Welcome to PSU State of State

Sydney Gibbard is a junior majoring in biomedical engineering and pre-medicine. Growing up in Yardley, PA, Sydney was fortunate enough to have extremely supportive parents who were role models in the STEM field and encouraged her own passions for STEM through summer camps and extracurriculars. When she got to high school, Sydney realized that those opportunities are a luxury, and she became inspired to found Girls Code the World with her best friend Mina Shokoufandeh. Throughout Sydney's time in college, she has been able to turn her passion into a nonprofit that serves Pennsylvania and New Jersey by getting endless entrepreneurship support from Invent Penn State and the Penn State community at large. In her talk, listen to how Sydney has turned her passion into action and taken advantage of all the University has to offer. Sydney is also the Speaker of the Assembly for the UPUA and a member of Lion Ambassadors.

​Jess Strait is a senior in the Schreyer Honors College majoring in Applied Data Sciences with a minor in Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She co-founded and serves as president for Days for Girls at Penn State, a student club of the international nonprofit working to sew and distribute reusable menstrual health kits for communities in need. She has led initiatives to provide 1000 free menstrual cups to Penn State students, researched menstrual health experiences and period stigma among students, and co-instructs a Students Teaching Students course on menstrual equity. Her talk is about period poverty at Penn State and how to support menstruators in our community.

​Claire Kelling is a PhD Candidate, pursuing a Dual PhD in Statistics and Social Data Analytics with a graduate minor in Computational Sciences. She is serving her third term on the University Park Student Fee Board, and her second as Chair of the organization. Throughout Claire’s academic, professional, and extracurricular activities, she has systematically chosen positions and experiences that will allow her to develop the analytical skills, political awareness, and theoretical grounding to inform public policy. Claire’s research lies at the intersection of data analytics, criminology, public health, and political science. Her goal is to inform evidence-based practice and policy on violence and crime using the power of big data. Claire will speak about future opportunities and challenges facing the student fee process.

Sonika Kohli is a second-year Schreyer Scholar committed to addressing sexual violence and its causes at Penn State. She currently serves as the chair of the Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition, which works to promote culture shifts across the University and educate students and other Penn State community members on relevant topics, such as the prevalence of sexual violence. She is majoring in Biomedical Engineering, with minors in Engineering Entrepreneurship and Civic and Community Engagement.

Andrew Strause is a co-founder and the CEO of Navengage, a technology company that works to open doors for students through experiential learning. He graduated in 2017 with a degree in Management Information Systems from the Smeal College of Business where he also worked as a Major Gift Officer. As a student, Andrew was a two-year THON Captain, a brother of the co-ed business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, and a two-time national team member of Club Swim. Andrew’s speech explores how we can support our friends in their unique journeys through college.

Sarabeth Bowmaster is a third-year student within the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State dual-majoring in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy with a focus on the Social Sciences. Outside of the classroom, Sarabeth serves as the Peer Educator within the Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity, a Lion Ambassador, a Student Instructor of WMNST197 within STS, and a research assistant in the GPP Lab. Sarabeth is incredibly passionate about peer-to-peer education and the empowerment of student voices. After Penn State, Sarabeth aspires to attend graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies in the hopes of serving as a professor and continuing research.