MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg will hold its fall 2024 commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 9:30 a.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. 

A livestream of the commencement ceremony for the benefit of graduates’ family members who may not be able to attend in person will be available. For more ceremony details and the livestream link, visit harrisburg.psu.edu/commencement. 

Penn State Harrisburg alumna Jennifer L. Homendy, chair of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), will serve as keynote speaker at the ceremony. 

Homendy has served as the 15th chair of the NTSB since August 2021 and as the agency’s 44th board member since August 2018. She was renominated by President Joe Biden, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to continue serving as chair through 2027 and as board member until 2029. She is the fourth woman to serve as NTSB chair since the agency was created in 1967. 

A tireless advocate for safety, Homendy has spent over two decades supporting the critical safety mission of the NTSB, the independent federal agency that investigates crashes in all modes of transportation, determines the probable causes, and issues recommendations to improve the safety of transportation systems in the United States and around the world.  

Before the NTSB, she served as staff director for the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials under the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She previously held positions with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, and the American Iron and Steel Institute. 

Homendy completed her undergraduate degree at Penn State Harrisburg and recently received her master's degree in transportation safety administration from Clemson University.  

Sheetal Patangay, of Hyderabad, India, who is earning a master of science degree in information systems, will serve as student speaker.

Patangay said she takes pride in the opportunity to be a part of the international student voice within the Penn State Harrisburg community, embraced the challenges of being far from home, and balanced rigorous academics with multiple on-campus roles. Her commitment to becoming a product manager led her to secure a summer internship with TE Connectivity, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with global product managers from America, Europe, and China.  

Patangay has served as the Global Ambassador coordinator, hosting events that connected students from around the world, and as a board member of the Women in Tech Club, where she worked to empower her peers. Patangay was also honored to participate in meetings with Penn State Harrisburg’s Board of Advisers, providing insights on behalf of international graduate students.