Tag: Penn State Erie

Behrend student Zach Knight strives to leave mark in music industry

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By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Zach Knight is a year away from graduation, but the Penn State Behrend student and aspiring musician is already putting his college education to good use.

Early last year, Knight, who previously majored in General Business and Project and Supply Chain Management, decided to make a change.

“I asked myself, ‘What applies to my life now? What relates to what I’m doing?’ Marketing just made sense,” says the Erie native, who began to seriously pursue a music career in 2011. “I feel as though the (marketing) program has helped me learn a lot about how to develop my career and further market myself.”

By all indications, Knight is doing a stellar job. His Twitter profile has over 7,100 followers while his Facebook profile has over 1,500 likes. He also was a nominee in the “Acoustics” genre at the 2014 Rock Erie Music Awards, and his first music video, “Christmas Without You,” was released last December.

Knight’s recent success is quite the juxtaposition from when he first began to record music. In early high school, he would use a microphone from the Rock Band video game to upload covers to YouTube. The method was unconventional but successful — YouTube users started requesting covers from Knight.

It continued to grow until Knight, whose style is combination of acoustic and R&B, decided to start writing his own music.

“I sat down and said, ‘I don’t want to be known for just doing covers,’” he says.

From there, Knight started working with producer Alan Dingfelder, lead vocalist of Erie-based band At That Moment, to record music. His first original song, “Out of This World,” was released in 2012 and had considerable success.

In fact, Abercrombie & Fitch signed a deal with him to have the song included in its November 2013 in-store playlist.

Though his parents, Barry and Kristen Knight, do not have musical backgrounds, they’ve been supportive and encouraging. His mother also helped spark Knight’s musical interest at seven years old when she purchased him a CD titled “The Promise” from the Christian boy band Plus One.

“I would just always sing that CD,” he recalls. “I would always try to make myself sound just like them.”

Knight says he hopes to be signed to a major label, so he will have the opportunity to spread his art and also make a living doing what he loves. If not, he says he would like to use his marketing degree to continue to work in the music industry.

“I’d really like to work for a record label in some capacity,” Knight says. “If I can’t be the music, I’d like to be the guy behind the music.”

Catching up with Zach Knight

Hometown: Erie, Pa.

Family: Barry and Kristen (parents); Xavier (19-year-old brother); Mallory (15-year-old sister); Maddy (13-year-old sister)

Biggest musical influences: “I would say Nate Cole, Justin Timberlake and Cody Simpson. Justin Bieber is also an influence, but for his musical ability, not his lifestyle.”

Musical background: “Believe it or not, I actually cannot read music. It has not been a problem though because I know all of my chords, and I can read chords. I’m a self-taught guitar player, which I learned in sixth grade. I’m a self-taught drummer, too.”

Immediate goals: “My goal, right now, is to produce as much music as possible and grow. When I do that, I know good things will come out of it.”

Audience for music at Behrend: “The Behrend student body has been great. I notice that more and more Behrend students are following me on Twitter. I’ve also performed some concerts here, which has helped get the word out.”

Hobbies outside of music: “I really like hanging out with my friends. I also like longboarding and steelhead fishing.”

What it would mean to be signed: “It would mean the world to me. It’s something that I have dreamed about for as long as I can remember.”

Zach Knight’s first EP, titled “Out of This World,” is available on his official website.

Here is the video for “Christmas Without You,” which was released in December 2013.

Behrend alumnus Chad Zurat fulfills dream in Colorado Rockies organization

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Zurat, Chad (Dust Devils)By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Chad Zurat ’14 sat nervously, his eyes and ears glued to the television. The former Penn State Behrend standout pitcher waited anxiously with hopes of hearing his name called in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.

Day one went by, and nothing.

Day two followed.

Then came day three.

A total of 1,215 baseball players were selected in the 2014 MLB Draft from June 5 to 7.

Zurat was not one of them.

After waiting helplessly for three days, he would now have to wait some more.

“I was hanging on a limb, I guess you could say. After a month, your hopes kind of waver a bit, and it’s hard to keep thinking it’s definitely going to happen,” says Zurat, of Clearfield, Pa., who compiled a 2.54 earned-run average while going 8-2 in his senior season with the Lions.

When the call came, Zurat says he was shocked and speechless.

