UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Student Engagement EXPO on Nov. 8 will give the Penn State community an opportunity to learn from students about their out-of-classroom learning experiences that helped to shape their lives and define their paths.
Sponsored by the Student Engagement Network (SEN), the EXPO gives Penn State students the chance to share their experiences through the many modes of student engagement: clubs, internships, sports, research, travel, artistic ventures and more. Events will start at 6 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Center at the University Park campus.
The public can stop by any of the sessions, which will feature concurrent poster sessions of student presenters and performances from 6-7 p.m. From 7-8 p.m. there will be “TED-style” lightning talks, where students will take to the stage and share their engagement experiences. At 8 p.m. Larry Terry II, vice president for Penn State Outreach, will share his vantage point on engagement through his experience working in public administration and higher education.
Terry was named vice president for Outreach in January 2023 and previously served as the executive director for the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and professor in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.
Many student engagement experiences involve some kind of impact on a community. At Penn State, those who apply for a Student Engagement Grant are asked to think about the five competencies of social justice activism and awareness, civic responsibility, ethical leadership, systems thinking and professional development. For Terry, involvement in his local community in San Jose, California, started in high school working for the city government, refereeing local sports leagues.
“I took a lot of pride in the position itself, because I felt like I’m working in a neighborhood that I grew up in,” he said. “I’m working for the city, working in parks and recreation, I love it. I’m outside, I'm getting paid to engage with the community. And so that was the big driver for me.”
He continued to be involved in parks and recreation in college and was encouraged by his manager to pursue a path in public service and earn a master’s degree in public administration. When he became a faculty member and teacher in public administration, Terry said he was immediately put in a position where he had to be able to show his students what their classroom work would look like in practice.
“Making sure that my students were aware of how they can apply their class concepts and practice has always been really, really important to me,” he said.
While working at the University of North Texas, Dallas, Terry started a master’s program in public leadership. He said a core part of their philosophy was the need to put themselves in a position to take action.
“One of our sayings amongst one of the cohorts that I had there of students was ‘public leadership is not a spectator sport,’” Terry said.
He said at the Student Engagement EXPO he will encourage attendees to think about their purpose, profession and passion. The passion should be something a person feels strongly about and can commit their time to, Terry said. He listed a number of projects that his students in Dallas worked on, such as a fresh food mobile market, inclusive routes in the rapid transit system, and a collaboration between police and a local nonprofit to address food insecurity. The purpose perspective involves looking at how universities and their students are contributing to well-being and driving change. The profession aspect requires a person to look for professional pathways to put themselves in a position to be able to experience the passion and purpose.
“We have to continue to emphasize the importance that faculty, staff and students have in the contribution of the well-being of communities across Pennsylvania, and the classroom experience as part of that, but also that experiential component can and should be an anchor in that as well,” Terry said.
2023 Student Engagement Expo schedule of events, Nov. 8
6-7 p.m. — Poster session in Freeman Lounge and Art Alley, food provided.
6-7 p.m. — Performances in the Gingher Lounge.
7-8 p.m. — Lightning Talks in Freeman Auditorium.
8-8:30 p.m. Keynote in Freeman Auditorium, Larry Terry II, vice president for Penn State Outreach.
About the Student Engagement Network
The Student Engagement Network is a joint initiative of Penn State Undergraduate Education, Student Affairs, and Outreach and Online Education. The mission of the Student Engagement Network is to advance the power of participation by connecting students with experiences that empower them to make a positive impact as citizens and leaders of the world.
For more information about the Student Engagement Network, visit sen.psu.edu or email engage@psu.edu.