Each Liberal Arts Experience is unique
But they all share similar traits: a sense of curiosity and exploration, a desire to learn and grow, and a yearning to make the world a better place. Experience some of that “experience” yourself through the stories of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Student Experiences
Read stories about our students making a difference on campus and in the community, and their experiences inside and beyond the classroom.
Throughout my time in the Nittany Lion Fund, I have gone through a variety of different roles, from learning financial modeling to understanding financial statements of companies and from building presentations to networking and other soft skills. These skills are used every day at my internship [at Goldman Sachs] and have helped me succeed.
Dylan Benson
AlumniEntrepreneur
Stella Cho
’23
International Politics
|
Art History (minor)
|
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (minor)
International Politics
Art History (minor)
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (minor)
Stella is developing BeyondClass, a centralized hub that aims to provide college students easy and fair access to information about opportunities such as scholarships, networking, and career-boosting competitions. Her experience as an international student from Seoul, South Korea has informed her work. “BeyondClass is a centralized hub website where students can put in things like their majors, minors and interests, and our AI matching technology will use the database to provide them opportunities like clubs and scholarships that could benefit them.”
AlumniGlobal and International StudiesPaterno FellowsSchreyer ScholarStudent Organizations
Srishti Ponnala
’21
Global and International Studies
Global and International Studies
Srishti graduated from Penn State with an undergraduate degree in global and international studies and is pursuing her juris doctorate at the University of Wisconsin Law School. While at Penn State, the Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar was heavily involved in World in Conversation — an initiative launched at the University in 2002 to spark meaningful dialogue on public diplomacy and advance human capacity to address and resolve societal issues.
Campus LeaderPaterno FellowsSchreyer ScholarStudent Organizations
Lenneya Murray
’25
Criminology
|
Sociology
Criminology
Sociology
A Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar, Lenneya has become a leader within the student community since coming to Penn State. She is involved as a member of the Penn State Mock Trial Association and the Penn State Speech and Debate Society, in addition to serving as president of Penn State’s NAACP chapter.
InternshipPolitical ScienceSustainability
Kenneth Catlin
’24
Political Science
|
Economics (minor)
Political Science
Economics (minor)
Kenneth spent the summer working as an energy benchmarking analyst for Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning, via Penn State’s City Semester Pittsburgh program. Through the program, students become active participants in Penn State’s efforts to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include improving the quality of life of metropolitan areas. During his internship Kenneth, benchmarked energy use reported by about 830 buildings across Pittsburgh. Towards the end of this summer, he will put together a report on the city’s energy usage and present it to his team.
GermanInternship
Sydney McQuiggan
’23
German
|
World Languages Education
|
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (minor)
German
World Languages Education
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (minor)
Sydney practiced her German skills firsthand this past spring by teaching beginning- and intermediate-level German as a student teacher at Altoona Area High School in Pennsylvania. That experience, combined with her own coursework, has helped her develop a nuanced view for teaching German to students. “Some students say they will never be able to travel abroad, and some say they don’t have an interest in traveling to Germany — but that’s not the focus of the German classroom. My teaching perspective moves toward building a classroom community and understanding a culture different from our own, which allows for more students to be immersed in learning.”
Chapel InternsInternship
Dylan Benson
’23
Chinese
|
Finance
Chinese
Finance
Dylan is forging international connections with finance professionals and business leaders at Goldman Sachs this summer in London, United Kingdom. Thanks to funding from the Chapel Executive Internship Program, Dylan is able to explore and travel around the surrounding European countries alongside his internship duties.
5,500
+
undergraduate students
800
+
students participating in out-of-classroom experiences
870
graduate students
1,500
undergraduates met with a career coach
66
events hosted by the Career Enrichment Network
40
%
of students identity as a member of a minority group
Most diverse college at Penn State University Park
Majors of Our Students
76%
social sciences
13%
humanities
6%
languages
5%
area and interdisciplinary studies
Faculty and Staff Experiences
Read stories about our faculty and the amazing work they do examining the past in order to make meaningful changes in the present that lead to a promising future, and the incredible staff who are so deeply committed to student, faculty, and alumni success.
Faculty ResearchHistoryRichards Center
Rachel Shelden
Director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center
Director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center
Rachel is an associate professor of history who focuses her resarch on the political and constitutional history of the the long nineteenth century—encompassing 1789 to 1914.
Faculty ResearchHistoryMiddle East Studies
Laura Robson
William L. and Donna F. Oliver-McCourtney Professor of History
William L. and Donna F. Oliver-McCourtney Professor of History
A scholar who specializes in the Middle East and especially the Arab world, Laura and a fellow scholar launched a digital humanities project to tell the stories of and raise awareness and scholarship about stateless people.
