations of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Individual inquiry and critical thinking were new concepts for Sanina. It was a sharp contrast, she explained, from her Soviet-style education where instructors dictated literary meanings and evaluated students on how well they knew what the literary critics wrote.

“I had just learned the phrase ‘mind blowing’ and I actually felt it,” Sanina said. “I remember it so vividly. I was fascinated with this idea of how you can have your opinion and your analysis touching an eternal piece of work. It was the first time I saw what the magic of education can produce.”

BACK IN THE CLASSROOM

The high school literature class set the stage for a life of curiosity, creativity and a distaste for corruption, Sanina said. She imparts those qualities onto her students as an instructor of several classes in the Bellisario College, including news writing, entrepreneurial journalism and advanced multimedia. She also encourages students to be “comfortable with discomfort.”

“The more you expose yourself to things that may be scary, the better you become at being a good learner and the better you develop human-first capabilities,” she said. “I always emphasize how it is important to develop human qualities of curiosity, of asking good questions, of connecting with people … It’s very important to connect beyond words.”

Sanina sets high expectations for students. By doing so, she said, she believes it’ll build courageous and ethical communicators ready to face old and new challenges alike.

Challenges like climbing an 11,000-foot mountain.

Sanina co-teaches an international reporting course with several other faculty members from the Bellisario College. This past spring break, they took a group of students and faculty members to Sanina’s native city of Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Starting earlier in the semester, students developed stories about the country’s geopolitical issues, local sports, a community of Uyghurs and the importance of nearby glaciers to the water supply.

It’s very important to connect beyond words.

– Mila Sanina

A hike to the top of a glacier in Kazhakstan was worth it as Mila Sanina helped a student pursue a story during an international reporting trip.

It was definitely one of my best experiences working with a professor — and also the craziest thing I’ve ever done with a teacher,” Eife said about hiking to see the glacier. “Once you’re up that high going on an uphill incline, it’s hard to catch your breath.

– Brian Eife

One of those students, the student who climbed the glacier, was Brian Eife, a senior double-majoring in international politics and digital and print journalism.

“It was definitely one of my best experiences working with a professor — and also the craziest thing I’ve ever done with a teacher,” Eife said about hiking to see the glacier. “Once you’re up that high going on an uphill incline, it’s hard to catch your breath.”

Despite running cross-country in high school, Eife admitted it was a struggle. He and Sanina visited the Central Asian Glaciological Research Centre in Almaty. There, Eife interviewed a local glaciologist for a segment that aired on the “Centre County Report,” an award-winning newscast produced by Bellisario College students. Eife’s in-depth feature on the glacier is available on the Penn State Student Media website.

“The glaciologist stood there and showed us the glacier melting, and how it feeds the waters of Almaty, a town of more than 2 million people,” Sanina said. “This person was in his job for 20 years, and our student from the Bellisario College is asking him questions … and every question is a good question.”

Eife has his eyes set on law school to study international law. He said the reporting trip to Kazakhstan was an important addition to his goal of becoming a world traveler. He was grateful for Sanina’s help, he said. She played the role of team leader, instructor and translator.

“On that trip, there’s so much going on in the week, so many changes and so many adjustments you need to make on the fly,” Eife said. “Mila is super professional and was able to he The Bellisario College’s international reporting class visits a different country each spring semester. Past locations have included Estonia, Scotland, Turkey and others.

AWARDS SEASON

In April, Sanina was recognized at the annual Bellisario College faculty/staff awards; she received the Deans’ Excellence Award for Teaching. In 2023, nominated by her students, Sanina received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the College’s Alumni Society Board — in just her second year teaching.

Sanina has a long history of winning awards and earning leadership positions dating back to her time as a journalist. While she was the executive director of PublicSource.org, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit news organization, the publication earned an Edward R. Murrow Award and a news excellence award from the Online News Association twice. It also increased its readership and tripled in size.

Before that, Sanina quickly rose in the ranks at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In just five years she went from online editor to becoming one of the newspaper’s youngest managing editors.

Sanina said she credits her resilience and adaptability for her success. She said those qualities are part of the high expectations she expects from students. When students are given “freedom and trust” to be creative, she said, they rarely disappoint.

“I want to do something meaningful and also contribute to journalism at large, and that is something that I am doing here,” she said. “I do think that the survival of journalism depends on what kind of people we bring into the profession, and that they see a reason to stay and hold the line.”

When it’s time for young journalists to enter the industry, Sanina said, she hopes they are equipped with curiosity, kindness and maybe a good pair of hiking boots.

WATCH Mila Sanina talk about helping students succeed.

Mila Sanina helped lead the international reporting class to Kazhakstan during a working spring break trip in March.

Trio of staff members provide key first points of contact in Bellisario College

BY ANGELIQUE REDWOOD

Historic Carnegie Building is the hub for faculty, staff and students in the Bellisario College, and some helpful and friendly staff members consistently offer important frontline support when navigating the halls (or processes) gets a little dizzying for students.

Several dedicated staff members help the Bellisario College feel like home for students because of the way they approach their jobs.

Maritza Smith works as the administrative assistant for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, headed by Associate Dean Gary Abdullah. Smith also supports the Bellisario College’s recruitment efforts, led by Manager of Recruitment Emily Clevenger.

Smith’s office at the top of the steps on the second floor often represents the first stop for many families and students visiting Carnegie Building. Working with recruitment, Smith enjoys getting to know the students before they even enroll at Penn State, and she enjoys establishing relationships with students and their families.

She’s determined to make every student feel comfortable. “Here, it’s just one big family,” said Smith, who joined the Bellisario College in 2022.

Once students arrive on campus, Heather Taylor serves as a go-to liaison for those who need help with course loads and scheduling. She’s the administrative support assistant for the advising office. She’s been in the college since 2024 and at Penn State since 2009.

Taylor serves as the first point of contact for students who visit the advising office. She’s prepared to answer academic questions and point everyone in the right direction. By fielding student concerns and providing faculty and staff with semester updates, Taylor’s administrative skills enhance the powerful effects of the eight-member advising team.

Taylor enjoys working in an advising office and appreciates the “collectively student-focused” team that supports students. “Interacting with the students is the best part of the job,” Taylor said, and having a cohesive advising staff makes her job even better.

The Office of Internships and Career Services seems busy almost every day and Renee Kennedy, the coordinator of internships, is at the forefront of that activity. Along with supporting Assistant Dean Bob Martin and Manager of Internships Julie Miller, Kennedy attends all the career and internship events the Bellisario College hosts.

So sometimes she’s in Carnegie Building or another building on campus for a career-development event. The office also conducts internship and job fairs in New York City and Washington, D.C., and Kennedy attends those as well. Kennedy has been in the college since 2023 and at Penn State since 2013.

She said it’s easy to appreciate the energy motivated students consistently bring to events, along with the work Martin and Miller put into making all those events and integrations a success.

“Seeing the impact their words have on students” makes working with Martin and Miller rewarding, Kennedy said. Plus, it’s enjoyable to see student growth.

“Seeing them come together for career fairs, seeing them work their nerves, and seeing all their gratitude makes everything worthwhile,” Kennedy said.

Along with a commitment to student support, Kennedy, Smith and Taylor also bring a determined, selfless approach to their jobs. Things run well in those offices with them in public-facing positions because they care.

Even in one of the longest-standing buildings on the Penn State campus, that kind of commitment never gets old.

Staff members (from left) Maritza Smith, Renee Kennedy and Heather Taylor help bring a family feel to the college.

Faculty, staff earn awards for excellence

Twelve people, a combination of Penn State faculty, staff and graduate students, earned awards for their contributions and for the quality of their work when the Bellisario College conducted its annual awards program. The awards recognize people who have made a meaningful positive impact in the classroom and beyond. Winners were:

Djung Yune Tchoi Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student

Triwik Kurniasari

Lana Medina

Deans’ Excellence Award for Teaching

Mila Sanina, assistant teaching professor, Department of Journalism

Deans’ Excellence Award for Service

David Norloff, associate teaching professor, Department of Telecommunications

Tara Wyckoff, associate teaching professor, Department of Advertising/Public Relations

Deans’ Excellence Award for Integrated Scholarship

Mary Beth Oliver, the Donald P. Bellisario Professor of Media Studies, Department of Film Production and Media Studies

In addition, with the emphasis on classroom success for students and quality teaching, two part-time faculty members were honored. The winners for Outstanding Faculty Associate were Leon Valsechi, a marketing and communications specialist in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State, and Mike Zelazny, the equipment room manager for the Bellisario College.

The Bellisario College recognizes the vital role staff members play as well. Nominations for those awards come from colleagues, and this year one of the winners was nominated by a student. The winners were:

• Danielle Harris, the Bellisario College’s instructional designer, and

• Terri Klinefelter, an alumni relations and stewardship officer who focuses on student scholarships and related support.

Deans’ Excellence Award for Research and Creative Activity

Christopher Ali, Pioneers Chair, Department of Telecommunications

The Bellisario College also presented one staff award for the first time this year. The Rising Star Award recognizes a staff member who has done quality work in a comparatively brief period. Only employees with three years of experience or less at Penn State are eligible to be nominated. Scott Travers, the equipment room assistant manager, was selected for the award.

