A few years ago, Hannah Patel felt overwhelmed. Like many first-year college students, Patel struggled to adjust to her college classes and was unsure of how to get involved in her major. Now a Penn State senior majoring in earth science and policy in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS), Patel has spent the last four years finding her place on campus – and is ready to help current underclass students do the same.
Patel, who is graduating this spring, was inducted as a College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Academy for Global Experience (EMSAGE) Laureate in a ceremony held on Dec. 2. Students who attain significant achievement across the broad categories of scholarship, experiential learning and global literacy, and service are recognized by the college with the distinctive designation of EMSAGE Laureate.
Since its inception in 2009, the program has conferred this honor on more than 340 seniors. During the fall 2019 semester, the program was expanded to include EMSAGE protégés and practitioners. The revamped structure is designed to help students hoping to attain EMSAGE Laureate status by creating a community to foster their success.
Students who have earned at least 12 post-high school college credits can apply to be protégés) and students with at least 24 credits can apply to be practitioners. Once students are within 36 credits of graduation, they can apply to be an EMSAGE Laureate.
For Patel, being an EMSAGE Laureate shows how far she’s come from her first days at Penn State.
“When I first got here it was a big adjustment from high school, and I kind of struggled academically at first, but failure was a really big part of my personal growth. Learning to get up from failure was really important and that led me to my best experiences here.”
Now in a position to help younger students, Patel is excited to be the mentor she needed in her first year at Penn State.
“I feel like having a mentor would’ve really helped me,” she said. “I’ve gone to my advisers and my professors for help but having someone who’s close in age to you to confide in about school and career-related things would’ve been really beneficial for me and I could see it helping someone else.”
Chris Long, a junior majoring in meteorology and atmospheric science and geography, is an EMSAGE practitioner. He was excited about the opportunity to get involved with EMSAGE as a junior, a year earlier than he would’ve been before the program expanded.
“When I heard they were expanding the program so that anybody who has been here more than one semester can participate, I knew it was definitely something I wanted to be a part of,” he said. “It’s a great way to get involved and learn about experiences that you might not even know exist.”
Long is vice president of the EMS Student Council and a member of Penn State’s undergraduate chapter of the American Meteorological Society. His involvement in the groups has introduced him to upper class students who have helped him, and he wants to pass those opportunities along to younger students.
Karen Marosi, director of student engagement for the college, said the expansion of the program will provide more students with a formal mentoring connection.
“I had multiple conversations this spring with first- and second-year students who were looking for a program that would help them make connections and get involved in the college,” Marosi said. “Clearly there is a student demand for what EMSAGE is striving to provide, and I am excited to connect these students with the many diverse experiences of the 33 laureates we have named this year.”
Students can apply to the EMSAGE program twice annually during both the fall and spring semesters. The fall 2019 class of 25 students was recognized at a ceremony on Dec. 2, and the spring 2020 class of eight students will be recognized virtually on April 21. The EMSAGE Laureates are listed below.
Fall 2019 EMSAGE Laureates:
- Joshua Andresky, Energy and Sustainability Policy
- Diana Apoznanski, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Jason Beck, Geosciences
- Timothy Charatan, Materials Science and Engineering
- Liam Cummings, Energy Engineering
- Karen Dedinsky, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Jennifer D'Iorio, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Courtney Dumm, Environmental Systems Engineering
- Nicola Guisewhite, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Ahmed Maged Aly Hamed, Energy Business and Finance
- Lindsey Jacks, Geosciences
- Nicole June, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Jacob Kaminski, Earth Science and Policy
- Katelyn Kirchner, Materials Science and Engineering
- Yuran Kong, Materials Science and Engineering
- Daiwei Li, Energy Engineering
- Allen Mewhinney, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Hannah Patel, Earth Science and Policy
- Brett Rosoff-Verbit, Materials Science and Engineering
- Laura Shedd, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Ian Wasserman, Energy Engineering
- Ravisara Wattana, Materials Science and Engineering
- Junyin Xiao, Earth Sciences
- Benjamin Yang, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Taylor Young, Energy Engineering
Spring 2020 EMSAGE Laureates:
- Jayce Coleman, Materials Science and Engineering
- Kelsey DeCarteret, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Dalton Keba, Materials Science and Engineering
- Leah Motimaya, Earth Science and Policy
- Sapol Raadnui, Geosciences
- Hannah Schreck, Geography
- Alon Sidel, Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Sydney Yeadon, Energy Engineering