UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Michael Johnson, a Doylestown, Pennsylvania native, has been named the student marshal for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ summer 2024 commencement ceremony, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, in the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's University Park campus.
Johnson will graduate with a bachelor of science degree in energy and sustainability policy (ESP) and a minor in energy business and finance. He was named to the dean’s list for all eight semesters and is graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade-point average.
ESP is an online program offered by the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. It is delivered by the college’s John A. Dutton Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence in cooperation with Penn State’s World Campus.
“I am very honored to be selected as the student marshal for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences,” Johnson said. “Over the last four years I have had an exceptional experience at World Campus and achieved great academic success, which I attribute in large part to the wonderful professors I have had the joy to learn from.”
Johnson was the recipient of many scholarships during his undergraduate studies including the World Campus Scholarship for Student Success in 2021 and in 2024; the Nu Chapter Alumni of Alpha Chi Sigma John Matternas Scholarship in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences; and the Earth and Mineral Sciences Alumni Scholarship.
Johnson said that gaining confidence was one of his biggest takeaways from his academic career at Penn State.
“I learned a great deal from the ESP program, but my biggest takeaway from my experience at Penn State is the confidence I gained,” Johnson said. “There were many challenges along the way, including life changes and difficult classes, but I learned that through hard work and perseverance, I not only was able to understand difficult material but excel in my studies.”
Johnson is hopeful for the future with skills gained though the ESP program.
“I am graduating with a well-rounded tool kit to tackle the world’s growing sustainability issues, and I am excited for future ESP students to follow in the same path,” Johnson said. “I was also impressed with my peers in the ESP program, and I am hopeful for the future given we have so many intelligent, hardworking and passionate people heading off into the world to solve our sustainability problems.”
Brandi Robinson, associate teaching professor, taught two of Johnson’s classes and served as a mentor for his capstone project. Johnson said her enthusiasm for the topics was impossible to ignore.
“Brandi is an excellent teacher, mentor and friend and her passion made me want to produce the best possible products for each and every assignment,” Johnson said. “Brandi’s enthusiasm for sustainability ignited a passion in me for it as well, and her tough but fair grading of assignments made me more cognizant of methods to produce professional and high-quality material. I’m very grateful for my time with Brandi, and I am better prepared to excel in my career and help solve global and local sustainability issues thanks to her guidance.”
Johnson said that the ESP program has expanded his work opportunities.
“I work in an industry seeing major developments surrounding sustainability, and my degree could not be completed at a more opportune time,” said Johnson. “I have worked full time throughout my ESP studies, and I am continuing in that job. I have been invited to sustainability summits, and to be part of meetings and conversations with leading experts in sustainability, all because of this degree. I am excited to see where this goes.”
Johnson said anyone who is interested in sustainability, science, communication and policy should consider the ESP major.
“I’m a major science geek, but I wanted to pursue a degree and career that involved more than just lab work and poring over endless data,” Johnson said. “This degree was a perfect blend of science, communication and policy. We learned the science, we learned how to communicate the science, and we learned how to navigate the complicated routes to implement sound policy based on the science in our hectic and convoluted political environment. World Campus has been excellent as well, especially for someone like me who is returning to academics after many years. I’ve learned a lot and I recommend the ESP program or any other in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences wholeheartedly.”