News Lab receives $200,000 grant to expand efforts, establish Fellowship Program

The News Lab at Penn State has received a $200,000 grant from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation to expand its existing programs and establish the Hearst Fellowship program with an emphasis on supporting first-generation, transfer and low-income students in journalism.

The News Lab, housed in the Bellisario College, trains and pays students to cover stories and document government meetings that matter most to Pennsylvania communities.

Since launching in September 2022 under the direction of Maggie Messitt, Eberly Professor of Practice and editorial director of the Bellisario Media Center, the program has proven to be a critical component of student success and an important retention tool for the Bellisario College.

“We’re thrilled that the Hearst Foundation sees value in our unique model — students earning while learning, building careers

while serving communities that need coverage,” said Messitt. “This funding allows us to scale what we’re already doing well.”

The Hearst Foundation grant will enable the News Lab to significantly increase the number of paid positions available to students and enhance professional development opportunities for historically underrepresented students in journalism. The funding will establish a formal Hearst Fellowship program that formalizes the News Lab’s commitment to supporting students who have organically gravitated toward the program in its inaugural years.

The News Lab is composed of three main programs: training and badging, local reporting and Centre Documenters. Each program offers students skills development opportunities on campus and outside of their coursework.

Telecomm professor, researcher, ‘mentor for life’

BY JONATHAN F. MCVERRY (’05)

Faculty member Andrea Miller says building “communities of thought” is their favorite thing about working in higher education. That is why their teaching and research philosophies share similar qualities – open, inclusive, interdisciplinary.

“I want all students to feel as comfortable as possible in my classroom spaces,” they said. “I want it to be a generous place where students learn together and with each other.”

Miller is a first-generation college graduate from Dushore, Pennsylvania, a borough of 450 people an hour northeast of Williamsport. They said growing up in a town with “far more deer than people” helped them appreciate different backgrounds and shape their perspective on education.

“I look at each student as unique individuals,” Miller said. “I am not interested in ticking boxes. Instead, getting to work with students in groups, on one-on-one bases and in mentorship capacities is what I find most exciting.”

Miller has a dual appointment as an assistant professor of telecommunications in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies in the College of Liberal Arts.

They teach emerging telecommunication technologies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels and, this fall will be teaching a graduate seminar on feminist technology studies. Miller said these interdisciplinary courses welcome students from many different majors, including information sciences and technology, art education, rural sociology and more.

“In each class, we develop our own vernacular, because the students come from such radically different backgrounds,” they said. “Interdisciplinarily, it’s a lot of fun.”

That mindset gets to the core of what drives Miller’s academic energy. They admit, “I really don’t know how to not be interdisciplinary.” Instead, they see themselves as an intellectual conduit as both a researcher and a teacher.

It wasn’t always that way. In many ways, joining the Penn State faculty in 2022 was not only a homecoming for Miller, but the result of a decision made early on as an undergraduate.

‘I WAS HOOKED’

“Being from such a rural part of the state, I think that, like many people, I couldn’t imagine my life really beyond my county and my region,” Miller said. “So, the most radical possibility for employment was teaching high school. I knew I wanted to teach. I just didn’t have any reference points or the imagination to consider that it could be at a level beyond secondary education.”

Miller attended a small liberal arts college in North Carolina before transferring to the University of South Carolina Upstate. A series of events would unfold that greatly altered their career path.

USC-Upstate didn’t have a Women’s and Gender Studies major, but students could create their own program. So, after experimenting with several other majors, including history, French and English, they didn’t necessarily find what they were looking for. Instead, they built it.

“I was trying to find where I fit. I took my first WGSS class, and I was hooked,” Miller said. “So, my focus since has been at the intersection of feminist theory, feminist studies of media and feminist studies of technology.”

Miller did not slow down. They earned a master’s degree from Georgia State University and a Ph.D. from University of California-Davis. Shortly after, they joined Florida Atlantic University as an assistant professor and the integration of Miller’s love of teaching and their passion for interdisciplinary research was complete.

Today, Miller says they cannot imagine doing anything else. One important aspect to their teaching philosophy is treating every student the same – no matter the background, grade level or interest.

“I look at them as unique individuals who are coming to meet me where they’re at in the classroom,” they said. “And I always emphasize that once I’m your teacher, you have a mentor for life. You can always come back to me. My email inbox is never closed.”

Krishna Jayakar, professor and head of the Department of Telecommunications, has admired Miller’s success since they were hired. He said Miller’s work with students has been exceptional.

“Part of the reason they were hired was for the joint graduate program between Bellisario and WGSS,” Jayakar said. “Andrea stepped right into that role. Their scholarship is truly resonating with our students.”

ON THE AUGUSTA RIVER

Miller’s research explores how technology, environments and social systems intersect. They examine how technological infrastructures emerge from specific historical and geographical contexts, all with a focus on militarism, digital cultures and feminist technology studies.

For example, Miller has a book coming out soon, “Securing the cyber ecosystem: Politics of remediation in the liberal security state.” The book originated from their dissertation work and examines the concept of the “cyber ecosystem” as a tool for the U.S. security state. Through research in Georgia and South

Carolina, it traces the cyber ecosystem’s history from Cold War defense and ecological projects to modern cybersecurity.

“In many ways, the project offers an alternative history of cybernetics, with much of my research focused on the relationship between the Savannah River nuclear reservation and the Georgia Cyber Center,” they said. “The cyber center was a new campus being built during the time of my fieldwork. So, I got to experience it from all stages of development and architectural design and construction.”

The center is the largest U.S.-sponsored cyber security campus integrating government, military, higher education and industry in one location. Miller said it’s being used as an example for similar spaces focused on workforce development and cybersecurity at a time when government finds itself struggling to keep up with industry.

However, these economic developments come at a cost, Miller said, threatening the displacement of Augusta’s historically Black downtown. “In order to understand present cybersecurity-driven development, the book goes all the way back to the legacies of the Civil War and Reconstruction.”

The Feminist Technocultures Lab

For instance, Miller traces the journey of Augusta Powder Works, a Confederate manufacture of gun powder to that of another mixed-use cybersecurity development, the Augusta Cyber Works. Over the years, the site would have several other purposes, including a milling operation and a cotton production. Miller is interested in what that means to the building, the industries and the city, which is adjacent to the Augusta River.

And I always emphasize that once I’m your teacher, you have a mentor for life.

You can always come back to me.

–

Andrea Miller

This past spring semester, Andrea Miller launched a lab that combines feminist science and technology studies with principles of interdisciplinary collaboration. They say it’s always been a dream, and they credit Krishna Jayakar, professor and head of the Department of Telecommunications, former Bellisario College dean Marie Hardin, and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies department head Alicia Decker for the needed support.

“They all celebrated and encouraged the idea [of starting the lab],” Miller said. “And we’ve really taken off running.”

There are already 29 students – both graduate and undergraduate – participating. The students represent the Bellisario College, the College of the Liberal Arts and the College of Information Sciences and Technology. Miller has received interest from students at other departments, as well as other universities.

“It is really important for our graduate students to be learning from and with our undergraduate students, because we’re all coming with different backgrounds and bases of knowledge,” Miller said. “I know that I learn an incredible amount from all of my students.”

The lab members are developing proposals for an upcoming conference, and Miller says other activities are fashioned to fit the needs of the students.

“If they’re applying to graduate school or if they’re giving job talks or presenting their first conference papers or working on dissertation chapters … we read together, we write together, we think together,” Miller said. “I am so grateful and excited to see how students have taken the space and run with it.”

Jayakar is excited too, “Andrea is hitting all the right notes in research, teaching and service. A book under contract with a top-notch academic publisher, grants both internal and external, teaching contributions at every level from introductory courses to graduate seminars and meaningful service.”

Interdisciplinary work at its finest.

Bellisario College faculty member appreciates the power of epic storytelling

BY ANGELIQUE REDWOOD

What do you get when you mix nuanced journalism with a classroom full of college students? Assistant Teaching Professor Neda Toloui-Semnani, who began working at Penn State last August, is determined to find out.

Toloui-Semnani joined the Bellisario College after working for VICE News and contributing to The New York Times and The Washington Post. She earned a master’s degree in gender and social policy and an master of fine arts in nonfiction. She said she’s hoping to help students learn the basics of journalism and challenge and support them to strive for epic storytelling.

As a brand-new Pennsylvania resident, Toloui-Semnani said she feels a responsibility to tell the stories of the state, too.

“Pennsylvania reflects the country in so many ways because it’s such an intersection of history,” said Toloui-Semnani, who most recently lived in Brooklyn, New York, after growing up in Washington, D.C. “The country sort of started here, our government started here, but also our full-throttle entrance into modern capitalism started here.”

Along with the state, she said she’s also curious about campus and the community — from a couple of perspectives.

“There’s a version of [State College] that, as a journalist, I think there are a lot of stories that aren’t being told,” she said. “So, my role both as a journalist and as a professor is to understand where you are to the extent that you can, and be very willing to ask the questions nobody else is going to ask.”

