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Behrend Machinists Build More Than Parts

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By Heather Cass, Publications Manager, Penn State Behrend

Chris, left, and Andy Bartlett

The School of Engineering’s annual Fasenmeyer Design Conference is a big day for senior engineering student, the culmination of a two-semester capstone project. Faculty, industry sponsors, family, and friends fill the presentation rooms. Students wear suits and aim to impress.

So, when one team’s project literally fell apart outside the classroom minutes before their presentation, you can imagine the panic it induced. The project, months of work, lay in pieces.

Then Chris and Andy Bartlett arrived.

With tools in hand, Penn State Behrend’s resident machinists and problem-solvers dropped to their knees beside the students.

“It was like a NASCAR pit crew in the hallway,” Chris recalls with a laugh.

They got it working. The students presented. The project succeeded.

It’s exactly the kind of moment Chris and Andy relish and show up for—even when they don’t have to.

“They don’t have to come in over the weekends to machine parts for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) club’s competition car the week before our competition,” said Hunter Kamensky, a senior Mechanical Engineering Technology major and a member of the club’s executive board. “They didn’t have to become Environmental Health and Safety coordinators of the SAE/Robotics Lab to ensure our safety, and they didn’t have to come to the SAE club’s car-testing day at Lake Erie Speedway to show their support, but they did. They care about students.”

Chris has been at Behrend for five years; Andy, his uncle, for three. Combined, they bring sixty years of tool-and-die industry experience to the School of Engineering.

They also bring a willingness to show up, say yes, and help students turn drawings into reality.

We sat down with Chris and Andy to talk about their work, why manufacturing matters, and what they hope students learn from them.

For someone unfamiliar with machining, how would you describe what you do here day-to-day?

Chris: We make things the engineering students and faculty design.

Andy:  We try to help them succeed by giving them the best approaches and let them know when something is not feasible. 3D printing is cool, but it’s fictitious. You can design and build parts with a 3D printer that won’t hold up in the real world.

What kinds of projects do you most often help with? Do any stand out as especially challenging?

Chris: We help with research projects, molds for the Plastics Engineering Technology program, welding, fabrication, capstone projects, and student clubs. We’re big supporters of the clubs because students learn a lot tinkering and working on side projects.

Andy: One of the most challenging projects we work on every year is the Cast in Steel capstone project, where students design and build functional replicas of traditionally forged items using modern steel casting. It’s reverse engineering. You basically have to work backward to create the piece. It’s technical, hands-on, and really fun.

When a student brings you a design that isn’t quite manufacturable, how do you handle it?

Chris: We can usually tell just by looking at plans what will work and what won’t. We mark it up, make suggestions, and show them the empirical data on what they are trying to do and why they need to revise.

Andy: Students do challenge us sometimes. We allow them to think it through or even try it, unless it’s going to be catastrophic. Failure teaches more than success.

The difference for us, having worked years in industry, is that we know manufacturing is inherently challenging. But in the shop, where they’re making a profit, everything has to be perfect. Failure is not something they embrace. The education environment is quite the opposite—we let them think through a bad idea. Then they really understand it.

What do engineering students learn in the shop that they can’t learn in a classroom?

Andy: In manufacturing, you learn that there are things that can be perfect in theory but impractical in real life. Tolerancing is a concept that clicks in the machine shop. The weight of materials and size of parts matter. Plastic is light, steel is very heavy. The physical reality matters.

Chris: Before they get to the machine shop, they’re working on fundamentals and hypotheticals. It’s all theoretical in the classroom, but when they see it, they really get it.

Andy: We have a dozen MET students, mostly seniors, who work with us on a weekly basis now. We wish we could get them in the shop in their first year. It would aid everything they’re learning in the classroom.

Can you share a memorable moment working with students?

Chris: That hallway moment with the senior design team—the NASCAR pit crew moment—that’s one.

Andy: Attending the SAE vehicle club’s training sessions at Lake Erie Speedway. We were testing on the track, doing modifications right there. We try to teach students to stay calm, even when things fall apart—because they will. You can’t be in a panic and do good engineering work.

How does your industry experience influence how you teach and support students?

