UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In their time at Penn State, Schreyer Scholars Lia Gerboc and Emmanuel Kraft have taken on numerous leadership roles that benefit the community. In recognition of their efforts, they have been selected as recipients of Schreyer Honors College’s Future Leaders Scholarship for the 2023-24 academic year.
Awarded annually since 2018, the Future Leaders Scholarship was established by the Scholar Alumni Society Board. It recognizes Schreyer Scholars who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the Honors College, Penn State and/or their local community.
Gerboc is a third-year scholar majoring in biology and works in the Gould Lab as an undergraduate researcher studying the effects of nicotine on adolescent mice. Outside of the classroom, she serves as co-executive director of the Honors College’s orientation program, SHO TIME, and as a THON 2024 OPPerations Sustainability Outreach Captain.
In her role with THON, Gerboc educates the event’s volunteers on sustainability best practices and runs TREE, which stands for THON's Recycling and Environmental Effort. The TREE team collects aluminum cans that are recycled and credited toward THON’s overall donation total.
For SHO TIME Gerboc and her co-executive director work closely with Honors College staff to plan and execute the orientation event that helps position roughly 300 new scholars for success at University Park.
"I am deeply grateful and honored to receive the Future Leaders Scholarship,” Gerboc said. “It is great motivation for me to keep working on my goal of leaving a lasting impact on Penn State while inspiring and leading others along the way.”
Kraft, meanwhile, is a second-year scholar and a member of the Presidential Leadership Academy studying communication arts and sciences and political science. Since arriving at University Park, he has been at the center of re-launching a pair of community-focused organizations; Penn State’s chapter of Global Brigades Legal Empowerment and the Food Recovery Network (FRN) at Penn State.
Penn State’s chapter is one of 77 Global Brigades Legal Empowerment on campuses worldwide. Each chapter’s student leader is responsible for implementing programming that provides access to legal resources and education in rural communities. Kraft founded Penn State’s current chapter and grew it to 30 volunteer members. They are planning a week-long volunteer trip to Greece in spring 2024.
As the FRN at Penn State co-founder, Kraft helped forge a partnership with the University’s housing and food services to donate over 1,300 meals over two months to those in need around State College.
“I have always been committed to embodying the values of ethical leadership and civic engagement, so it means a lot to be recognized for that commitment with the Future Leaders Scholarship,” Kraft said. “Of course, no leader can be successful without a dedicated support system, so this selection is the culmination of years of support from friends, family, coaches, teachers and mentors.”
Gerboc and Kraft will be recognized for their achievements at an upcoming Schreyer Honors College event.