He was at his accounting internship at Little Pine Resources in Clearfield on July 11 when he received a phone call. He was surprised to get a phone call during work but was even more surprised when he heard the voice on the other end of the line — Colorado Rockies scout Ed Santa.

“He introduces himself and says, ‘Well, we have an opening on our team, are you still interested?’ I said, ‘Yeah, of course I am,’” Zurat recalls. “After five minutes, he calls back, and says, ‘Congratulations Chad, you’re a member of the Colorado Rockies organization.’”

It couldn’t have been a better home for Zurat, who says he became a fan while watching the team win 21 of 22 games in September 2007 en route to their first World Series appearance.

Within 12 hours, Zurat was on a flight to Pasco, Washington, where he would join the Tri City Dust Devils, the Short-Season Single-A farm team of the Rockies. He moved in with a host family, Dan and Chrissy Charron and their two sons, 12-year-old Daniel and 10-year-old Andrew.

Some might find the experience overwhelming, but Zurat was on cloud nine.

“I was so excited that I didn’t care at all. I was just ready to get on that plane and get out there on the baseball field,” he says.

He got his wish soon.

On July 13, just two days after that initial phone call from Santa, Zurat made his professional baseball debut against the Spokane Indians. In three innings of work, he allowed four runs (three earned), seven hits and struck out three batters.

“In my very first outing, I could tell that the talent was a decent step up from what I was used to,” Zurat says. “They take advantage of mistakes at this level. If you leave a curveball up in the zone or leave a fastball in the middle of the plate, you’re going to be snapping your head back and watching the ball go to the fence.”

Zurat would make adjustments and his performances improved. In his last three outings, he compiled a 3.60 earned-run average, walked zero batters and struck out six.

Penn State Behrend baseball coach Paul Benim coached Zurat for four years and believes the best is yet to come.

“Chad’s a great kid and a tremendous teammate. He never let his own head get in the way,” Benim says. “He just kept working, and he kept getting better. I think he’s only going to get better as he doesn’t have a lot of mileage on his arm and never threw a lot of innings.”

Zurat’s next chance to impress the Rockies organization will come in February when he heads to Scottsdale, Arizona, for spring training. It will be the first time that he will have an opportunity to meet and play with some of the Rockies current stars, including shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez.

Zurat is going to try to remain professional, but says it will be a challenge.

“I haven’t met them yet, and the day I do, I will speechless right off the bat,” he says. “The fan is going to come out at first just because I’ve watched these guys play for the last seven years and they’re my favorite players. I have to work with them though, so there does still have to be a little bit of professionalism.”

In preparation for spring training, Zurat will begin a new lifting and running program this week. He will then start throwing again in December.

Until then, Zurat will be back working for Little Pine Resources doing contracted work. As an accounting graduate, Zurat has a nice Plan B should a professional baseball career not pan out.

He’s going to relish this opportunity while it lasts though.

“When I go to work, I look at a baseball field. I’m not looking at a cubicle all day. I get to come and play baseball. That’s all I need. It’s so much fun,” Zurat says.

Quick Hits with Chad Zurat

Family: Tom and Kristen Zurat (parents); Chelsea Brincka (sister)

Pitch repertoire: “Fastball, curve, change. I added the changeup this summer. I had been working on one, but I couldn’t get it to work. Our pitching coach worked with us a bit, and I finally found a grip that I could feel comfortable with, and it was a good pitch for me at the end of year.”

Thoughts on living with a host family: “They were just excellent people. I really enjoyed hanging out with their sons too. They were always fun to be around during the day when we didn’t have to be at the field.”

Why did you come to Behrend: “I didn’t even look at baseball for college. I was actually a basketball player. I came to Behrend because I initially wanted to pursue engineering, and I knew a lot of people from my high school were coming to Behrend. I emailed Coach Benim and asked if I could walk on. ”

Thoughts on Penn State Behrend baseball program: “It played a huge role in getting me to where I am now. Coach Benim did everything in his power to help me out, and he does everything in his power to help out any player he’s ever coached. I wasn’t even going to play baseball in college, but he gave me a chance. I can’t credit him enough.”

