NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — Academic, teaching and extracurricular honors were bestowed at the annual Penn State New Kensington Academic and Student Achievement Awards ceremony on April 29. Approximately 50 awards were presented in the Forum Theatre, which was filled with campus faculty, staff, students, and students’ family members and friends.
Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award
The highest student honor presented, the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award, was presented to Kylie Meyer, senior psychology student.
Since starting her Penn State journey through the Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) Program at Penn State New Kensington, Meyer has been a leader on campus in and out of the classroom. She became a Success Coach in the campus Academic and Career Success Center by the end of that first summer, and since then, has been a New Student Orientation coach, peer tutor and peer mentor. Giving her time and talents to others is a foundation for her success.
“Giving people the necessary help and resources can provide people in the community with opportunities they might not have had without the help of others,” explained Meyer. “This is why it’s so important to give back to others because it can make a huge difference in people’s lives, and this is ultimately what I want to do in my personal life, as well as in my future career.”
Meyer has been a member of the campus Honors Program since 2019, as well as current president and past vice president of the Psychology Club and member of Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology. In addition, she has been completing an ongoing independent research project under the supervision of a faculty member and recently presented research at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association in New York City.
“She is not only an enthusiastic student, but also a skillful one,” said one of her nominators. “Having an undergraduate present research at a prestigious national meeting of psychologists is somewhat of a rarity and a testimony to the quality of research she is conducting.”
When not helping her peers, working on research or being a successful student, she also has accumulated numerous awards and recognition. The honors include being a recipient of the Provost Award; the 2019 President Freshman Award; a 2019 and 2020 University Libraries Information Literacy Award; the Psychology Sophomore and Junior Student of the Year awards; and a 2021 campus Top Influencer Award.