Andy: At 22, young people tend to think they know everything, but I tell them when they get their first job, try to find a guy who is 50 or 55 and learn as much as you can from him. Those guys have real-world experience. You can learn a lot from them.

We also tell them to work on their interpersonal and teamwork skills, and we just try to instill the reality that manufacturing is hard work, and they will have mundane days. That’s just life.

Chris: We also encourage internships. That real-world experience is invaluable. They’re getting an excellent education at Penn State Behrend, but that physical contact with manufacturing matters.

Safety regulations limit the students’ access to the shop. How have you tried to help maintain hands-on opportunities?

Andy:  We started to think about ways that we could legally allow students to work in the shop and have been making some headway. There’s a danger factor. We have limitations we have to work with. There’s a lot of training involved.

We’re very involved in America’s Cutting Edge (ACE), which offers hands-on CNC training at Behrend for students over sixteen. It’s ideal for those who are interested in exploring engineering, manufacturing, or hands-on technical careers.

Chris: ACE gave us the ability to get mechanical engineers on the floor for a forty-hour boot camp. They construct an air engine. In total, we’ve had about sixty students take part in the boot camps.

Andy: We also offer support for the METAL program—a four-day hands-on training experience in casting and forging. The goal of these programs is to get young people involved in manufacturing. The next round of skilled manufacturing workers are being developed here.

There are camps scheduled for spring break and right after the semester ends, in May.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Chris: Working with students. Teaching them what I love to do.

Andy: I love it when a student has that lightbulb moment. When they think…“Now that thing I learned in class a year ago makes sense.”

We also love that Behrend emphasizes hands-on experiences. We hear back from friends in the field that Behrend students stand out on the manufacturing floors. One told us: “If I go into a shop and I see a student or young employee who is really sharp, I ask where they go to school—it’s almost always Behrend.”

What do you hope students carry with them from their time working with you?

Andy: We talk about life a lot. We tell them: The most stressful jobs make the most money. What is your life worth to you? How important is that money? Consider if you want to walk that walk.

Chris: We want them to understand that this is real. This is how things are made. This is how you solve problems. And we want them to know they can do it.

Andy: Manufacturing is such a noble thing. Man is meant to make things.

Infinite Lizards, Infinite Beauty

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Math and art converge in Behrend’s growing “geometry gallery”

By Heather Cass, Publications Manager, Penn State Behrend

Math isn’t always numbers on a chalkboard. Sometimes it’s a work of art—a swirl of repeating lizards, 3-D printed in Penn State blue and white, then installed in a building where math, art, and science intersect. The lizards blend together in a hypnotic pattern, each appearing to shrink as it spirals toward infinity.  

The piece, Lizards that Tessellate the Hyperbolic Disk, was imagined by Dr. Joseph Previte, professor of mathematics, who wanted to capture the beauty of mathematics in a form anyone could see.

He took the design to the James R. Meehl Innovation Commons, the college’s open ideation lab, where engineering students Anthony Farrar and Quinlan Barnes transformed Previte’s concept into reality with 3-D-printed tiles and a sharp eye for symmetry.

The result is art born from math—or perhaps math revealed as art.

Dutch artist M.C. Escher showed the world that geometry could be beautiful with his mesmerizing tessellations and optical illusions, where patterns unfolded in ways both precise and poetic.

“For centuries, mathematicians questioned the value of studying this type of geometry, dismissed it as impractical and useless, with no relation to reality,” Previte said. “But it later proved essential to modern science, including helping Einstein describe how time and space work in his theory of relativity.”

While some mathematicians ridiculed the study of abstract math, others reveled in it. English mathematician G.H. Hardy argued that mathematics was a pure art form, divorced from practicality—something he took great pride in. Hardy’s theories later laid the groundwork for encryption, proving that beauty and utility often travel together.

That same tension—between abstraction and application, imagination and reality—now hangs on the wall at Behrend.  

Lizards that Tessellate the Hyperbolic Disk joins an existing sculpture, Math in Flight, a stage-5 Sierpinski tetrahedron, a fractal shape featuring a pattern of infinite triangles, that hangs high above the entrance to Roche Hall in the Science Complex.  

Math Club students built the sculpture using Zometool construction parts. It consists of 2,050 white balls and 6,144 red-and-blue struts.