Those thoughts are the base of Toloui-Semnani’s journalism career. She’s spent years telling human stories to bring a spotlight to news rooted in truth. Epic storytelling about the world’s injustices is at the foundation of Toloui-Semnani’s work, and she believes it’s precisely what budding Bellisario College journalists need to learn before they enter the industry.

“In a newsroom, whether or not it shows up in your coverage, you’re talking, you’re pushing each other, and some of that has to end up in the classroom,” she said. “It’s just the question of how to do it and hold space for everybody.”

Along with teaching, Toloui-Semnani has written a book, “They Said They Wanted Revolution: A Memoir of My Parents” and is co-founder of Revolution Street Productions, a multimedia production and educational consulting company. She also works in partnership with global podcast company Kaleidoscope as story editor for an upcoming podcast series about deepfakes. It’s all a lot of work, but it’s the type of work Toloui-Semnani knows best.

“These are the stories I tend to be drawn to — really complicated stories that I think even in the darkness sort of highlight how people aren’t waiting,” she said while reminiscing on the strength of her feature subjects. “They’re trying to find solutions today, which I think is very exhausting, but it’s the work.”

This sentiment transfers into Toloui-Semnani’s podcasting and TV reporting classes, where she leans on good, honest journalism to grow the next generation of storytellers.

“I’m literally thinking about how I organize the physical space in the classroom to foster conversation because journalism can’t be in a vacuum,” she said.

When creative storytelling and nuanced journalism are hard to find, journalists who bring both to the forefront are diamonds who serve readers and tell stories well, she said. So, as she seeks answers about mixing nuanced journalism and a room full of college students, Toloui-Semnani is also in the business of shaping those diamonds.

Groundbreaking news may look a bit different in the years to come, and Toloui-Semnani said she plans to ensure ethics and integrity remain integral to stories that get told as Bellisario College students develop into the world’s next generation of journalists.

After observing the world’s divisions, Toloui-Semnani said she believes collaboration and storytelling have power.

“This is the time to find and to take solace in the collective,” she said.

‘Jesus Take the Dial’ from Rolling Stone earns Bart Richards Award

Award winner Katie Thornton honored for the second time in three years, with campus visit for public session, class visits planned for fall

A Rolling Stone article focusing on the growth of Christian rock, more specifically the nonprofit organization that has become the fastest-growing radio chain in the United States, earned the Bart Richards Award for Media Criticism.

Journalist Katie Thornton earned the award for work published in 2024 with “Jesus Take the Dial,” a 6,000-word piece published in February 2024.

Thornton became just the fourth two-time winner of the respected award, which honors media criticism and has been presented annually by the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State since 1995.

Thornton, who will receive an honorarium and a crystal award, will visit the University Park campus at the start of the 2025-26 academic year to officially accept the award during a public session and then participate in classes and meetings with students and faculty members.

Entries from around the United States were submitted for the award and a team of Penn State faculty screeners whittled the entries to three finalists that were then reviewed by external judges. Those judges — Nadine Barnett Crosby, dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University, Suki Dardarian, retired editor of the Minnesota Star Tribune, and Chip Mahaney, emerging talent leader for E.W. Scripps Company — selected Thornton’s work unanimously.

“Jesus Take the Dial” focuses on the growth of the nonprofit Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which owns more than 1,000 radio signals across all 50 U.S. states. It is the second-largest station owner behind iHeartMedia. Thanks to

Capital Connections

Two student groups from the Bellisario College visited Washington, D.C., during the spring. Members of the Society of Professional Journalists visited the White House and students completing the Maymester program led by Neda Touloui-Semnani (previous page) made several visits, including one to CNN.

Thornton’s comprehensive work, based on a mix of public records, interviews and research, the article looks at EMF’s business model and strategic growth. It also examines the cultural and religious implications of the group’s growth, and its impact on local radio across the nation.

Thornton is an award-winning print and audio journalist covering media, infrastructure and history. Her work has been published in Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, National Geographic, 99% Invisible, NPR, BBC, and many more. In 2022, she created the podcast “The Divided Dial” with WNYC’s “On The Media,” which dove into the history, politics, and economics of conservative talk radio.

The podcast earned a Peabody Award and the Bart Richards Award. She has also been honored with a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship for her storytelling work, and earned grants from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

Thornton is especially interested in long-form, historically informed reporting that shows how infrastructure and communications technologies impact the daily lives and deeply held beliefs of Americans. She spent years working behind the scenes at small radio stations and radio-related organizations, which has influenced her interest in, and admitted soft spot for, the medium. She serves as the instructor of a podcasting course she designed at Macalester College in Minnesota.

The Bart Richards Award for Media Criticism, presented by the Bellisario College, annually considers constructively critical articles, books and electronic and online media reports; academic and other research; and reports by media ombudsmen and journalism watchdog groups.

s Commencement Celebration

The University’s 409th set of commencement exercises included the Bellisario College event at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday, May 10, 2025, as 705 students crossed the stage and earned their degrees.

Judy Woodruff

Senior Correspondent, “PBS News Hour”

We cannot solve society’s and our nation’s toughest problems if we don’t agree on the facts. So, it falls to you to figure out how to distinguish real information from misinformation. That’s what journalists do, but it’s also the responsibility of everyone in the communications field.

—

JUDY

WOODRUFF

Six standouts selected as marshals for Bellisario College commencement exercises

Six students who excelled in and out of the classroom during their careers were selected to serve as student marshals for the Bellisario College during undergraduate commencement exercises in May.

One student was selected as the overall Bellisario College marshal and five others represented each of the resident majors.

The six students were:

Overall: Michael DeAngelis Furlong, Pennsylvania

Michael “Mikey” DeAngelis completed a major in film production and studied abroad in Florence, Italy, as part of the International Studies Institute to focus on art, history and culture education. He also completed a business fundamentals certificate from the Smeal College of Business and a minor in Italian.

A Dean’s List student, DeAngelis worked as visual editor of Onward State, leading a 30-member staff of photographers, videographers and graphic designers. He also completed an internship focused on social media with Visit Philadelphia in 2024.

Additionally, DeAngelis worked as a freelance photographer throughout his time at Penn State. In that role he helped clients with graduation photos and regularly shot and edited personal YouTube videos — including a 57-part series from his time in Italy and Europe.

DeAngelis spent much of his senior year working on a documentary project titled “Mat Town USA,” which screened at film festivals around the country this spring and summer. His career path includes potential filmmaking and marketing positions in Philadelphia and New York.

Advertising/Public Relations: Davis Yoshitani West Point, New York

Davis Yoshitani completed his bachelor’s degree in advertising/public relations along with a minor in digital media trends and analytics and a business fundamentals certificate from the Smeal College of Business.

A Dean’s List student, he complemented his classroom efforts by completing separate advertising sales internships with NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery. Both provided hands-on, professional experience. That included working to enhance revenue growth for Peacock during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris (as part of the NBCUniversal internship) and compiling and tracking key performance indicators for a variety of efforts at Warner Brothers Discovery.

Yoshitani worked at The Daily Collegian as an advertising sales account executive and later as business manager during his time at Penn State. He also participated in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition as the assistant director of the Nittany Group. The team won its district and region and advanced to the national finals in 2024.

One of those meaningful extracurricular organizations Yoshitani joined was Penn State Navigators, a Christian ministry on campus.

Film Production: Julie Ammon State College, Pennsylvania

Julie Ammon earned a bachelor’s degree in film production, a bachelor of design in digital arts and media design, and a certificate in diversity studies.

Ammon, a Dean’s List student, gained extensive hands-on experience at Penn State. She worked as a videographer for VALLEY Magazine, a digital production intern at WPSU, and a communications and video production intern at the Palmer Museum of Art.

She also completed internships with the Centre Film Festival and C-NET, Centre County’s government and educational access network. Beyond internships, she maintained freelance art projects and embraced various roles on student film productions — including cinematographer, director, editor, gaffer, production designer and writer.

A documentary production course had a profound impact on Ammon as a filmmaker, and she said the collaborative and inclusive mindset in the Bellisario College was impactful.

Future Commencement Dates

Fall 2025

Sunday, Dec. 21 | 4:30 p.m.

Bryce Jordan Center

Spring 2026 Saturday, May 9 | 1:30 p.m.

Bryce Jordan Center

Journalism: Alena Surace

Plum, Pennsylvania

Alena Surace completed a bachelor’s degree in journalism, specifically focused on broadcast journalism. She added a minor in French.

A Dean’s List student, she started her career at Penn State New Kensington and has complemented her classroom success with many hands-on opportunities.

Because she plans to pursue an on-air television career, several experiences have helped her prepare for that goal — specifically an internship with WTAJ-TV this spring and a variety of positions with the student-run PSN-TV, as well as an anchor role with the award-winning “Centre County Report” newscast.

Along with classes and practical work to prepare for her eventual career, Surace balanced a part-time job and made the most of on-campus opportunities and special events.

