October 13, 2014

State System university students win prestigious scholarships, research awards

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – California University of Pennsylvania classmates Jessica Laguerre-Joseph and Breanna Lincoski have big ambitions.

Laguerre-Joseph of Philadelphia says she someday wants to have a career overseas, perhaps eventually being stationed in the Democratic Republic of Congo or Haiti, “to work on projects to alleviate poverty, eradicate illiteracy and advocate for women’s rights.” To help prepare for such a career, she studied this summer at the Centre International d’Antibes in southern France.
Lincoski of Daisytown, Pa., wants to be a veterinarian. To help boost her prospects of getting into the graduate school of her choice, she spent five weeks this summer at a field school in Madagascar, where she studied lemurs, reptiles, amphibians and birds.
Both were recipients of a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. They were CalU’s first two recipients of the prestigious, nationally competitive award.
“Study abroad is a transformational experience,” says Elizabeth Bennellick, Cal U’s director of international programming. “Scholarships such as the Gilman award make study abroad more accessible to students who may not otherwise be able to afford it.”
Three other current students at Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education universities also received Gilman scholarships this year.
Lindsey Hein, a junior majoring in international studies at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, is spending the entire 2014-15 academic year at LHU’s partner institution, The Institute for Leadership and Communication, in Rabat, Morocco, thanks to her Gilman scholarship.
Kevin Crist, a senior from Harrisburg who is majoring in both international management and finance at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, is studying international business at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark. Aarhus University is a business and social sciences university and is an exchange partner with Shippensburg.
Megan Soucy, a senior communications major at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania from Basking Ridge, N.J., spent part of her summer in Togo, Africa, where she worked with AGERTO, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that seeks to create lasting solutions to poverty and environmental sustainability. The organization operates four sites in Togo and trains Togolese youth in entrepreneurial crafts.
“Because Togo is a French-speaking country, they don’t have any English outreach,” Soucy said. “So I and the other volunteers created an English version of their website, built a Facebook page and established a ‘GoFundMe’ campaign. We were also able to provide our supervisor with insight into how to reach out and connect with other English-speaking countries.”
The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world. Recipients compete for the awards against students from colleges and universities across the United States.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has had 11 Gilman scholarship award winners in recent years, most recently Leah Barbera, who studied in Sweden last fall. IUP students also have won numerous other nationally competitive scholarships in recent years, including 12 Fulbright awards, six Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships and 12 Freeman-Asia study abroad awards.
Recipients of these and other nationally competitive scholarships and research awards are peppered across State System universities, evidence of the high quality teaching provided by the faculty and the high caliber of students who attend the schools.
“Our faculty and our students are outstanding in so many ways,” said State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan. “When you add to the mix international experiences such as these, there is no question that our State System universities are providing a high-quality, high-value education.”
Some of the nationally competitive scholarships won by State System university students are uniquely designed.
For example, Nicole Palin, a student in East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Extended Learning Public Health program, which is offered at PASSHE Center City, recently received one of only 30 national awards through the 2014 Talbots Women’s Scholarship program. This scholarship is for women who return to college later in life. Specifically, winners must have earned their high school diploma or their GED prior to September 2004.
Palin enrolled at ESU in fall 2013 and takes courses as a full-time student in the evenings, online and on weekends, while balancing family and life responsibilities. She will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in public health with a health services concentration next year and plans to continue her studies at Temple University, majoring in the dual Master of Public Health/Juris Doctor program focusing in public health law and policies.
Jordan McCormick, a meteorology major at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, was the recipient of a 2013-14 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. The Hollings scholarship is a national-level award that provides recipients with the opportunity for additional training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology and education, as well as academic assistance and an internship opportunity at a NOAA facility.
Among State System university students earning recent national awards are several student-athletes from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.
Dustin Thomas, a cross country and track and field standout, received both the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, one of 174 awards annually to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically, and the 2014 American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Major of the Year Award. Thomas of Broadview Heights, Ohio, graduated with a 3.97 GPA.
Bryan Baumgartner of Edinboro was awarded one of only two 2014 Jim McKay Scholarships awarded by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Established in 2008 to honor the contributions of pioneer sports journalist Jim McKay, the program annually awards $10,000 each to one female and one male student-athlete in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and potential to contribute to the sports communication industry.
In addition to being able to compete for and earn prestigious scholarships, State System university students also have the opportunity through programs such as the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) funded by the National Science Foundation to work with some of the top scientific researchers in the country. And, when they do, they regularly stand out.
Kelsey Mengle, a Shippensburg University Honors Program student, conducted research at the University of Cincinnati, this summer. At the end of the program, she won the award for top student research project and was nominated to present her work at the Council on Undergraduate Research’s REU Symposium being held this month in Arlington, Va. She also plans to pursue publication of her research findings.
Mengle was joined at the University of Cincinnati by Noelle Jurcak from Edinboro University, who also was selected to participate in the REU program. Jurcak’s classmate Dominic Sirianni won an REU award too and conducted his research project at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Jimmy Fowler, a senior at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, was one of only 20 undergraduate students in the nation selected to participate in the National Center for Atmospheric Research Undergraduate Leadership Workshop this summer. He and the other students selected met with scientists, received mentoring and learned about different career paths in the atmospheric sciences and about how scientists can serve as leaders in the community.
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with about 110,000 students. The 14 State System universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study.
The universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operates branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP) and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.