Previte has plans to continue adding to the mathematics art gallery.

“I’d like to do the Platonic solids next,” he said. “I am currently looking for a student in Innovation Commons to make that project a reality.”

Masterpieces, Meet the iPhone: Art History Gets a Makeover

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By Heather Cass, Publications Manager, Penn State Behrend

This spring, students in Dr. Matthew Levy’s AMST 307N: American Art and Society course at Penn State Behrend engaged in a unique interdisciplinary project that blended historical analysis with creative expression. As part of the course, students worked in groups to create tableaux vivants—or “living pictures”—that reenact and recontextualize iconic works of American art that were discussed in class.

Not only did students have to study the formal and thematic elements of a chosen painting, but they also had to consider its relevance to contemporary social and cultural issues.

“Working in groups, they researched their chosen work, gaining a deeper understanding of the social issues it represented,” said Levy, associate professor of art history, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Each group then reimagined their selected artwork for a 21st-century context, using modern props, settings, and interpretations to bridge the past and the present.

“They had to think carefully about props, poses, setting, framing, and more to bring the work of art into modern times,” Levy explained.

Here are several standout projects from the class, along with insights from Levy on what made each piece compelling.

Distant View of Niagara Falls by Thomas Cole: “Where Cole’s view of Niagara Falls depicts the untouched majesty of the falls (represented both by the landscape and the presence of the Native Americans living at one with nature), the students depicted a domesticated and technologized landscape. Using the Wintergreen Gorge as their setting, they drew attention to the power lines, nature trail, and the use of phones to mediate our experience with nature.”

Domestic Happiness by Lilly Martin Spencer: “In the original painting, Spencer offers what was a progressive view of family life for the time, with both mother and father doting on their children. Our students instead depicted a “girl boss” showering praise on the domestic accomplishments of her stay-at-home husband. Notably, no children are present.”

War News from Mexico by Richard Caton Woodville. “Woodville’s painting depicts the latest in information technology—the penny press—which made journalism far more accessible than ever before. Our students depicted a scene in which everyone is responding to the news, not in the shared experience represented by Woodville, but each on their own through their phones and tablets.”

McSorley’s Bar by John Sloan: “Sloan’s painting depicts a scene of working-class sociability in a male-only bar. Our students represented a scene of co-ed sociability in Bruno’s Café on the campus of Penn State Behrend. Again, the presence of devices mediates human-to-human connection. Note how the student group considered the framing of the shot, mirroring the lights and memorabilia on the walls of the original.

Fun fact: McSorely’s Old Ale House is New York City’s oldest continuously operated saloon. The bar did not admit women until it was forced to do so in 1970.”

ABOUT THE COURSE

AMST 307N: American Art and Society covers the history of art in the English colonies and the United States from the seventeenth century to the present, examined through paintings, sculpture, buildings, prints and photographs, as well as exhibitions and national/world fairs.

The course is designed to meet two principal goals. The first is to increase students’ powers of visual analysis and help them build a critical vocabulary for discussing an art object’s medium, composition, style, and iconography. The second is to foster an understanding of the deep implication of the visual arts in their social and cultural contexts.

Ode to Resilience on National Love-a-Tree Day

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John Troncone, left, and Brooks Travis in front of a flowering dogwood that Troncone has transplanted four times in twenty years.

By Heather Cass, Publications Manager, Penn State Behrend

“Bloom where you are planted” is a metaphorical phrase encouraging individuals to make the best of their current circumstances. A real-life example of this sentiment can be found at Penn State Behrend, where a flowering dogwood tree is thriving even after having been transplanted four times.

The tree, Cornus florida, was first planted two decades ago near Lilley Library by groundskeepers John Troncone and Patricia Blackhurst, who is now retired.

“Patty and I planted it along the east side of the library, but it was too wet, and the tree was struggling there,” Troncone said.

They chose to move it next to the old Erie Hall, where the dogwood grew until a fire at Dobbins Dining Hall in March of 2010 forced another move.

“Housing and Food Services had to set up a temporary kitchen in Erie Hall that required us to remove the tree,” Troncone said.

