UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Parker Przybylski has been named Penn State's College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ student marshal, the top graduate overall; and Shahad Alsadoon has been named the college’s engineering honor marshal, the top graduate in an engineering discipline. They will be recognized during the college’s spring 2025 commencement ceremony, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, in the Pegula Ice Arena on Penn State's University Park campus.
Parker Przybylski: Student Marshal
Przybylski, who is from Warren, New Jersey, will earn their bachelor’s degree in geobiology with minors in entomology and astrobiology. Przybylski will be graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average and has been named to the dean’s list each semester while attending Penn State.
“When I learned I had been selected as my college’s student marshal, I was incredibly excited and honored to be the individual chosen at the end of the highly competitive selection process,” Przybylski said. “While I find my academic endeavors in my pursuit of knowledge and discovery to be rewarding in their own right, I’m grateful that my college has also recognized my achievements in a satisfying close to my undergraduate career.”
Przybylski selected Peter Heaney, professor of geosciences, as his faculty marshal.
“Dr. Heaney provided me with an exceptional introduction into earth sciences during my second year, after I switched my major from astrophysics to geobiology,” Przybylski said. “He is a stellar professor who utilizes an interactive teaching style and genuinely cares about the success of his students. Beyond that, he is also an incredible individual whom I am honored to have gotten to know during my time at Penn State. I still stop in his office every once in a while, to catch up.”
Przybylski was active in research as an undergraduate.
“I have had a number of research experiences under my belt in various disciplines from paleobiology to planetary science to computational cosmology, but the most influential of such is my work in Dr. Peter Wilf’s paleobotany lab,” Przybylski said.
In the Wilf lab, Przybylski’s thesis research focused on analyzing insect damage on leaf macrofossils from the early Eocene of Indo-Pakistan. For this work, they earned Best Poster at the Mid-Continent Paleobotanical Colloquium.
Przybylski received numerous awards including Penn State’s President Sparks Award and Evan Pugh Senior Scholar Award and was the recipient of many scholarships including the Ashok K. Moza Foundation Scholarship, the David P. “Duff” Gold Undergraduate Scholarship, the John and Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship, and the Reif Undergraduate Summer Field Camp Endowment in Geosciences. They also were selected as an EMSAGE Laurate by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Society, Lambda Chapter and is a Schreyer Honors College Scholar.
Przybylski was vice president and founding member of the undergraduate and graduate student advisory board — named the Museum Advisory Network To Leverage Engagement (MANTLE) for the Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery — and also served as curatorial intern at the Frost Entomological Museum in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Przybylski has advice for future students interested in EMS at Penn State.
“I would tell them to go for it,” Przybylski said. “I have gained so much knowledge about a variety of related disciplines that I’m passionate about, all the while being intellectually stimulated and surrounded by a great community in the college. I got exactly what I wanted out of my college experience by pursuing a degree in EMS."
Przybylski plans on pursuing a master’s and doctoral degree in entomology.
“I’m ultimately aiming for a career in entomological research, specimen curation, and outreach centered around museum collections,” Przybylski said. “I’d love to end up working in a natural history museum.”
Przybylski’s parents, Joanne and Gregory Przybylski, will be attending the commencement ceremony.
Shahad Abdullah Alsadoon: Engineering Honor Marshal
Alsadoon, who is from Ḥaʼil, Saudi Arabia, will earn her bachelor’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering. Alsadoon will be graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average and has been named to the dean’s list each semester while attending Penn State.
“I was thrilled to hear this wonderful news, and it is truly an honor to represent the esteemed College of Earth and Mineral Sciences,” Alsadoon said. “I feel incredibly proud of myself, and I am deeply grateful that my efforts have been recognized and rewarded. As someone committed to both personal and professional growth, this recognition has affirmed just how much I have developed throughout my college journey.”
Alsadoon selected Amin Mehrabian, associate professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, as her faculty marshal.
During her junior and senior years, she conducted research for her honors thesis in Mehrabian’s lab where she focused on revisiting Eaton’s 1975 Equation for estimating pore pressure from well log data.
“In our study, we proposed a new approach that utilizes mean effective stress instead of overburden effective stress, as used in Eaton’s method,” Alsadoon said. “This approach led to the development of two equations that calculate both pore pressure and fracture gradient simultaneously. We applied these equations to various case studies, and the results demonstrated improved accuracy, aligning more closely with measured data as compared to Eaton’s method.”
Alsadoon said she is deeply grateful to her instructors for their dedication and commitment to teaching.
“I would especially like to thank my honors thesis adviser, Dr. Amin Mehrabian, for his continuous support,” Alsadoon said. “His guidance was invaluable both in my drilling engineering class, where I gained a comprehensive understanding of the drilling process and various aspects of the field, and in my research work, which further deepened my knowledge of industry practices.”
Alsadoon received numerous awards including Penn State’s President Walker Award, President Sparks Award and Evan Pugh Senior Scholar Award. She was also named the Society of Petroleum Engineers Pittsburgh Section’s Student of the Month this spring and is a Schreyer Honors College Scholar.
Alsadoon was very involved in many academic and extracurricular activities. She served as president and vice president for Penn State’s Aramco Student Association Executive Board and served on Penn State Chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Executive Board. She also served as an Aramco Student Ambassador at Penn State and was a summer research intern at Aramco Americas in Houston.
Alsadoon’s advice to student is to encourage them to make the most of their time in college by exploring various internships, research opportunities and extracurricular activities.
“EMS offers numerous valuable opportunities, and I highly recommend taking advantage of them,” Alsadoon said. “Engaging in these experiences not only broadens your skills but also helps you build meaningful connections. Additionally, never hesitate to seek help when you need it — faculty members are experts in their fields and are always willing to offer guidance and support to help you succeed.”
After graduation, Alsadoon will start work at Saudi Aramco as a reservoir engineer. Eventually she plans on pursuing a master’s degree in business administration (MBA).
“Penn State has equipped me with the knowledge and technical skills necessary to excel in my future career,” Alsadoon said. “Beyond academics, the University has also provided me with a wide range of extracurricular opportunities and valuable resources that have contributed to my personal growth. These experiences have helped me develop strong social skills, which are equally important for success in my professional journey. I am proud to be a Penn Stater.”
Alsadoon’s parents, Nadia Alghurairi and Abdullah Alsadoon, will be attending the commencement ceremony.
Department Marshals
The six students listed below were selected to represent their respective departments during commencement:
- John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering
Sean Naughton - Geography
Ruby Chambers - Geosciences
Carlin Blash - Materials Science and Engineering
Maxwell Feidler - Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
Zachary Nice and Brendan Thai Tran Pham