Penn State Schuylkill psychology graduate Savannah Berardino earned her bachelor’s degree this spring, punctuating a history of success throughout her college career. Berardino seized every opportunity Penn State presented her, including participating in the Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) program, serving as a Lion Ambassador, earning a child development certificate, and working in her field prior to graduation.
On Saturday, May 7, Penn State Schuylkill held its 77th commencement ceremony, celebrating its fall 2021 and spring 2022 graduates, and welcoming back members of the classes of 2019 and 2020 who, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, were not able to have a commencement ceremony in person.
Business student and adult learner Debra Terraciano will earn her degree in the program’s accounting option at Penn State Schuylkill this spring, and she is eager to return to a workforce that works for her. For over a decade, Terraciano operated a day care from her house — her dream job — working from home long before the pandemic made it commonplace. But when she was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, she had to close her small business. With so much life ahead of her, Terraciano refused to give up. Instead, she returned to school to establish a career in a field she only dreamed about as a high school student.
Baltimore, Maryland, native Lamonttea Brown, saw in Penn State Schuylkill an opportunity to play college-level ball while earning a degree in administration of justice.
Sierra Santarsiero came to Penn State Schuylkill to play softball for the Lady Lions as a 2+2 student but found a community where she could thrive — both athletically and academically.
This summer, Air Force veteran Carol Rayos will graduate with her degree in criminal justice. Rayos is an adult learner who decided to pursue a career change, transitioning from a career in nursing to one in law. During her time at Penn State Schuylkill, she forged close relationships with instructors that helped her conduct poignant research related to juvenile justice, and these relationships and research will help launch the next step of her journey as she begins to work in pre-trial legal services in Berks County following the spring semester.
Penn State Schuylkill business student John Lindenmuth will graduate this semester with a marketing/management degree option. As a child, Lindenmuth’s career path was inspired by the commercials he saw during the Super Bowl, translating into videos he created during his tenure as a college student and informing his career path. After commencement, Lindenmuth will begin his position as an account manager for The Seltzer Group, a local insurance company.
Penn State Schuylkill hosted the 2022 Penn State Eastern Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium on Saturday, April 23. The event featured research from dozens of students across seven campuses: Penn State Abington, Brandywine, Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Schuylkill, Scranton and York.
Mike Russell made the most of his time at Penn State Schuylkill by taking advantage of the academic and extracurricular opportunities that came his way. His passion for chemistry and biology research spurred the academic successes that led to offers of admission from eight medical schools.