He and Blackhurst dug a third hole for the growing tree, south of the Glenhill swimming pool.  Again, the tree grew and flowered until, a dozen years later, Troncone was once again facing the dogwood that had to go to make room for the Glenhill Gardens project.

He and his new groundskeeping partner, Brooks Travis, had to decide whether to destroy the tree or attempt yet another transplant.

“The timing was good,” Troncone said. “The tree was in the dormant stage at that point, and the weather was dry enough to give it a try.”

Troncone, Travis, and Jack Crowley, a student worker, spent three days carefully digging the tree out, wrapping its roots in burlap and tying them into a root ball for transplant. However, moving the 20-foot tree would be no easy feat.

“Then we got lucky,” Troncone said. “The contractor for the pool project had a track loader and offered to help us move it.”

Troncone and Travis found the perfect spot for the tree in a grassy circle surrounded by the college’s original, historical buildings—Glenhill Farmhouse, Mary Behrend’s Studio, and the Turnbull Building.

It’s space fitting of a tree that has born witness to so many important moments and changes on campus.

It’s currently in full bloom, a gratifying sight for the caretakers who watch over it.

“Brooks and I are pleased with the tree’s condition to date,” Troncone said.  “I’m glad we were able to save it. Hopefully, that will be the last time we have to move it.”

A few interesting facts about flowering dogwood

  • The large, showy “petals” are actually modified leaves called bracts, not true petals.
  • Native Americans used dogwood bark to make scarlet dyes and medicinal teas. 
  • In some cultures, the dogwood is a symbol of rebirth and resurrection. (Fitting for the subject of this blog post!)
  • The “fruit” of the dogwood is a drupe, similar to a plum, with a hard seed inside.
  • Dogwood wood is hard and strong, making it suitable for tool handles, charcoal, and other items.
  • The name dogwood is thought to be a variation of the Old English word “dagwood,” meaning a skewer or dagger. The hard wood of the tree was used to make these tools.
  • Another theory regarding the origin of the name dogwood suggests it could have been named for its berries, called “dogberries,” which might have been considered less desirable or “fit for a dog.”
  • Dogwoods have been used medicinally for generations; the bark is rich in tannins, so ground bark or leaves are used to treat pain, fevers, backaches, dizziness, weakness, excessive sweating, uterine bleeding, and incontinence.

Standout Seniors 2025: Meet Mike Pazuchanics (Mechanical Engineering)

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Penn State Behrend’s Class of 2025 is ready to make its mark on the world. We’re proud of our students and all that they have learned and accomplished here at Behrend. Over the next several weeks, we will introduce you to a few of our remarkable seniors who have conducted valuable research, pioneered innovation, overcome challenges, and engaged in college life in a big way.

Today, we’d like you to meet Mike Pazuchanics.

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Hometown: McMurray, Pennsylvania

Why did you choose Behrend? It has a strong engineering program with professors that prioritize students and teach in small classroom settings. Additionally, I wanted to swim at the D-III level and Behrend has a strong swim team with a great coach.

Why he chose his major: I’ve been surrounded by engineers and problem solvers since a young age. My dad was an engineer, his dad was an engineer, and my mom’s dad repaired commercial printing machines. Their knack for problem solving had a strong influence on me; we were always fixing or building things around the house. I decided to pursue Mechanical Engineering because I have always been interested in how things move and why things are designed the way they are. Additionally, it is a versatile degree that allows me to work in a variety of fields.

Proudest accomplishment at Behrend: I am proud to have completed my degree in four years while competing in varsity athletics. I swam during all four years of college while balancing a challenging academic workload. Managing studying, homework, and projects with the swimming practices, lifting program, and swim meets was challenging.

Campus involvement: I have been a member of the Behrend Swimming and Diviving team for all four of my years at Behrend. I am also the men’s team representative for the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, which provides insight and shares Behrend Athletic program information with the team. During my junior and senior years, I was a grader for Statics and Strengths II. I also played intramural flag football in the spring the past two years with my swim teammates.

Awards and accolades:  I have been part of the AMCC All-Conference all four seasons of my athletic career. Additionally, I was inducted into the Behrend Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, which is the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society. I was voted onto the 2024 AMCC All-Sportsmanship Team in 2024.