Media Studies: Jenna Meleedy

Upton, Massachusetts

Jenna Meleedy completed a bachelor’s degree in media studies and developed a vast area of expertise focused on media literacy and news literacy.

A Dean’s List student, she complemented her classroom success by working for the National Association for Media Literacy Education, the Media Education Lab and the News Literacy Initiative at Penn State. Each of those opportunities offered many ways to make an impact — including developing youth-centered media literacy resources, creating and hosting a webinar series about teaching strategies, or researching and producing visual news literacy social media content. She also

Bryn Malizia, an advertising/public relations major, represented the Bellisario College as its student marshal during fall 2024 commencement exercises.

Paying for part of her tuition led Malizia to focus on working from the beginning of her college experience. In addition, she joined several student organizations — the Ad/PR Club, Happy Valley Comm and the Penn State Ski Club — and found career and social opportunities across the University. While her accomplishments were her own, Malizia said she regularly benefited from a strong support system in the Bellisario College. She said the college’s community and family feel were instrumental in her success.

works on a freelance basis producing hour-long lectures and webinars about media literacy.

As a student affiliate of the Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence she also promoted AI-related research and initiatives on campus. She worked as a news reporter for The Daily Collegian and studied abroad in the Czech Republic as well. She also served as a resident assistant for a year and a half.

Meleedy said all those experiences — along with battling homesickness when she first started college, spending four months abroad and then engaging with other students, faculty and staff daily at Penn State — helped build her confidence and shape her path going forward.

Telecommunications: Calvin Brzozowski Mount Joy, Pennsylvania

Calvin Joseph Brzozowski completed a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications and media industries and found a career passion during his time at Penn State.

Brzozowski worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant, served as vice president of the Penn State Outing Club, and was a senator for the student government association.

In a more major specific role, he was a crew member for 46 Live, the student-led organization that provides the livestream of the annual Penn State Dance Marathon and related events, for two years.

A Dean’s List student, Brzozowski’s classroom work and related collaboration were especially impactful. He developed a passion for broadband connectivity and its social and economic impact on communities across the United States.

Beatrice Gauthier graduated with three bachelor’s degrees — in telecommunications, marketing, and French and Francophone Studies. She studied abroad in France, spent a semester with the Penn State Hollywood Program in Los Angeles and completed five different internships.

Gauthier embraced all Penn State had to offer. Along with the internships, she earned hands-on experience with CommAgency, Happy Valley Comm, PSN-TV and WPSU.

All her experiences opened a world of opportunities after commencement, Gauthier said.

Fall Student Marshal: Bryn Malizia

Summer Student Marshal: Beatrice Gauthier

Two Bellisario students go from name twins to best friends

Massimo Buonagurio and Massimo Manfra get involved and get to know each other

BY ELLA ROSLONIEC (’26)

Two freshmen Massimos took the sports broadcast world by storm at Penn State this past academic year, becoming a nearly inseparable pair in the Bellisario College.

Massimo Buonagurio and Massimo Manfra met through their involvement in various Penn State media clubs, including PSN-TV, “After the Whistle,” and “Penn State Sports Night.” Their realization of having the same name happened almost by accident. While editing a show, someone asked for “Massimo” — and both responded simultaneously.

“I remember thinking, there’s no way. That’s my name!” Buonagurio recalls about learning another club member shared his first name. From that moment on, their connection grew stronger.

“We were just side by side doing everything,” Manfra says. “At some point, we just had to start signing up for things as ‘Mass Squared’ because we were always together.”

Beyond their shared name, their friendship strengthened through late-night sports viewing parties, shared class experiences and endless banter about Penn State athletics. They’ve cheered through wrestling matches, reported at numerous athletic events and have become a recognizable duo in the Bellisario Media Center.

Although Manfra is from Virginia and Buonagurio Long Island, they share and bond over many childhood experi-

ences with Italian heritage and hearing adults struggle with their names.

Buonagurio shares stories of “teachers always mispronouncing Massimo,” while Manfra expresses developing the nickname Moose just to “help keep [others] from messing it up.”

Both Massimos practically live in the media center, juggling classes, club commitments and hands-on journalism opportunities. They have already participated in election coverage, conducted interviews with top-level sports figures and have begun carving out their paths in the world of sports media.

“Every time we do something new, it feels like a bigger deal,” Buonagurio said. “We’ve been in so many productions already, and it’s only our first year.”

As they continue their Penn State journey, both Massimos have their sights set on careers in sports broadcasting. While Manfra leans toward being on-air, Bonagurio enjoys both behind-the-scenes and on-air work. They have embraced the opportunities Penn State provides, and their journey is just getting started.

For now, they’ll keep signing up for projects together, embracing their “Mass Squared” nature, and building their Penn State sports media experience, one Massimo at a time.

Massimo Manfra (left) and Massimo Buonagario

JOIN

BELLISARIO COLLEGE

July 5-10, 2026

Bellisario Summer Camps offer high school students hands-on experience in communications fields. Students get to experience campus life, gain valuable communications related skills and make life-long friends.

Tuition: $1,700 Early registration: $1,500 Include instruction, housing, food, program materials, field trips, and activities.

Eligible applicants age 14-18 (as of July 1, 2026)

Online Application Available January 2026

Questions? Contact Emily Clevenger at 814-863-6081 and/or bellisariosummercamps@psu.edu.

PSU Bellisario College Camps @PSUBellisarioCamps

Videos earn six awards in worldwide competition

Three separate videos produced by Penn State students earned six awards in three different categories as part of the Communicator Awards, a competition that attracts more than 3,000 entries from around the world and ranks as the most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals.

Students in CommAgency, created videos for clients at the University with the high-quality work serving those communications needs and earning respect from Communicator Award judges.

which was honored for excellence in the general-student category and for distinction in the general-schools and universities category.

“Bellisario Media Center Tour,” which was honored for distinction in both the general-student category and the general-schools and universities category.

“The students on each team worked incredibly hard last semester, and were already proud of the great videos made,” said Catie Grant, the faculty director of CommAgency and an assistant teaching professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. “It’s exciting and rewarding to see an industry competition recognize their hard work and creativity!”

Experience and Success

A Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, episode of “After the Whistle,” a high school and Penn State sports highlight show produced by Bellisario College students, featured an on-air team of all first-year students. On-air team members were (from left) Bryan Portney, Chase Fisher, Harlyn Pena, Sophia Koch and Sophia Miranda.

Another episode of the show, from Nov. 1, 2024, was named Best Sportscast in the 2025 Keystone Pro Media Awards.

The productions by students won awards in separate divisions for corporate training, students and schools and universities.

Specific work honored was:

“Building Evacuation Plan,” which was honored in the general-training category for excellence and the general-student category for distinction.

“Schreyer Honors College Housing Promo,”

The 31st annual Communicator Awards, sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, received over 3,000 entries from ad agencies, digital agencies, production firms, in-house creative and communications professionals, graphic designers, design firms and public relations firms.

In determining winners, entries were reviewed on their merits against a standard of excellence considering the category entered. A category may have multiple winners, or none. Entries are scored on a 100-point scale by the jurors. Generally, excellence winners receive a score of 90 or above and distinction winners receive a score of 70 to 89.

CommAgency, a student-driven creative agency housed in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, creates high-quality, low-cost media for Penn State clients, local nonprofit organizations and start-ups. It gives students real-world experience working with professional equipment and real-life clients.

Accolades

Broadcast efforts from “Centre County Report” and CommRadio earned more than a half-dozen top awards in national competitions during the year. Among the accolades were:

Best Newscast (Nov. 5, 2024)

Penn State entries earn eight first-place finishes in Region 1 SPJ competition

Work from Penn State students earned eight first-place finishes as the Society of Professional Journalists recognized the best collegiate journalism in the Northeast with its Region 1 with 2024 Mark of Excellence Awards.

Mark of Excellence Awards entries are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. Judges were directed to choose entries they felt were among the best in student journalism.

Penn State’s winners were:

Television Breaking News Reporting

Election night breaking news (Haley Jacobs)

Television General News Reporting Swipe Gone Wrong: The Rise of Social Media Scams (Haley Jacobs)

Television In-Depth Reporting

The reality behind Turkey’s water resources (Sophia Montanye)

Television Sports Reporting

Centre County is Key Spot for Fastest Growing High School Sport (Savannah Wood)

Best All-Around Television News Magazine

“Centre County Report in Turkey”

Best Use of Multimedia

East Palestine: One Year Later (The News Lab staff)

Photo Essay/Slideshow

The Last Sermon (Natalie Book)

Sports Photography

Paralympic Hard Knocks (Jackson Ranger)

SPJ’s Region 1 comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (central/eastern), Rhode Island and Vermont. First-place winners will compete at the national level among other winners from the 12 SPJ regions. National winners will be notified in late spring.

Penn State entries were part of the large school division with at least 10,000 students.

FIND award-winning and timely work at Bellisario College Student Media

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Dear Bellisario Alumni and Friends,

As the new Director of Development for the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, I’m thrilled to join this incredible community—and even more excited to get to know you.