AnthropologyFaculty AchievementFaculty Research
Kirk French
Teaching Professor of Anthropology
Teaching Professor of Anthropology
In the summer of 2022, Kirk’s documentary—which explores environmental challenges faced by a Mexican community—was nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy.
AnthropologyArchaeologyFaculty ResearchMatson Museum of Anthropology
James Doyle
Director, Matson Museum of Anthropology
Director, Matson Museum of Anthropology
A former assistant curator of art of the ancient Americas at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, James Doyle has big plans for the Matson Museum of Anthropology at Penn State, which will be relocated in the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building in 2024.
782 full-time faculty
325
tenured faculty
83
tenure-track faculty
374
non-tenure track faculty (full-time)
159
non-tenure track faculty (part-time)
122 Named and Distinguished Professors
25
named professors
24
Liberal Arts professors
21
distinguished professors
20
Sparks professors
17
early career professors and
career development professors
8
University
endowed fellows
4
Evan Pugh University
Professors
4
named deans chairs
and directorships
305
full-time staff
Alumni Experiences
Read stories about the incredible impact our alumni have on their alma mater, their professions, and the communities in which they live through their leadership, engagement, and philanthropy.
My style or way of mentorship is to give mentees the time and space to identify the things they are very passionate about and get them to a point where they can clearly articulate why they enjoy it, as when it comes down to any accomplishment and what you do after college, the common thread is what your interests are and what you want to do. My mentorship is a tool. The only reason I exist is to be an informational resource and a surface to bounce ideas off of. The mentee does the work to materialize it, and I direct them to appropriate grant opportunities, help them enhance their applications to programs or introduce them to other people.
Ben Stewart
Mentorship
Taylor Nelson
’17
Criminology
|
Information Systems and Statistical Analysis (minor)
Criminology
Information Systems and Statistical Analysis (minor)
During his time at Penn State, Taylor was involved in the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program, where he was matched with a mentor who helped him prepare for life after graduation. Taylor’s mentor was a business owner, and was able to give Taylor valuable input on his resume and networking skills. Taylor visited his mentor at his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, company, where he talked to different employees and developed the confidence needed to pitch his background, education and professional goals.
AlumniMentorshipRussianSchreyer ScholarSpanish
Ben Stewart
’15
Russian
|
Spanish
Russian
Spanish
Ben has spent the last decade in Ukraine as an educator and translator helping others better understand history. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Penn State, Ben joined the Peace Corps as a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Higher Education Volunteer in Ukraine. He continues to stay connected to Penn State as a mentor for the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program.
Enrichment FundingInternational ResearchUndergrad Research
Sarah Paterno
’22
Anthropology
|
Psychology
Anthropology
Psychology
Sarah received enrichment funding to spend two months on an archaeological excavation in Bolivia. “This project has taught me how archaeological research is carried out, and I believe it has prepared me for continuing research at a graduate level,” she said.
Career Enrichment NetworkCommunication Arts and SciencesEducation AbroadEnglishEnrichment FundingPaterno FellowsPhilosophyResearch
Daniel Zahn
’20
English
|
Philosophy
|
Communication Arts and Sciences
English
Philosophy
Communication Arts and Sciences
As a student, Daniel, a Paterno Fellow alumnus, participated in a linguistics research project in Bassila, Benin made possible by the Career Enrichment Network, where his research focused on everyday language use.
Enrichment FundingGermanMultidisciplinary StudiesPaterno Fellows
Kiara Smith
Letters, Arts, and Sciences
|
Nutritional Sciences
|
German minor
Letters, Arts, and Sciences
Nutritional Sciences
German minor
Kiara spent a summer in Berlin earning credits towards her German minor. “The Paterno Fellows Program and the College of the Liberal Arts helped to fund my trip, which meant that while I was in Berlin I was able to focus more on my experiences and learning than on calculating and worrying about the cost of everything. Instead of staying in my room to save money, I went out and took day trips to places just outside of Berlin and a weekend trip out of Poland; I went to museums and cafes and bars where I got to meet Germans and make German friends.”
HistoryInternational PoliticsMentorship
Najee Rodriguez
’23
International Politics
|
History
International Politics
History
Najee’s alumni mentor helped guide him toward internship opportunities. “As a first-generation college student, it was extremely difficult to acclimate to college. My mentor has made me feel confident about the future that I want to have for myself. The magnitude of impact that Sharon has had in my life is indescribable.”
213
student/alumni mentoring relationships
100K
+
liberal arts alumni
760
+
donor-funded accounts in the college
$
0
M+
provided in scholarships (2021–22)
$
0
k
provided in enrichment funding last year