UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sydney “Belle” Peterson, daughter of Gwen and Darren Peterson of Danville, California, will serve as college marshal for the College of Health and Human Development (HHD) at Penn State’s spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 5.
Peterson will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biobehavioral health and minors in global health and biology.
Peterson traveled to Quito, Ecuador, with the Global Health Minor for five weeks to learn about the Ecuadorian healthcare system and see global health initiatives at work firsthand. After going abroad, she became an education abroad peer adviser with Penn State Global where she helped other students apply to education abroad programs.
She was involved with research in the Gilmore Lab, where she was a key part of the Play and Learning Across a Year project, which studies infant and mother interactions. Peterson was also a biobehavioral health (BBH) student partner, working with members of the BBH Student Center committee to conduct research about the state of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the department by hosting student-led focus groups and implementing student feedback through the BBH Student Center.
During her time at Penn State, Peterson was a member of the Penn State chapter of Remote Area Medical, an organization that provides pop-up medical clinics around the United States, volunteering at multiple medical clinics. She spent a summer volunteering as a health access intern at the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia, where she coordinated dental care for migrants and refugees in the city. She also participated in the NextGen: Emerging Leaders Fellowship program hosted by NMAC, an organization that works for health equity and racial justice in the fight to end the HIV epidemic in America. From what she learned about the burden of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., Peterson created an intervention for Penn State students at Jax Bar and Grill.
Peterson was a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a community service fraternity at Penn State, for which she served as the membership vice president and president. Additionally, she twice represented the Penn State College of Medicine, alongside 4-5 other teammates, in the Emory Morningside Global Health Case Competition. This year, the team placed fourth out of 31 teams from around the world. She also has been an undergraduate teaching intern for several BBH courses and became a first-year peer assistant, for which she co-facilitated an HHD first-year seminar.
Peterson received a Penn State Student Engagement Network grant and a For the Field, For the Future grant. She also received the President’s Freshman Award, the Evan Pugh Junior Scholar Award and the Evan Pugh Senior Scholar Award throughout her time as a student.
After graduation, Peterson will be applying to medical school where she will work toward becoming a pediatrician. Her goal is to improve the health of underserved pediatric patients, both domestically and globally.