Before returning to Penn State, I built my career in institutional advancement through leadership and development roles at Shady Side Academy, the University of Pittsburgh, and Villanova University. Each role affirmed my belief in the power of generosity to transform lives and strengthen the places we hold dear.

This opportunity is especially meaningful to me as a proud Penn State alumna, Class of 2006 from the College of the Liberal Arts. My own Penn State journey began with a headset and a script—I was a student caller at Lion Line, reaching out to alumni like you. It was there that I discovered the magic of philanthropy and the shared pride that binds Penn Staters across generations.

Campus still feels like home, and every day I walk past Old Main, I’m reminded how lucky I am to work on behalf of a place that shaped my own story—and to help others write theirs. I can’t wait to learn about your time at Penn State and how, together, we can open new doors for the next generation of students.

Penn State Proud, Ali Saras ’06

As the Bellisario College’s director of development, I’m thrilled to join this incredible community—and even more excited to get to know you – Ali Saras, ’06

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh

BLEED BLACK & GOLD sorry, Philadelphia fans

A complete list of alumni and friends who supported the Bellisario College financially from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 may be found online.

The Honor Roll recognizes everyone who supports our people and programs, with gifts from $100 to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Check out the full Honor Roll

$1.9 MILLION of scholarships awarded to 433 Bellisario College students in 2024-25!

Bellisario College student balances professional ballet and pursuit of college degree

BY ELLA ROSLONIEC

alancing academics, extracurriculars and social life is a challenge for many college students. Add professional ballet, instructing, an internship and cross-training, and you have the daily schedule of Penn State digital journalism and media major Madeline Diehl.

Diehl is an apprentice with the Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas, where she learns and performs new ballets monthly for crowds of over 2,000, practices daily and continues pursuing her degree through Penn State World Campus.

Her days follow a strict, disciplined routine. The morning begins at 5:30 a.m. with cross training, followed by an hour dedicated to schoolwork before starting rehearsal that runs from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Two evenings a week, she teaches younger dancers at a local studio until 9:30 p.m.

Despite her demanding schedule, schoolwork remains a priority. “I like learning. I like making myself better,” said Diehl, whose passion for education motivates her to dedicate most of her free time to her degree. Her two years of professional ballet in Vegas have been paired simultaneously with two years of college education.

Her commitment means her laptop is always by her side. Whether she’s writing essays while stretching before rehearsal or finishing a report at physical therapy, the MacBook is almost always within reach.

Ask how she manages such an intense lifestyle, and she has a simple answer: “It’s pretty easy to stay motivated when you love what you’re doing,” she said.

For Diehl, who has been dancing since she was 4 years old, Penn State was always a top choice. And, she said, the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications offered the right degree while the World Campus provided the perfect delivery method.

“World Campus is phenomenal, it’s easily one of the best online programs in the country,” she said. With both of her parents being graduates of Penn State’s communications program and employees of the University, her decision about college was even easier.

Even online, Penn State connections remain a strong part of her experience. “There’s a lot of Penn State alums who live here in Vegas that I have been able to reach out to,” Diehl said.

After graduating, Diehl said she plans to “keep dancing as long as [her] body lets [her].” When her ballet career eventually concludes, she hopes to combine her love of sports with her digital journalism and media degree by becoming a sideline reporter.

She is already taking steps toward this goal through her internship with the Sports Girls Club, a national media company, where she writes weekly articles highlighting women’s contributions to the sports world.

As Diehl continues to excel in juggling school, internships and her ballet career, she’s inspiring others in her company. “Many dancers don’t pursue an education because of the demand and time commitment,” she explained.

Before online programs, earning a college degree as a professional dancer was nearly impossible, Diehl noted. Now, that older dancers have seen younger professionals pursuing degrees and have become inspired to start their own higher education journeys.

Diehl brings her passion for education to every aspect of her life. One of her favorites is instructing younger dancers at a local company. She teaches two groups — one 8- to 12-year olds and another for those age 14 to 18.

She loves both for different reasons. She said the challenge of instructing older dancers with more complex steps is fun, but there’s something equally enjoyable about showing beginner dancers the basics the same way she learned when she was young.

Diehl’s commitment to her dance, her education and her community makes her an inspiration both on and off the stage. In every aspect of her life, she embodies the determination and self-discipline of both a gifted student and a talented dancer.

Links to student media and samples of student work! Newscasts, international reporting, films, special programming and more.

Alumna Rachel Casciano’s journey with cancer and running

BY PEYTON STAGLIANO (’28)

(Excerpted with permission from Onward State.)

Life has a way of throwing us unexpected challenges, but for Rachel Casciano, those challenges became the very catalyst that transformed her life.

Growing up, Penn State alumna Casciano had a passion for all things sports and competition. She played every sport you could imagine, from basketball to soccer to volleyball. Casciano loved to be on the field or the court, and her natural talent had her on a path to success.

It never occurred to Casciano that one day, she might be forced to step away from the things she enjoyed the most.

After suffering one too many head injuries, Casciano was sidelined from all physical activities that put her at risk of suffering another blow to the head. Frustrated and lost, she knew that there must be another competitive outlet for her. That’s when she found track and field.

“I had already run a few relays with my high school track and field team, so I knew it was something I wanted to pursue. It was a nice transition, and it gave me something else to focus on that was not as physical,” Casciano said.

From the moment she stepped onto the track, Casciano’s speed was undeniable. As she grew in the sport, so did the list of colleges recruiting her. Casciano committed to Penn State and found her home on the track and field team.

It finally felt like everything was going right for Casciano, but all of that changed in an instant. During the summer, Casciano visited urgent care because of the extreme swelling she was experiencing on her cheek.

“They thought it was a stone stuck in my salivary gland, so they did a CT scan, and they were really chill about it,” Cascia-

no said. “They said it was probably just a virus, and they put me on some medicine. Then they found a nodule in my thyroid, and they weren’t going to have me get a biopsy, but my dad insisted. The doctors kept saying that I was probably fine, so I just went on like normal.”

With no real explanation for the swelling, Casciano returned to Penn State early in the summer to start training for cross country. However, one day after practice, Casciano got an unexpected visit from her parents.

“When I was at training camp in the summer for cross country, my parents showed up in the parking lot after practice one day, which was very strange. They eventually told me that the doctor was very wrong about the swelling and that I had cancer,” Casciano said.

After receiving news of her diagnosis, it felt like everything changed for Casciano. However, she was determined to make her life feel as normal as possible.

“It is a very weird thing to hear you have cancer, especially when you are only 19. It was very shocking at first, and I think for me, I just wanted some type of escapism. So, my mentality was that I was going to keep going hard with running and school,” Casciano said. “I ended up having one of my best cross-country seasons, and I had my best semester of school. I think I just wanted something else to focus on and some sense of normality.”

Casciano competed in her cross-country season for as long as her body would allow her before having to get her thyroid removed. After removing her thyroid, she underwent radioactive iodine treatment to kill off any thyroid cells left. Casciano also learned the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, which required her to undergo extra treatment.

It wasn’t until the end of the spring track season that year that Casciano returned to the sport. As she made her return, Casciano realized the activity that once brought her the most comfort throughout her cancer journey was now so much more than just a sport. Track took on a new meaning for Casciano and became what taught her some of life’s most crucial lessons.

“I think once I was diagnosed with cancer, track became an outlet because it was the thing that made me feel the most normal. When I was running, that was truly the one time in my day when I didn’t feel like a kid with cancer. Instead, I felt like a track athlete,” Casciano said. “I feel like running is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me because it has been able to grow and change with me as I have grown. I think it also taught me some of my greatest lessons, like perseverance and finding comfort in discomfort.”

While Casciano’s running career at Penn State allowed her to make great strides physically and mentally, there was undeniably a darker side to the sport that Casciano couldn’t continue to ignore. She competed for Penn State’s cross country and track and field teams through her junior year of college but made the difficult decision to take a step back her senior year.

“It was a great experience running at Penn State, and it taught me a lot about myself, although there were some not so great parts to it,” Casciano said. “I have seen the ugly side of running. I think there is a really toxic side to it, and a lot you have to manage because all you have in running is yourself.”

For years after her collegiate career, Casciano struggled to find that love for running she once had. It was a long process, but today, she can confidently say her relationship with running is stronger than it ever was.

“After college, it was hard to still enjoy running because of all the pressure it would put on me. Eventually, I started to slowly find this beautiful relationship with running that I would say I have fully built today,” Casciano said. “Now, 15 years removed from college track, I am able to see that it has really given me everything I have. I wouldn’t have the job I have now, or the friends, or my partner. It is an interesting sport because it has an ugly side, but I think what it has given me has outweighed any of the negative things.”

very hard. It is a long game, and it takes a long time to build credibility around it. From there, my role kind of expanded to leading all of running,” Casciano said. “Now, I work closely with the product and innovation teams to determine who the target audience is that we want to win against and what makes us unique compared to all the competitors out there.”

Not only does Casciano get to work in the running industry, but she also gets to use her platform with Lululemon to advocate for an equal playing field in female sports. Her most recent project focused on learning about female athlete needs and developing products based on these needs.

