UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two geography majors are serving as College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' Undergraduate Student Council (StuCo) officers and as EMS ambassadors. Senior Hannah Perrelli is president and sophomore Emily Shiels is secretary.
Both Perrelli and Shiels became involved with StuCo after attending the college’s August first-year student orientation experience, Total Engagement with EMS (TEEMS).
TEEMS is a pre-semester program held annually in August before the start of the fall semester, specifically designed for first-year students at the University Park campus who are new to the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. One TEEMS objective is to help incoming students connect with upper-level student mentors, faculty, staff and alumni before classes even begin.
Shiels connected with Perrelli when she attended TEEMS in 2020, which was held virtually.
“Hannah was my mentor. She encouraged me to join, and I knew I wanted to get involved, especially during the Zoom year,” Shiels said. “I loved that the council seemed like a tight-knit family, and I could easily see myself fitting in.”
Perrelli said she decided to run for president to give back to the EMS community.
“As president, I am focused on increasing engagement within the organization, as well as fostering an inclusive environment for all students across the college’s five departments,” Perrelli said. “In addition to increasing membership, which declined during the remote semesters, our main initiative this semester is to elect our sixth board member to fill the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) director position. Our goal in adding this position is to increase membership, facilitate outreach, extend opportunities to smaller groups and stress the importance of diversity within our community.”
Shiels said she was nominated to run for the secretary role.
“I realized if someone else thought I was capable of taking on the role, then I was capable,” Shiels said. “My goals are to create eye-catching reminders and recap emails that people look forward to receiving. Also, as secretary, I’m in charge of the club’s social media pages, and I hope to increase engagement on all platforms. We just picked our chairs for the 2021-22 academic year and I’m so excited to manage two wonderful chairpersons who can help me achieve my goals.”
Both students are EMS ambassadors. Ambassadors are selected through a highly competitive process and are seasoned students who offer prospective students and their families detailed tours of the college, student living and dining areas, research and educational facilities, and most importantly, give future students advice on what college life at Penn State is like.
Being involved with StuCo and EMS Ambassadors takes a tremendous amount of time and effort.
Perrelli and Shiels said that balancing coursework and leadership responsibilities takes meticulous planning, communication and asking for help. Another tactic Shiels said she uses is to make a to-do list every day, ranking her tasks in order of importance.
Perrelli and Shiels said that being part of StuCo is worthwhile for new students to consider.
“Leadership fosters responsibility and trust,” Perrelli said. “I also gained a lot of self-esteem from being a part of something greater than myself. Additionally, there have been so many doors that have been opened for me because of pursuing leadership. I feel very lucky to be in the position I am in and am extremely grateful for all the support I have received through this process.”
Shiels said, “It’s extremely rewarding to work so closely with the faculty and staff to put on events. We also learn first-hand about any opportunities the college has to offer and reap the benefits from those events. Student council is a stepping-stone to becoming involved in the college in other ways. For example, the community I felt through the student council encouraged me to become a TEEMS mentor and an EMS ambassador, which have been and will be very rewarding.”