UPPER BURRELL, Pa. – There are eight colors in a classic pack of Crayola Crayons, eight “maids-a-milking” in the “12 Days of Christmas,” and eight days of Hanukkah. Now there are eight “We Are!” recipients at Penn State New Kensington.
Karen Harlan, multimedia specialist, was honored Sept. 21 with the “We Are!” moniker. “We Are!,” a weekly feature of the daily email publication Penn State Today, is a University-wide initiative that was launched in February to provide students, faculty and staff with a platform to give kudos to fellow Penn Staters for work that goes above and beyond their job duties or responsibilities.
Harlan is the eighth staff member from the New Kensington campus to receive the honor in the past seven months. Previously, Nancy Miller, co-director of continuing education; Corinne Coulson, enrollment specialist; Kevin Churik, information technology generalist; Jennifer Marino, assistant director for financial aid; Danielle DeStefano, assistant director of enrollment management; Susan Dale, administrative support assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs; and Nancy Burns, staff assistant VI for the Office of Enrollment Management, were accorded the prestigious honor. All were nominated by campus colleagues for personifying Penn State’s commitment of service to the community.
Kevin Snider, chancellor of the New Kensington campus, praised the recipients for shining the Penn State spotlight on New Kensington. He encouraged the campus community to recommend other colleagues for the honor.
“We need to get the word out about what a great campus and community we are,” Snider said. “It's a great way to continue to get our fantastic community recognized outside the campus.”
A “We Are!” candidate could be a maintenance worker taking extra steps to make sure a project is completed, a student organizing a charitable event, an administrator doing something special for employees, or a faculty member taking additional time to advise students. To nominate a “We Are!” candidate from the campus community, visit http://news.psu.edu/WeAre.
Harlan and awardsHarlan’s nominator wrote: "Thanks to Karen‘s creativity and her tenacity, our New Kensington website and social media pages are up-to-date, attractive and entertaining. Her photography can often be seen on our Facebook pages and allows us to promote our beautiful campus to the public."
The Ludlow native joined the campus community in 2011 and works in the offices of Information Technology and Enrollment Management. She is responsible for a variety of campus programs, including building and maintaining the online reputation of the campus through the website and social media content. She also provides design support for the web, print and other media.
Harlan was honored in May with New Kensington’s inaugural Outstanding Service to the Campus Community award. The award, along with the Outstanding Service to Students award, was developed to recognize campus staff members who have made a valuable impact on the campus, whether through interactions with students or faculty, or through the development of new systems, policies and programs. The service to campus community commendation was given to Harlan for demonstrating a pattern of extraordinary dedication and going above and beyond assigned job responsibilities in an effort to serve the needs of members of the New Kensington campus.
A two-time Penn State graduate, Harlan earned bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations in 2007 and a master of business administration degree this year. She completed her master of business administration work at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township.
MBA at RLAOffered by Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, in partnership with Penn State New Kensington, the MBA program is a blended delivery whereby students will meet in person once per month, with the remainder of the course online. Each three-credit course involves four class meetings per semester at the learning alliance with the remaining instruction delivered online. Depending on prior undergraduate courses, it will take approximately five-to-eight semesters to complete the program. This format is ideal for working adults.
Information sessions for the MBA program and upcoming GMAT test will be held in October. For more information or to register for a session, visit Penn State Behrend or call the Penn State Behrend Office of Graduate Admissions at 866-374-3378.
The Regional Learning Alliance was established in 2004 with the cooperation of educational institutions in the region. It offers a variety of degree programs and workforce training for adult and traditional students. Penn State New Kensington is a charter member of the alliance.