By Heather Cass
Publications & Design Coordinator, Penn State Behrend

Sha’Rayne “Ray” Smith

Hometown: Newark, N.J.

Majors: International Business and Marketing

Minors: Management and International Studies

A true leader: While earning two majors and two minors, Sha’Rayne “Ray” Smith also served as president of the Multi-Cultural Council, overseeing twelve smaller minority organizations. She was the only student chair on the Institutional Equity and Diversity Committee and is a former president of the Human Relations Programming Council. As if all of that weren’t enough, she is also a reservist in the United States Army.

On her duties as a soldier: “I’ve been a reservist for the past five years. I specialize in heavy equipment operations and can operate more than fifteen heavy equipment machines.”

Ray’s definition of a good life: “Albert Einstein said, ‘It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world, at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it,’ I believe that a good life is not one that concentrates on the happiness and success of oneself. A good life is one that positively contributes to the lives of others.”

How she plans to contribute: “I’m passionate about making the world more sustainable.”

Sha’Rayne Smith is the Farewell Speaker at Penn State Behrend’s Winter Commencement this Friday, December 19.