Shane McElwee, son of Charles and Kathleen McElwee of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, will serve as the college marshal for the College of Health and Human Development at Penn State’s summer commencement ceremony on Aug. 14.
McElwee will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biobehavioral health. McElwee conducted research with Cara Exten, assistant professor of nursing, examining the relationship between daily experiences of discrimination and health behaviors in sexual minorities. As a Schreyer Honors Scholar, McElwee wrote the thesis, “The Body Bears the Scorn: A Narrative Review of Biological Markers Associated with Sexual Minority Stress.” He also received the Schreyer Honors College Academic Excellence Scholarship and was named to the dean’s list eight times.
While at Penn State, McElwee worked as an English-language tutor at Mid-State Literacy Council and as the vice president and philanthropy chair for ServeState, a student organization that provides service through volunteerism and philanthropy in the local community. He also served as a learning assistant for STAT 250: Introduction to Biostatistics and was a member of the Asylum Music Club. McElwee participated in the alternative winter break program, “Pulling Apart the Prison Pipeline: Assisting Juveniles in the Criminal Justice System.”
McElwee is a graduate of Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he plans to gain experience in the public health field before pursuing graduate school to study epidemiology.