Coach Benim on the Rockies signing Zurat: “He was evaluated by 12 clubs, and I’m really happy that the Rockies gave him a chance. (Rockies scout) Ed Santa was here the day that Chad struck out 15 of the 21 batters he faced against Pitt-Bradford. His fastball sat at 93 miles per hour and touched 94 miles per hour, so he made quite the impression.”

Behrend Reacts: What is the last photo on your phone?

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By Nicole Krahe
Marketing Communication Student Assistant, Penn State Behrend

World-renowned photographer Sally Mann once said, “Photographs open doors to the past, but also allow a look into the future.”

Keeping this in mind, we asked Behrend students what the most recent photo in their phone was, and what it meant to them.

Ben Katsarsky

Ben Katsarsky, first-year student, Plastics Engineering Technology, from Syracuse, N.Y.: “The last photo in my phone is a screenshot of an Instagram post I made 98 weeks ago. I was missing home, so I was scrolling through my old posts and found this one of a duffel bag full of shirts. I used to have a clothing line and it was the first time I took the shirts to school to sell them to my friends.”

Braedon Blasic

Brandon Blasic, first-year student, Division of Undergraduate Studies, from Erie: “My last photo is of my friends and I hanging out before we all went our separate ways to different colleges.”

Tyler Dunlap

Tyler Dunlap, first-year student, Division of Undergraduate Studies, from Erie: “My most recent photo is a screenshot of Untitled Finale by Atreyu, on Pandora.”

Ryan Kepner

Ryan Kepner, sophomore, Mechanical Engineering, from Williamsport, Pa.: “This is a photo of a tattoo I’m about to get. I enlisted in the army a year ago because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself and to support this country. I feel like this tattoo will represent that.”

Dan Kozubal

Dan Kozubal, sophomore, Chemical Engineering, from Saegertown, Pa.: “This is just a photo of chemistry notes. I’m working really hard this year to get good grades.

Julia Gabreys

Julia Gabreys, first-year student, Psychology, from Franklin, Pa.: “My most recent photo is actually a screenshot of a Snapchat my boyfriend sent me. It says, ‘Marry me.’”

Rob Strain

Rob Strain, sophomore, Management Information Systems, from Erie:  “My last photo is of my work schedule at the Sara Reed Retirement Center. I love working there because I feel like I am making a difference in the residents’ lives.”

Monique Lebrun

Monique Lebrun, Junior, Communication, from New York, N.Y.: “This is a photo of my friend and I at Aoyama for her birthday dinner. We went to three different restaurants before deciding to go there.”

Sydney Sample

Sydney Sample, sophomore, English, from Corry, Pa.: “This is a screenshot of a quote by Jim Elliott that I found on Tumblr. It says, ‘He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep, in order to gain what he cannot lose.’ I just like the message.”

Julie Pace

Julie Pace, sophomore, Nursing, from Erie: “My most recent photo is of my sister and I at our birthday dinner. We are really close, so it’s always good to see her.”

Behrend Reacts is a regular Thursday feature at the Behrend Blog that tries to get the campus pulse on a current topic, whether it’s serious or trivial. If you have a question to suggest for Behrend Reacts, please email Nicole Krahe at ndk5089@psu.edu.

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Student earns wings

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By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Miranda Boatman took a deep breath as she boarded the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. After two-plus weeks of training, the time had finally come.

Within minutes, the Penn State Behrend junior childhood and early adolescent education major would be more than 1,200 feet above ground. Then she would jump from the aircarft and fall at speeds exceeding 130 miles an hour.

“Once we’re in that plane, and they open that door, that’s when it gets real,” said Boatman. “There’s only one way down.”

The Bellefonte, Pennsylvania native spent three weeks this summer completing the Army’s Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia. The course is better recognized by its nickname — Jump School.

“They teach you how to do a PLF — parachute landing fall,” said Boatman, a member of The Pride of Pennsylvania ROTC Battalion (which includes students from Penn State Behrend, Gannon University, and Mercyhurst University). “For me, it wasn’t as bad because I’m smaller, so I hit the grounder lighter.”

The training schedule that leads to the completion of an airborne jump is significant. It’s broken down into three weeklong intervals: ground week, tower week, and jump week.

Once the training has been completed, participants are expected to be able to execute jumps, deploy parachutes, land safely, pack swiftly, and move to a designated rally point.