I was also an awardee of the 2023 Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Program. The SMART Program is a Department of Defense (DoD) scholarship program for STEM students. SMART provides tuition scholarships which are “repaid” by working at a DoD facility after graduation. This program supports STEM majors in college and assists them with starting their professional careers. I highly encourage any STEM major to apply.

Advice for first-year students: When things are not going according to plan, it can be easy to focus on what is going wrong. Taking a step back to reevaluate or change your perspective can help you reset and focus on what is going right. It is important to remember and appreciate what you have accomplished rather than getting bogged down in little failures.

Mike has accepted an offer from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, after his graduation in May. He will work as a civilian engineer in the maintenance and overhaul of the Navy’s fast-attack nuclear submarines.

Standout Seniors 2025: Meet Daniel Gayoso (Computer Engineering)

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Penn State Behrend’s Class of 2025 is ready to make its mark on the world. We’re proud of our students and all that they have learned and accomplished here at Behrend. Over the next several weeks, we will introduce you to a few of our remarkable seniors who have conducted valuable research, pioneered innovation, overcome challenges, and engaged in college life in a big way.

Today, we’d like you to meet Daniel Gayoso.

Major: Computer Engineering

Hometown: Moon Township, Pennsylvania

Scholarships: Frank S. Palkovic Trustee Scholarship

Why he chose Behrend: I like the smaller size of the campus and classes. It also had a reputable engineering program.

Why he chose his major: I built my first computer when I was 12 years old and kept tinkering all the way through high school. I was always very curious to learn how each hardware component functions alongside the software.

Challenges overcome: My classes, mainly in my junior year, were each a challenge in and of themselves. The raw amount of material to learn was incredible, but what also made it difficult is that much of that material is built off foundational math and science from your first and second year. You have to really understand the foundations.

Involvement and activities: Computer Engineering Club (President, Vice President); Behrend Engineering Ambassadors; Resident Assistant; Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineering Club.

Side quest master:  I constantly get sidetracked during homework assignments and projects related to my major because I’ll see some random term I’ve never heard of that sounds interesting and I end up spending a half hour researching it.

What you’d be surprised to know about him: I have dual citizenship in the United States and Spain and my parents are immigrants from Venezuela. That said, my Spanish is not very good!

What he’s passionate about: Lifting weights and anything related to computers, electronics, or communications.

Learning happens outside class, too: You will get as much out of college and your degree as you put into it. Spend as much time as you can going beyond what’s being taught in the classroom. Join clubs, do internships, take on extra projects, or seek out research opportunities with professors. Like Dr. Abdallah Abdallah, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, says: “Use the knowledge taught to you in your courses to build things outside of them.”

Curiosity and enthusiasm matter: Make sure you enjoy what your major has to offer. The best engineers I know are the ones who think about it 24/7. They are the type of people who wake up in the middle of the night with a solution to a problem they’ve been ruminating on for weeks. This doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice a social life or adequate sleep to be a good engineer, but the more curious and enthusiastic you are about your work, the further you will go.

Advice for first-year students: Make an effort to leave your comfort zone. Also, if you didn’t like the person you were becoming before college or wish that you were different in some way, you can reinvent yourself. It’s a whole new start.

After his graduation in May, Daniel plans to work in the computer engineering field for three to five years and then pursue a master’s degree in computer engineering.

Standout Seniors 2025: Meet Ellen Shade (Mechanical Engineering)

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Penn State Behrend’s Class of 2025 is ready to make its mark on the world. We’re proud of our students and all that they have learned and accomplished here at Behrend. Over the next several weeks, we will introduce you to a few of our remarkable seniors who have conducted valuable research, pioneered innovation, overcome challenges, and engaged in college life in a big way.

Today we’d like you to meet Ellen Shade. 

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Hometown: Edinboro, Pennsylvania

Scholarships: Ernst R. Behrend Scholarship

Awards: President Walker Award, Dean’s List

Why she chose Behrend: It is close to home and has a great engineering program, a beautiful campus, small class sizes, and is really welcoming.

Why she chose her major: I chose Mechanical Engineering because I have always had a love for math and science. I also love it when problems have answers, even it takes some time to figure it out. Engineering also allows me to be creative.