“For the past two years, we have been really focused on this one project where we did an ultramarathon with 10 women who are ambassadors of ours. These 10 women tried to run as far as they could over six days to level the playing field for women,” Casciano said. “Most of the time, when women go to buy running products, especially shoes, it is geared toward men. So, we gathered a lot of insights from female runners on things they feel they need but don’t have because most brands don’t design in a way that is intended for women.”

As Casciano and her team looked deeper into the misrepresentation of women in the sports industry, they discovered many of these discrepancies come from what the world knows about the “average athlete.” The only problem is that the “average athlete” is a male.

“We also had a research project attached to it where we were trying to understand human performance because most research programs are based on men. We know so much more about male athletes, and women are never tested because it is inconvenient and harder,” Casciano said. “Our research team, however, decided that we were going to try and better understand female athletes, so those studies are starting to come out.”

I think running has been the greatest thing that has ever happened to me because it has been able to grow and change with me as I have grown. I think it also taught me some of my greatest lessons, like perseverance and finding comfort in discomfort.

As Casciano reflects on her journey and everything she has learned along the way, she is incredibly grateful for the life she has today. However, one of the most important lessons her experiences taught her was to trust the process.

After college, Casciano worked for Nike in digital and brand marketing for a few years. Through connections, she learned that Lululemon was planning to launch its first running shoe, and Casciano wanted in.

“I started with Lululemon three and half years ago to launch their first running shoe, which was really cool, but footwear is

“If there is one thing I have learned as I have gotten older, it is that a lot of things will work out. Just enjoy the process and stop overthinking and worrying about the small things. I look back to when I was younger, and I think I put so much pressure on myself that I didn’t even enjoy the process of getting to where I am now,” Casciano said. “I think no matter what stage of life you’re in, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and frustrated by the little things. Just try and take yourself less seriously and enjoy life.”

Peyton Stagliano is a rising sophomore from Ambler, Pennsylvania, majoring in journalism.

Rachel Casciano, a varsity athlete and standout student as an undergraduate, battled cancer and found valuable life lessons in running that have served her during her career.

– Rachel Casciano (’15)

Chef/educator/media personality earns Alumni Achievement Award

Alumna Gabrielle Chappel (’16) was one of eight University-wide recipients of the Alumni Achievement Award, one of the Penn State Alumni Association’s most prestigious honors.

Recipients are nominated by an academic college or campus and invited by the president to return to Penn State to share their expertise with students and the University community. They demonstrate to students that Penn State alumni can succeed in exceptional fashion at an early age.

Chappel is a celebrated farm-to-table chef, educator and media personality who gained national recognition as the winner of Fox’s “Next Level Chef” season three. She’s built a significant following through her appearances on Conde Nast’s “Epicurious” YouTube channel and across social media platforms.

Before her culinary career, Chappel worked as a freelance creative producer for organizations including Fanatics and The New York Times, and as a journalist and on-camera reporter.

While at Penn State, she was actively involved in numerous student organizations and was later honored as an outstanding alumna by the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.

AWARD WINNERS

Ad/PR Network Board

Three alumni were honored by our Ad/PR Alumni Network Board for their work in the field of advertising/public relations. Pictured (from left): Jay “Whit” Friese (’90), vice president/creative marketing, The Home Depot; Anne Sparkman Glassmyer (’04), senior vice president/corporate communications, Scholastic; and Bradley E. Hunter (’07), head of business development/advertising, Twelve Labs.

Alumni Society Board

Winners of Bellisario College Alumni Society Board awards

were (front row, from left): Dana O’Neil (’90), Marty Radovanic, Dejanae Gibson (’19), (back row, from left) Krishna Kishore (’96 Ph.D.), Christopher Ali and John C. Powell (’65).

Young members of Penn State filmmaking network move project toward completion

Short film shot in Centre County set for potential Centre Film Festival debut

It is an early Thursday morning in downtown State College. The chance of rain is high, after a week of summer downpours. That doesn’t stop a group of Penn State alumni and student filmmakers as they unload their gear into a downtown bar for the first day of production on a short film titled “How to Play with Death.”

Development on the project began six weeks earlier when a group from the Bellisario College met in the basement of a sandwich shop the day after their senior thesis films premiered at the State Theatre. Among the team were three people who earned their bachelor’s degrees in May — director Katie Bagley, writer/producer Lucas Hydock, lead sound Carolyn DeRosa — and one senior, director of photography Bert Davis.

Other members joined the production team because of relationships established through previous Penn State projects. Editor John Payne, who graduated in 2024, had worked with Bagley on two previous short films — “Exactly What You’d Expect“ (2023) and “The Mime” (2025).

Assistant B camera Sam Sedgwick, also a 2024 graduate, directed a Telly Award-winning project for CommAgency, which Lucas helped produce. Fellow assistant B camera Brady Bast participated in the 2025 Penn State Hollywood Program with

Davis and had worked on several short films and CommAgency videos with members of the team.

In a more-than-students connection, Jim Westrick, an assistant teaching professor of film production, and the first film professor for Bagley and Lucas, provided grip work.

On camera, Bagley plays Jane, a flighty goofball with an affinity for rock music and bar fights. Adam Tinkelman, who starred in “The Mime,” plays Hunter, a reserved gent with a big heart who helps Jane chase the adrenaline of near-death experiences. Playing the passionate DNR Agent is Gavin Stone, a childhood friend of Lucas. Also, Lucas’ close friend Joe Messner, who earned his Penn State bachelor’s degree in engineering, plays the bartender.

Production of “How to Play with Death” lasted three days at locations across Centre County, between a stretch of rainy days and a nasty heatwave. The budget for the film was supported by the inaugural Pottsville Film Festival, which provided Lucas $500 when he won Best Student Film for his short “My Next Guest” (2025).

“How to Play with Death” is currently in post-production and expected to premiere at film festivals this fall, including the seventh annual Centre Film Festival.

Filming of “How to Play With Death” was conducted at several locations in Centre County.

CURRENT BELLISARIO COLLEGE ALUMNI BY STATE

ALUMNI BOARDS

Ad/PR Alumni Network Board

Jeanmarie Biemer (’17 Journ)

Richard Frank (’94 Eng)

Kelly Gallagher (’14 Ad/PR)

Anne Sparkman Glassmyer (’04 Ad/PR)

Amanda Harrington (’16 Ad/PR)

Becky Kitlan (’07 Ad/PR)

Steven Lampert (’74 Journ), past president

Adam Pietrala (’04 Ad/PR)

Alexandra Piscitelli (’13 Ad/PR)

Melanie Querry (’98 Ad/PR)

Caitlin Rush (’12 Ad/PR)

Suzanne Schulner (’08 Ad/PR), past vice president

Ned Show (’89 Journ)

Tara L. Smith (’06 Ad/PR), president

Evan Spector (’95 Econ)

Heather Wagner (’18 Ad/PR)

Allison Wulfhorst (’20 Ad/PR)

Holly Semanchick Xhema (’15 Ad/PR), vice president

Jasper Abrahams (’26 Journ), student rep.

Lucy Bickel (’26 Ad/PR), student rep.

CURRENT BELLISARIO COLLEGE ALUMNI BY COUNTRY

Australia 8

Bahrain 1

Bangladesh 1

Bolivia 2

Brazil 4

Brunei 1

Canada 31

Cayman Islands 1

China 468

Colombia 1

Cyprus 5

Dominican Republic 2

Ecuador 5

Egypt 1

Fiji 1

Finland 1

Germany 4

Guatemala 2

Grenada 1

Greece 2

Ghana 1

Hong Kong 19

Hungary 1

Italy 6

Israel 2

Iran 1

Indonesia 1

Ireland 1

India 26

Jordan 2

Japan 18

Kazakhstan 9

Bellisario College alumni live in 68 different countries outside the United States.

Alumni Society Board

Nancy Berman (’19 Ad/PR)

Felicia Bray (’07 Journ)

Brian DiTullio (’10 Telecomm)

Alex Gilliland (’14 Journ)

Elissa Hill (’19 Ad/PR)

Jack Hirsh (’20 Journ)

Ali Ingersoll (’12 Journ)

Madeliene Maggs (’16 Journ), secretary

Ebony Martin (’14 Journ), past president

Kuwait 3

Malaysia 11

Mongolia 1

Mexico 3

New Zealand 2

Netherlands 4

Nigeria 2

Poland 2

Panama 2

Philippines 2

Pakistan 1

Qatar 1

Romania 1

Russia 1

Saudi Arabia 2

Singapore 7

Spain 6

Sweden 1

Switzerland 5

Taiwan 47

Thailand 8

Turkey 1

Uganda 1

Ukraine 1

United Arab Emirates 7

United Kingdom 27

Venezuela 4

Vietnam 4

Zimbabwe 2

Military Abroad 20

Bryant Powell (’10 Telecomm)

Will Price (’17 Journ)

Maddy Pryor (’13 Ad/PR), president

Tanya Scalisi (’08 Ad/PR)

Anne Marie Toccket (’06 Journ)

Jolie Wehrung (’15 Journ)

Get on board!