Boatman said the training could be tedious at times, especially during ground week, but it’s a tried-and-true process.

“With ground week, you start on a (34-foot) platform and start swinging back and forth. They say they’ve been teaching these same methods for over twenty years, and it obviously works,” Boatman said.

During week two, participants practice jumps from 250-foot towers. The week is devoted to teaching all of the different phases of parachute flight.

The training process is far from easy. According to Boatman, more than 150 participants in her training group were dropped from the training because their jumps were not proficient during weeks one and two.

Those who made it to week three were in for some real, high-flying fun.

Boatman made a total of five jumps from the aircraft, including a night jump that proved to be the highlight of her experience.

“After you hit the ground on that jump, you knew you were getting your wings, so that was pretty great,” she said. “Everyone’s adrenaline was going after that jump, and everyone had their own little story about it.”

Boatman’s success in jumping should not come as a surprise. It’s in her blood.

Her father, John Boatman, completed the same training years earlier before serving in the National Guard. He was on hand for his daughter’s jumps and presented her with her airborne jump wings on the final day of the training.

Boatman plans to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the National Guard after her graduation in 2015. She’s thankful for the experiences ROTC has given her, especially her unique “summer school” venture.

“I just had such a great summer,” she said. “ROTC has provided me with so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have otherwise had. I wouldn’t have been able to jump out of a plane. That’s just not something a normal college kid gets to do.”

Behrend Reacts: What club are you thinking of joining this year?

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By Nicole Krahe
Marketing Communication Student Assistant, Penn State Behrend

When Penn State President Eric Barron was introduced in May, he presented the following analogy.

“When students decided to come to Penn State and pay their tuition, they purchased a sports car, but too many of them will only drive it 20 miles per hour.”

Translation? Take advantage of all the opportunities available to you at college and GET INVOLVED!

New students had an opportunity to see everything Penn State Behrend has to offer Wednesday at the Club Showcase in McGarvey Commons.

We asked students what clubs piqued their interest.

Courtney Bolton

Courtney Bolton, first-year student, Nursing: “The dance team because I have been dancing since I was 3-years-old. I’m not ready to give it up yet.”

Taylor Sterrett

Taylor Sterrett, first-year student, Nursing: “I liked the club volleyball team because I played volleyball in high school.”

Shayne Watson
Shayne Watson, first-year student, Speech Pathology: “I signed up for the Republican club because I don’t like our current president.”

Nick Angelo

Nick Angelo, senior, Computer Engineering: “Well, I’m the president of Triangle Fraternity, so I’m recruiting. It’s still early, but we’ve got a couple of names, so that’s good.”

Tom Prinzi

Tom Prinzi, senior, Plastics Engineering: “The International Student Organization. It is not only for international students, it’s also for anyone looking to break barriers and make friends. They have really nice dinners, too.”

Justin Leonard

Justin Leonard, junior, International Business: “Behrend Club Hockey. It gives you the opportunity to play at a competitive level while still having fun and being part of a family.”

Josh Kolarac

Josh Kolarac, first-year student, Communication: “I’m interested in joining BVZ and The Behrend Beacon because it will help out with my major.”

Rayni Modecki

Rayni Modecki, first-year student, IBE: “I signed up for THON because it sounds like a lot of fun and it’s a good cause.”

Andrea Gaez

Andrea Gaez, first-year student, Industrial Engineering: “I came here from Panama, so I joined Theta Phi Alpha and The Multicultural Council to make new friends!”

Behrend Reacts is a regular Thursday feature at the Behrend Blog that tries to get the campus pulse on a current topic, whether it’s serious or trivial. If you have a question to suggest for Behrend Reacts, please email Steve Orbanek at sco10@psu.edu.

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Behrend alumna reaches milestone with release of first book

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By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Author Heather A. Slomski ‘03, a Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, alumna, always knew that she wanted to write.

She’s been drawn to stories—both reading and writing them—ever since she was a child, and so it makes sense that her son, 19-month-old Oscar, is turning out to be a voracious reader himself.

Slomski, who earned her B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing in 2003, and her husband, Vincent Reusch, spend most of Oscar’s waking hours engrossed in children’s books.

“It’s one of the best parts about being a parent,” Slomski says.

