UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State College of Education has announced that Gabriella Achampong, an education and public policy major from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, has been named as a student marshal for the spring 2024 commencement ceremony.
“Being selected as a College of Education student marshal is an immense honor,” Achampong said. “The College of Education's professors, courses and students have been fundamental in shaping who I am as a person and a scholar. I am excited to take this legacy with me as I head to law school and beyond. I am always proud to represent the college!”
She is the the daughter of Francis and Nicole Achampong and will also graduate with a minor in English.
After graduation, Achampong plans to attend Harvard Law School in the fall with a focus on civil rights in education. She is also a member of the fourth cohort of NAACP Legal Defense Fund Marshall-Motley Scholars.
During her time at Penn State, she was an active undergraduate researcher, working with faculty members Maria Lewis and Erica Frankenberg to publish three papers and present at two different conferences.
Achampong’s research has helped K-12 administrators better understand legal issues that impact equity in school systems. She also has completed work as a research intern at the Center for Education and Civil Rights at Penn State, examining voluntary integration of school districts in the U.S.
Achampong has also won numerous awards, including the President Sparks Award, the College of Education’s Undergraduate Award for Leadership and Service, the John W. White Graduate Fellowship and has twice received the Evan Pugh Scholar Award — once each during her junior and senior years.
In service to her community, she led the Unity Christian Campus Ministry as the vice president during the 2022-23 academic year and president during the 2023-24 academic year. As president, she organized weekly Bible study sessions and as well as partnered with community churches to support student basic needs. She also lent her skills singing in the choir and playing piano during worship sessions.
Achampong will serve as co-marshal alongside Courtney Sterner, an elementary and early childhood education major from Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
The College of Education’s commencement ceremony for undergraduates is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 5 at Pegula Ice Arena on the University Park campus.