Proudest accomplishment at Behrend: Being elected president of the Behrend Engineering Ambassadors and president of the Society of Women Engineers.

Campus involvement: I was the president of the Society of Women Engineers, president of the Behrend Engineering Ambassadors, a member of Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society), and a member of the Schreyer Honors College. I also did undergraduate research work.

What you’d be surprised to know about her: I was on the women’s basketball team for my first two years at Behrend. In total, I played basketball on school teams for thirteen years.

Welcoming the next gen of women engineers: I am very passionate about inspiring young women to pursue engineering! I loved to volunteer at youth outreach events and connect with them.

Advice for first-year students: Get involved. I have met some of my best friends and found what I am passionate about through joining clubs and organizations.

After her graduation in May, Ellen will work as a Project Engineer at Whiting-Turner in Lexington, Kentucky.

Standout Seniors ’25: Meet Justin Lopez-Beltran (Political Science)

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Penn State Behrend’s Class of 2025 is ready to make its mark on the world. We’re proud of our students and all that they have learned and accomplished here at Behrend. Over the next several weeks, we will introduce you to a few of our remarkable seniors who have conducted valuable research, pioneered innovation, overcome challenges, and engaged in college life in a big way.

Today, we’d like you to meet Justin Lopez-Beltran.

Major: Political Science

Minors: Legal Studies; Applied Economics; Crime, Law and Psychology

Hometown: Fairfield, Connecticut

On choosing Behrend: I chose Behrend for the smaller class sizes and for all the great opportunities the School of Humanities and Social Sciences offers for Political Science majors. Behrend has a small, but very close, community in which I have met lifelong friends and colleagues.

Scholarships: Allyn and Alice Wright Leadership Scholarship (2024), Heintz Family Scholarship for Economics (2023-2025), Lindsay Anne Graygo Trustee Scholarship (2022), Ethel and Irvin Kochel Scholarship International Studies (2022).

Awards: Zachary T. Irwin Humanitarian Award (2024), Penn State Provost Award (2021-2025)

On choosing his major: I have always been fascinated by the operations and efficiency of our state and national government as well as the various policies that affect all Americans. I have dreamed of working in the federal government, and working toward a Political Science degree has fostered an interest in working in the legislative branch. My academic career has helped me get five different internships, most notably one in the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.

His proudest accomplishment at Behrend: Becoming chapter president of my fraternity, Sigma Tau Gamma. It was an honor to serve an organization dedicated to brotherhood, philanthropy, and innovation. In the two years I served on the executive board, three-fourths of that time as president, we achieved historic recruitment numbers, community outreach, and fundraising goals. In the summer of 2024, I was proud to receive four awards on behalf of our chapter at a national conference in Houston, Texas. The fraternity has had a lifelong impact on my personal and professional career, for which I will always be proud and grateful.

On overcoming challenges: The biggest challenge I had to overcome was stress from time management. During multiple semesters, I was managing an internship, serving on the executive boards of various clubs, and being a full-time student all at once. Occasionally, it was overwhelming.

Campus involvement: Sigma Tau Gamma (former president, current member), Pi Sigma Alpha (current vice-president), The National Society of Leadership and Success (member), The Behrend Political Society (former executive board member)

What people might be surprised to know: I fenced for about five years growing up. It’s a great sport.

Advice for first-year students: Get involved on campus. It can be nerve-wracking coming to a new school with new people, but the faster you get involved, the easier everything gets. Joining organizations, going to events, and networking are essential for an exciting professional and social life at Behrend.

After his graduation in May, Justin hopes to work in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.

Standout Seniors ’25: Meet Haley Allen (Biology)

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Penn State Behrend’s Class of 2025 is ready to make its mark on the world. We’re proud of our students and all that they have learned and accomplished here at Behrend. Over the next several weeks, we will introduce you to a few of our remarkable seniors who have conducted valuable research, pioneered innovation, overcome challenges, and engaged in college life in a big way.

Today, we’d like you to meet Haley Allen.   

Major: Biology, Health Profession option

Minor: Psychology

Hometown: Pittsburgh

Scholarships: Penn State Behrend Leadership Scholarship and Chancellor’s Scholarship.