Publishing a book herself was a goal that was always driving Slomski, who has had stories published in TriQuarterly, American Letters & Commentary, Columbia: A Journal of Literature & Art, The Normal School, and other journals.

Mission accomplished.

Her crowning achievement comes this fall. That’s when her first book, The Lovers Set Down Their Spoons, will be released from the University of Iowa Press. The book, is a collection of fifteen short stories, was a labor of love for Slomski.

LoversShe worked on it while pursuing her M.F.A. at Western Michigan University and then afterward when she held the Axton Fellowship in Fiction at the University of Louisville.

“Not everything I wrote fit together,” says Slomski, who also is an adjunct professor at Concordia College. “It actually took me a long time to feel as if I had a finished manuscript.”

Yet, when it was finished, Slomski says she had a strong sense of accomplishment. The book has already made waves, receiving the 2014 Iowa Short Fiction Award, a national award given to a first collection of fiction in English and administered through the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

“It’s really rewarding because I feel good about the individual stories and the collection, but I feel validated for it to be recognized and win this award,” Slomski says.

Slomski says her two favorite stories are the title story and the last story in the collection, “Before the Story Ends.”

“I like the title story a lot because it takes the structure of a play and kind of exists on the border of drama and fiction,” Slomski says. “The last story has some magic to it, and it’s also an exploration of loss, and I felt I achieved something with that story. The two stories almost don’t fit in the same book, but they do. They have totally different tones but both deal with loss in a very different way. The title story actually ends up being about gaining something, which is, of course, the opposite of loss.”

Slomski has already begun work on her next project, The Starlight Ballroom, a novel that tells the fictional story of the lives and deaths of her paternal grandparents.

The Lovers Set Their Spoons is currently available for preorder at Amazon.com and can be purchased at this link.

About Heather A. Slomski

High School: McDowell High School, Erie

Education: Earned B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Penn State Behrend; earned M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Western Michigan University.

Fellowships and Awards: From 2008-2010, Slomski held the Axton Fellowship in Fiction at the University of Louisville, where she taught fiction and organized a two-day literary festival titled “The Story of Form.” She was awarded a 2013 Minnesota State Artist Initiative Grant, which afforded her travel money to spend six weeks in Krakow and take a course release from teaching. While there, she conducted research for her novel-in-progress, The Starlight Ballroom. She also was awarded the 2013 Minnesota Emerging Writers’ Grant, which allowed her to take a course release, so she could continue working on the novel.

Influences: Steven Millhauser, Lydia Davis, Charles Simic, Anne Carson, Angela Carter, Bruno Schulz

Favorite book as a child: “I would say the book I kept turning to was The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe because it has that mix of reality and the fantastic. As a child, and even as an adult, you just don’t question it and say ‘This could never happen,’ or ‘This is not how the world works.’”

Advice for aspiring writers: “Find a writing schedule—a time and a place where you can write, every day, if possible—and stick to it. Also read a lot. Continually seek out new authors to read, and take care not to overlook literature in translation, literary journals, or writers who publish with small presses.”

For more information, visit Slomski’s website at heatheraslomski.com.

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Behrend has been the perfect fit for T. Reed Ferguson Award winner

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Paul Lukasik

By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

As a Buffalo, N.Y., native and avid Bills and Sabres fan, Paul Lukasik seemed destined to attend college in his home state. In fact, he didn’t even plan to look at colleges outside of New York.

He’s glad he did, though.

“Penn State Behrend was the only out-of-state school I applied to,” Lukasik says. “Once I came here, I knew this was the place for me.”

Lukasik, who recently finished his junior year as a Project and Supply Chain Management major at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, says he found college daunting when he first arrived. He knew no one, and the entire area was unfamiliar to him.

So, he devised a plan.

“My strategy was to get as involved as I possibly could,” Lukasik says.

In his three-plus years at the college, Lukasik has been a member of Kappa Delta Rho, Reality Check, and Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society. He’s also served as a resident assistant and on the budget committee for the Student Government Association.

Lukasik’s contributions to the college were recognized April 27 at Penn State Behrend’s sixty-fifth annual Honors and Awards Convocation when he was named the recipient of the T. Reed Ferguson Award. The award recognizes a junior who has demonstrated scholarship, leadership, and citizenship through his or her academic and out-of-class involvement and gives promise of further achievement in the senior year.