10.2% of Bellisario College alumni live outside the United States

Young Alumni Council

Kelsey Bell (’20 Ad/PR)

Adrea Cope (’17 Ad/PR)

Carly Fried (’20, Ad/PR)

Caroline Goggin (’14 Journ)

Here’s your chance to join the Bellisario College’s Ad/PR Alumni Networking Board! The group serves as a resource for faculty, students and alumni with class visits, mentoring, events and more!

APPLY ONLINE

Hal Ackerman, playwright, screenwriter

Stephen Anderson, director

Jon Abels, senior director/creative, Penn State

Dan Balton (’15), jib, techno jib and camera operator, producer, director

Nate Bauer (’05), editor, Blue White Illustrated/On3

Mary Lou Belli (’78), author and TV director

Alex Beeman, video producer/editor, Penn State

Hannah (Biondi) Bennett (’14), senior director/branded content, Omaha Productions

Michael Biesecker, global investigative reporter, The Associated Press

E.J. Borghetti, executive associate athletic director, University of Pittsburgh

Laila Brock (’00, ’02 MA), senior vice president/community impact and strategic partnerships, Atlanta Dream

Judson Burch (’92), vice president-production, ESPN

Àlex Lora Cercos, filmmaker

Vince Chandler (’12), director of communications, Office of Denver City Council

Garrick Chow Sr., staff instructor, LinkedIn

James Codoyannis, filmmaker

Suki Dardarian, former editor/senior VP, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Shaina Feinberg, filmmaker

Bianca Flowers, race and justice correspondent, Reuters

Phil Galewitz (’87), senior correspondent, KFF Health News

Dejanae Gibson (’19), operations manager, TIME Studios

Don Hudson, retired editor, Newsday

Jim Ivler (’90), NFL agent, Sportsstars

Jon Iwata, executive fellow/lecturer, Yale School of Management

Sarah Kaufman, dance critic, Washington Post

Brad Keen, manager-brand partnerships, Highmark Health

Pat Kenny, director of communications, Big Ten Network

Chenjerai Kumanyika (’95, ’13 Ph.D), creator/host, “Empire City” podcast

Kellen Manning, director/social media, Penn State

Dan Masonson, vice president communications, NBC Sports

Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, filmmaker

Justine Morvan, filmmaker

Kévin Noguès, filmmaker

Julian Brave Noisecat, filmmaker

Shade Olasimbo (’12), principal creative video producer, HubSpot

Patrick Littlewolf Brooks, artist, musician, storyteller

Joe Colacurcio, senior vice president, Weber Shandwick

Cory Doctorow, science fiction author, activist and journalist

Michael Owen, photographer, Penn State

Jennifer Paganelli (’02), vice president, Real Chemistry

Alex (Alexandra) Palacios (’22), creative marketing production assistant, NBCUniversal

Kait Plum, filmmaker Ricardo Preve, filmmaker

Mark H. Rapaport, filmmaker

Daniel Robbins, filmmaker

Vivian Schiller, vice president/executive director, Aspen Digital at Aspen Institute

Tara Schumal, crewing associate manager, FOX Sports

Adar Shafran, filmmaker

Mike Signora (’96), senior vice president of football and international communications, NFL

Dan Soloman (’14), vice president-corporate partnerships, Playfly Sports

Brooke Steach (’22), digital video content assistant, ESPN

Audrey Snyder (’12), staff writer, The Athletic

Gigi Sohn, lawyer/co-founder, Public Knowledge

Kelsey Sweet, social media strategist, Buffalo Bills

Blake Thresher, motion designer, Penn State

Luzer Twersky, actor

Kara Volkman, manager of human resources and operations, Stewart Talent

Andrew Kevin Walker (’86), screenwriter

Nick Weiss (’19), director/cinematographer

Emily West, professor, University of Massachusetts

Lillian Xu, executive director/audio, Vox Media

Congratulations, Emily Clevenger!

More than 200 high school journalists from across the state visited the University Park campus on April 1 for the 2025 Pennsylvania Scholastic Press Student Journalism Contest Finals. During the annual event, the Bellisario College’s recruitment manager, Emily Clevenger, was honored with the Pennsylvania Scholastic Press Association’s highest honor, the Keystone Award, for her support of high school journalism.

Evan Porter, director of brand marketing, Urban Outfitters

1970s

Micheal Danese (’77 Film) has published a short story, “Silent Sal and the Locked Down Murder,” about a prominent businessman from the big city found stabbed in a sleepy beach town during the offseason. His stories are widely available, including at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes and his website: michaeldanese.com

Dave Blazek (’79 Journ) released the book “Amusing Thingies” in October 2024. It’s the latest collection of single-panel cartoons from his syndicated cartoon “Loose Parts,” which appears in 120 newspapers in the United States and beyond. It’s his ninth book. Blazek has earned the Reuben Award, the highest honor bestowed by the National Cartoonists Society, three times.

1980s

Mark Tosh (’81 Journ) works as a ranger/starter at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, after retiring from WebMD, where he had worked with the Jabson Health Division since 2016. He previously held reporting positions with The Times Leader (Wilkes-Berre, Pennsylvania), The Montgomery Journal (Rockville, Maryland) and Women’s Wear Daily at its Paris office.

1990s

Jeffrey Pierre Ballou (’90 Journ) married Rasheedah Iman Thomas on Nov. 15, 2024, at their home church, Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C. Ballou, who was born and raised in Pittsburgh, works as a producer for ABC News in its Washington, D.C. Bureau. They live in Washington, D.C.

Amy Neil (’90 Journ) works as vice president for enterprise internal communications, intelligence and digital hub at Highmark Health.

Dana O’Neil (’90 Journ) joined Villanova University as senior associate athletic director/strategic communication. She’s also a freelance editor/writer and most recently worked as a senior writer for The Athletic.

Tony Scott (’98 Journ) is serving his third term in the Connecticut state legislature. He represents the towns of Monroe, Easton and Trumbell in the 12th district. He lives in Monroe, Connecticut.

Joce Sterman (’99 Journ) was promoted to senior national investigative reporter at Gray Media and IntestigateTV.

2000s

Letrell Deshan Crittenden (’01 Journ, ’08 MA Media Studies) is director of the Center for Community-Engaged Media at the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication, Temple University. He was previously director of inclusion and audience engagement at the American Press Institute and, before that an assistant professor and program director at Thomas Jefferson University.

Anne Marie Toccket (’06 Journ, Lib) is executive director of the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh. She’s the first executive director of the family foundation whose mission is to seek high-leverage opportunities to advance long-term solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges in our western Pennsylvania and around the world.

Maggie Redden (’07 Media Studies) was named deputy director of communications for the City of Falls Church, Virginia in December 2024.

2010s

Patrick Littlewolf Brooks, artist, musician, storyteller

Sarah (Park) Shirck (’10 Telecomm), the senior VP of organizational growth and development for the Yes& Agency, was named to the 2025 class of Alexandria Chamber of Commerce’s 40 Under 40 Awards.

Christiana Pascale (’12 Journ) is a senior group director on Real Chemistry’s media and engagement team working with biotech and pharmaceutical companies across a variety of specialty areas.

Matt Bufano (’13 Journ) is the manager of news and media relations for the University of Scranton.

Patrick Littlewolf Brooks, artist, musician, storyteller

Jesse Fox Mayshark (’91 Journ) was named publisher and executive director at The Progressive South, a nonprofit media platform for progressive values and voices across the southern United States.

Chris Krewson (’98 Journ) is executive director of LION Publishers, a local independent news organization based in Philadelphia. The company strengthens the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses.

Kristin Stoller (’14 Journ) is an editorial director for Fortune magazine.

Mikel Jones (’15 Journ) was named senior vice president, marketing and content at Citi in January 2025.

Robert Strang (’16 Ad/PR) joined the WP Intelligence team as a senior sales executive. He oversees revenue for membership councils and professional subscriptions to the Washington Post.

Alexis Tomacruz (’16 Journ) is a senior business systems analyst for Warby Parker.

Vincent Lungaro (’18 Journ) joined Minneapolis-based Management HQ as a marketing communications coordinator. He previously worked with the Penn State Alumni Association. Jerome Taylor (’19 Journ) is a marketing strategist at YCharts.

2020s

Matthew Solovey (’22 MA StratComm) is a manager of marketing strategy for Highmark Health. He also serves as an adjunct instructor for the Bellisario College. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Penn State in organizational leadership.

Julia Foust (’21 Telecomm) works as a content associate at ESPN, recently helping bring the second season of “Full Court Press” to the network’s channels. She was also part of a team that won a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Editing-Long Form for “Rhythm Masters: A Mickey Hart Experience.”

Sean Hudson (’22 Ad/PR), director of community relations (military affairs) for the Washington Nationals, earned his master’s degree in professional studies and public relations and corporate communications from Georgetown University.

Grace Tomlinson (’22 Telecomm) joined Stop & Shop as a brand marketing coordinator.

Patrick O’Brien (’23 Film, Eng) is a process engineer for Eastern Research Group, creating training asset videos for their manufacturing efforts.