Why she chose Behrend: I chose Behrend because of its close-knit academic environment. The smaller student-to-faculty ratio provides a more personalized learning experience. From my very first visit, I knew Behrend would be a place where faculty and staff would support my ambitions and help me achieve my goals.

Why she chose her major: From as early as I can remember, I was always following my mom, who is a nurse practitioner, around the hospital, dreaming about that being me one day. I chose to pursue my undergraduate degree in Biology at Behrend as a stepping stone toward becoming a physician. One quote that I live by is: “To be the mediator between someone’s fear of today and hope for tomorrow is the greatest responsibility one can have.” I would be incredibly proud to do that as my work one day.

Student involvement: I have had the honor of serving as President for Biology Club, Scrubs Club, and Lion Ambassadors; Vice President for Science Ambassadors, Director of Site Development for Alternative Spring Break, and a Welcome Week Leader during my final academic year. I was also involved in Behrend Benefiting THON.

Pride in Lion leadership:  One of my proudest accomplishments at Behrend has been serving as President of Lion Ambassadors, an organization that holds a special place in my heart. Leading such a dedicated group of students has been an incredibly rewarding experience.  I was honored to receive the Irvin H. Kochel Lion Ambassador Award for my work with the group.

Mind over matter: The biggest challenge I have had to overcome is believing in myself and trusting that I have the abilities needed to succeed, both over the past four years and in the future. I started with small affirmations every day to be confident and have trust in my abilities.

What you’d be surprised to know about her: I have a twin sister. She is a built-in best friend and my biggest supporter in life.

Advice for first-year students: This is probably something they have heard multiple times before, but the reason is because it is so important — get involved. If I could go back in time, this is the one thing I would start earlier on. You never know what you will discover about yourself through extracurricular activities while at Behrend.

After her graduation in May, Haley plans to earn a Master of Business Administration degree at Behrend while preparing for, and applying to, medical school to become a pediatric physician.

Standout Seniors ’25: Meet Ali Ostowar (Management Information Systems)

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Penn State Behrend’s Class of 2025 is ready to make its mark on the world. We’re proud of our students and all that they have learned and accomplished here at Behrend. Over the next several weeks, we will introduce you to a few of our remarkable seniors who have conducted valuable research, pioneered innovation, overcome challenges, and engaged in college life in a big way.

Today, we’d like you to meet Ali Ostowar:

Major: Management Information Systems

Minor: Computer Science

Hometown: Olomouc, Czech Republic

Why he chose Behrend: I wanted a quiet and focused academic environment. University Park sounded too crowded for me, so I opted for Behrend, where I could fully concentrate on my studies.

Why he chose his major: My passion for artificial intelligence (AI) led me to explore various academic paths. I chose Management Information Systems because it allowed me to dive deeper into AI while leveraging my previously earned business credits.

Proudest accomplishment at Behrend:  Writing my Schreyer Honors Thesis has been the highlight of my academic journey. Having the opportunity to collaborate with professors I admire on a topic I’m deeply passionate about—and successfully completing it—stands as my proudest achievement.

Thesis topic: My thesis explored the role of emotions in economic decision-making, particularly whether they promote or hinder rational economic choices. This question has long been debated and has recently gained renewed interest as artificial intelligence advances, raising the question of the necessity of emotions in decision-making. While some argue that emotions are fundamental to decision-making, others suggest that an emotionless approach might be more desirable in specific contexts.

Challenges overcome: Transferring from the United Kingdom, where I studied International Business for a year, was already a challenge. However, the biggest challenge was shifting my focus from business to AI and cognitive science. Fortunately, with the support of my adviser, I was able to tailor my curriculum to align with my evolving interests, ultimately leading to my acceptance into a top AI graduate program in the Netherlands. (Editor’s note: Ostowar was accepted into three of the top AI graduate programs in the world!)

Advice for first-year students: Don’t feel locked in your initial major. The flexibility of the curriculum and my willingness to explore courses outside my field led me to discover my true passion. Take the opportunity to experiment, and you might find a path you never expected.

Ali has been accepted into the master’s program in Artificial Intelligence at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. After completing his degree, he plans to pursue a career in academia, focusing on AI and Cognitive Science.