Lukasik’s success has carried over outside of the classroom. This past year, he began working as a sourcing intern at GE Transportation. He continues to work in that position over the summer

Lukasik says he learned the need to be active and involved as a young child. His grandparents founded the Fair Haven’s Church in North Tonawanda, N.Y., and he was always helping out.

“It’s been instilled in me,” Lukasik says. “I really just try to make the most of my time, and I just like to help people.”

Lukasik will have the opportunity to help more people this fall when he takes over as president of Reality Check, a community service organization on campus. Every year, the group goes on an Alternative Spring Break, a week-long service trip. The group went to New Orleans this past year and worked on rebuilding houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Lukasik says he has enjoyed the opportunities to help others that Penn State Behrend has given him. He also recognizes how the college has helped him.

“Behrend is the perfect size, has a great group of students, and I can’t say enough good things about the Sam and Irene Black School of Business. Looking back, to when I was a freshman, I’ve just really evolved,” Lukasik says. “I had every intention of eventually transferring to University Park, but after my freshman year, I just knew that wouldn’t be possible.”

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Behrend award winner seeks to spread college students’ stories

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Stacy Rabat

By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

When Stacy Rabat was a junior in high school, her father, Khalil Rabat, abruptly suffered a heart attack, went into a coma, and died.

The experience was devastating for Rabat, but she says it’s taught her how precious life can be and to think before judging others. Because of her experience, she yearns to connect with other people and hear their stories.

That’s why Rabat, a sophomore marketing major at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and this year’s winner of the Irvin H. Kochel Award, and another Penn State student, Rachael Hazen, have entered into a venture titled Scream Your Story. The two are working to create a blog or website that provides an outlet for people to share their personal stories and experiences.

“You can be sitting in a room with someone and have no idea what that person has gone through,” says Rabat, who received the award at the sixty-fifth annual Honors and Awards Convocation on April 27. “It’s good to take a step back and realize that not everyone is going through the same things you are, and you don’t want to be judgmental.”

The website is still in its infancy, but Rabat hopes to work on it extensively this summer and into the fall semester. Hazen, who spent the previous two years at Penn State Behrend, plans to work on it from University Park, where she’s enrolled for the fall.

“We want to ask people what hardships they’ve been through, and we want them to send in their stories,” Rabat says.

With one contributor in Erie and another in University Park, Rabat says she expects the blog to grow significantly. She also plans to start including videos, too.

Rabat’s drive is indicative of the Irvin H. Kochel Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding student who demonstrates qualities of character, scholarship, leadership, and citizenship through their involvement in programs and services that positively influence fellow students and the college community.

Rabat has been very involved in her time at Penn State Behrend. She served as the THON chair and is a member of the Student Government Association, the Lambda Sigma national honor society, and formerly a member of the Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority. Rabat attributes much of her success to her own unique story.

Her father also remains a motivating force in her life.

“He was my best friend. I think of him every day,” Rabat says.

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Childhood memory drives senior award winner to succeed

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Kristina Peszel

By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Call it extra motivation. Call it an added incentive. Call it a chip on her shoulder.

However you label it, it’s clear there’s something that drives Kristina Peszel.

“When I first went to grade school, I was one of the youngest kids in my class. Because of that, I felt as if people questioned me and my ability,” says Peszel, a senior English major with the professional writing option at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. “Since then, it’s driven me. I have always had this need to stand out and prove myself.”

Mission accomplished.

In her time at the college, Peszel has been a standout student, as evidenced by the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award she won at this year’s Honors and Awards Convocation on April 27. The award recognizes a student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership, and citizenship have been directed into student programs and services.

Peszel was thrilled to have been chosen for the award.

“It was really exciting, and it felt like recognition of everything that I’ve done on campus,” Peszel says.

It was a much deserved honor.

The Erie native has a 3.96 GPA and is the lead writing tutor at the Learning Resource Center. She’s served as the vice president and secretary for both the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority and Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society. She’s also been a member of the Lion Entertainment Board, Reality Check, Studio Theatre, and a contributing writer for the Behrend Beacon.

Through her campus involvement, Peszel learned that she prefers to be busy. She thrives on activity, one reason she believes she’s been successful.