Ella Castronuovo (’24 Journ) is a residential real estate, banker and regional growth reporter for Nashville Business Journal.

Cameron Hightower (’24 Film) is an accounting assistant at Worldwide Production Agency

Lexi Kranich (’24 Journ) is the communications director for U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan, who represents North Carolina’s 10th District.

Town to Times

A visit to the New York Times by Maymester students brought together State College ‘”townies.” That’s sophomore journalism major Evan Mellace (second from left) with alumni (from left) Mike Abrams (’94), deputy standards editor at the Times, Dan Victor (’06), senior live editor at the Times, and Jenny Vrentas (’06), a Times reporter who covers money, power and the influence of sports. All four grew up in State College.

Kayla Marerro (’24 Ad/PR), a social media marketer for The PR Habitat, was honored as a 2025 Young Changemaker in North America by PRovoke Media and We. Communications.

Cristian Mexquititla (’24 Film) is a technical director at Univision 65.

Abby Minnich (’24 Film) is an operations manager for Snapology/STEM learning programs.

Anjelica Rubin (’24 Journ) works as a technology and innovation reporter for the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Patrick Littlewolf Brooks, artist, musician, storyteller

Mike Bolger (’25 Journ) accepted a position as a producer at KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Andy Young (’24 Film) is a sound mixer for WITF Public Broadcasting.

Keely Lamm (’25 Journ), accepted a position as merchandise lead for the Savannah Bananas.

Lily Ramos (’25 Media Studies) joined Ralph Lauren in New York as part of the company’s Rotational Program.

Nick Volpe (’25 Telecomm) started work as a freelance broadcast associate at the MLB Network.

Avery Walker (’25 Ad/PR) accepted a position as an associate on the corporate digital team at Golin in New York City.

Yeyya Wane (’25 Journ) was accepted into the master’s program for journalism at Columbia University.

SUBMIT an alumni note.

Patrick Littlewolf Brooks, artist, musician, storyteller

Penn State historian, Bellisario College instructor and alumnus Lou Prato passes away

Lou Prato, a 1959 Penn State alumni, distinguished journalist, author and historian of Penn State, passed away at the age of 87 on Feb. 25, 2025.

Prato had a lifelong passion for Penn State Athletics. He had a career in television while also working on many freelance opportunities. He taught classes at Penn State and was the founding director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum. Prato dedicated much of his life narrating the history of Penn State football and Penn State Athletics.

“Lou Prato was the authority on all things Penn State Athletics history,” said Pat Kraft, Penn State’s vice president for intercollegiate athletics. “From the moment I met Lou, I could tell how much sharing the stories of Penn State meant to him and how important it was to him to keep those stories alive. His passion for this University was only matched by his love for his family.”

During his career, Prato authored a number of Penn State books, including “The Penn State Football Encyclopedia,” “100 Things Penn State Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Game Changers: Penn State.” He is also known for exploring the origins of the iconic “We Are … Penn State” chant.

Prato’s career began at The Daily Collegian, where he was sports editor in 1958. Following his studies at Penn State, Prato’s career included 40 years as a news director in the broadcast industry (Detroit and Dayton) as well as roles in higher education directing Northwestern University’s journalism program in Washington, D.C., and as an instructor and guest lecturer in several communications courses at Penn State.

As the first director of the All-Sports Museum in 2002, Prato led the project from the ground up. He dedicated thousands of hours as a volunteer to his alma mater, serving as an original member of the Bellisario College Alumni Society Board, working on the All-Sports Museum Board, speaking to alumni groups from coast to coast, and mentoring numerous Penn Staters through the decades.

He also dedicated more than 30 years to the Radio and Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), including 20 years as the treasurer for its Board of Directors. In 2001, RTDNA created the Lou and Carole Prato Sports Reporting Scholarship, which is awarded to a journalism student who brings Lou’s journalism values to cover sports.

Prato won the Alumni Achievement Award from the Bellisario College Alumni Society Board in 2016. The Alumni Achievement Award is presented to a graduate or friend of the college whose significant contributions to the college and/or University, in terms of time and talent, have brought distinction to themselves, the college and the University.

He is survived by his wife, Carole, a son, Scott, and daughters, Vicki Rearick and Lori Keating.

Rod Nordland (’72 Journ)

Rod Nordland, a reporter who covered most of the world’s major wars for The New York Times, Newsweek and other publications for four decades, died June 18, 2025, at his home in Manhattan. He was 75.

Nordland died from an aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma, that he wrote at length about in recent years. A 2019 article about his illness eventually led to his memoir, “Waiting for the Monsoon,” which was published in 2024.

Nordland received an Alumni Fellow Award from Penn State in 1990 and a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. He visited the University Park campus for those honors and presented at his alma mater as part of the Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers in 2003.

Still, Nordland spent much of his adult life, nearly 40 years, overseas, as a foreign correspondent or leading overseas bureaus during the heyday of such operations for print journalism outlets. His stellar work earned two George Polk awards, several Overseas Press Club awards and many other honors. He received the 2016 Signet Society Medal at Harvard, where he was a Nieman Fellow. The medal is awarded for “outstanding achievement in the arts” and rarely given to journalists; previous recipients have included T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost.

Nordland attended Penn State on a full scholarship, focusing on journalism after he’d learned its power as a teenager. His talent and tenacity were legendary among his colleagues at The Daily Collegian, across campus and beyond.

He was immediately hired by The Philadelphia Inquirer upon graduation and had an important role on the team that won the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting in 1980 for coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.

Nordland discovered the power of journalism as a senior in high school. After his brother, Gary, got into an argument with a policeman, who subsequently beat him with a billy club, Nordland wrote a letter to The Times-Chronicle, the local paper in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Not long after, the policeman was suspended and apologized to Nordland’s brother.

In his memoir, Nordland called the incident a “revelation.”

“I could write my rage,” he wrote. “Not only that, but doing so could result in some kind of change for the better. I could find the people who were like me, cowering from my father as a kid, or like my brother, smacked around by an irresponsible cop, or like my mother, abused by a violent husband and tormented by aggressive bill collectors.”

Stan Degler (’51 Journ)

Stan Degler, whose career spanned more than five decades in Washington, D.C., and set a standard for generations of successors to emulate, died July 4, 2025. He was 95.

Degler launched a one-man news bureau in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1950s, later worked for the National Automobile Dealers Association magazine and then spent 33 years with the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) — a position that defined his career. He became executive editor in charge of all BNA publications and, later, senior vice president of what became Bloomberg BNA. He served on the organization’s board for 11 years.

In 2016, Degler made a $1 million gift to support what was then a semester-in-residence program for Penn State students in the nation’s capital, with the experience becoming known as the Stanley E. Degler Washington Program.

Rick Matthews (’75 Journ)

Richard “Rick” Matthews died Jan. 18, 2025, at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. He was 71.

Matthews, who was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Plumsteadville, Pennsylvania, crafted a 47-year career in public relations, including tenures at Prudential Financial and TrizecHahn Corporation/Trizec Properties. He also spent 17 years at the renowned New York firm Rubenstein Communications Inc., specializing in real estate and financial public relations, before retiring in 2022.

After his retirement, Matthews fulfilled a lifelong dream of spending his days on a golf course by working at the Great Gorge Golf Course in Vernon. He was a member of the Tri-State Actors Theater Board, the National Association of Real Estate Editors and was a program officer for the Prudential Foundation.

In addition, Matthews was active in the Penn State Alumni Association and was a Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity member.

Tarmara Abromitis (’07 Telecomm)

Tamara Abromitis died May 5, 2024, after a sixyear-long battle with breast cancer. She was 39.

Abromitis was a Pennsylvania native (born in Lewisburg and raised in Selinsgrove) who moved to Arizona and found a family by engaging with the Phoenix Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association.

She was an energetic and lively presence at alumni events and eventually served as the chapter’s president.

Professionally, Abromitis worked in marketing, radio and sports promotion. She also regularly volunteered for the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Her mother, Marianne, died of breast cancer when Abromitis was 15.

BELLISARIO COLLEGE CALENDAR

Aug. 25, 2025 Fall Semester Classes Begin

Sept. 1, 2025 Labor Day Holiday

Sept. 14-15, 2025 Alumni Society Board Meeting

Oct. 10-12, 2025 Penn State Homecoming Weekend

Nov. 6, 2025 COMM Careers in the Capital

Nov. 10-16, 2025

Centre Film Festival

Nov. 24-28, 2025 Thanksgiving Holiday

Dec. 12, 2025 Fall Semester Classes End

Dec. 21, 2025

Jan. 12, 2026

Jan. 19, 2026

Feb. 20, 2026

Feb. 20-22, 2026

Commencement

Spring Semester Classes Begin

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

JobExpo.COMM

Penn State Dance Marathon

March 9-13, 2026 Spring Break

March 22-24, 2026 Ad/PR Alumni Network Board Meeting

May 1, 2026

May 9, 2026

Spring Semester Classes End

Commencement

201 CARNEGIE BUILDING

319 FRASER ROAD

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA 16802

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