“If I have enough time to watch television, I feel as if I’ve forgotten something,” says Peszel, who will graduate in December.

Things have not slowed down this summer for Peszel, who is interning at Erie Insurance in the company’s IT department. The work she is doing relates directly to her experiences as lead writing tutor in the Learning Resource Center.

As a tutor, Peszel often edited various engineering papers, which provided her with skills and experience in technical writing. It has led her to think of her future in a different light.

“I realized that I’m not just a humanities student, but I can do the technology thing too,” Peszel says.

Ruth Pflueger, director of the Learning Resource Center, has worked with Peszel for the past three years at Penn State Behrend.

“Kristina is remarkable in the number of students she has impacted during her time at Behrend. She has tutored literally hundreds of students and also has a leadership role in the Learning Resource Center, organizing the Composition Support Program and mentoring new writing tutors,” Pflueger says. “Her professionalism, energy, and sincere desire to help others succeed will serve her well in all her future endeavors.”

With one semester left until graduation, Peszel plans to make some great memories and leave a legacy.

“I like surrounding myself with genuine, good people who like to help others,” Peszel says. “We can be remembered for all kinds of things, but how we affect other people’s lives is most important.”

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Behrend graduate and award winner lands job with Big Four audit firm

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By Steve Orbanek
Marketing Communications Specialist, Penn State Behrend

Meilyng Gonzalez-Adams had been planning for days, and her personal sales pitch was ready.

The senior International Business and Accounting major knew 149 companies would be in attendance at the spring Career and Internship Fair at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and she was ready to make an impression.

But life is full of surprises.

On March 19, just one day before the career fair, Gonzalez-Adams was invited to an impromptu interview with representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ office in Cleveland. It didn’t take long for the Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, native to cancel her plans for the next day.

“PricewaterhouseCoopers called me that evening, and I called my mom and said, ‘I got a job offer, and I am not going to the career fair tomorrow,’” recalls Gonzalez-Adams, who will start her job as a tax associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the world’s Big Four audit firms, in September.

The job offer from PricewaterhouseCoopers was the culmination of four successful years for Gonzalez-Adams, this year’s recipient of the Thomas H. Turnbull Award. The award, which recognizes a Penn State Behrend student who has contributed to the college community through outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership, and citizenship, was presented to Gonzalez-Adams at the sixty-fifth annual Honors and Awards Convocation on April 27.

The award’s description fits Gonzalez-Adams. She was active during her time at Penn State Behrend as she graduated with a 3.79 GPA and served as a resident assistant and treasurer for the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority. She was a member of Penn State Behrend’s Lion Scouts, Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society, the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, and Beta Gamma Sigma, the national honor society in business.

Gonzalez-Adams credits her parents, Evan Gonzalez and Olga Adams, for much of her success. The two were young when Gonzalez-Adams was born, but they both attained college degrees.

The drive displayed by her parents resonated with Gonzalez-Adams and motivated her to get involved from the moment she arrived at Behrend. She says she had some helpful guidance along the way though.

“From the moment I contacted Mary-Ellen Madigan, (director of enrollment services), in Admissions until today, everyone has been amazing at Penn State Behrend,” Gonzalez-Adams says. “I know I wouldn’t be who I am or going where I’m going without the faculty and staff here.”

The feeling seems to be mutual.

“Meilyng is an extraordinary individual and has made a lasting impression on me, the admissions staff, our visitors, and the campus,” says Andrea Konkol, associate director of admissions.

According to Konkol, the college has extended its recruiting efforts to Puerto Rico, and Gonzalez-Adams has been vital in making students feel welcome.

“In September of 2012, I held a reception in San Juan for the parents of our current students. Every one of those families knew who Meilyng was because she had taken the time to seek out and befriend their son or daughter as soon as they arrived on campus,” Konkol says. “For students arriving to a college so far from home, it is comforting to have a friend that understands what it’s like and to serve as ‘big sister.’”

Gonzalez-Adams says she enjoys helping. She recognizes the growth she’s made at Penn State Behrend, and she hopes others can have a similar experience.

“I go home and people say, ‘You’re completely different from the person you were in high school,’ and I like hearing that,” Gonzalez-Adams says. “I like that Penn State Behrend was able to help me with that.”

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