UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Learning announced the recipients of the Outstanding Guided Study Group (GSG) Leader Award for the fall 2023 academic semester. The recipients of the award, who earned a certificate of recognition and a stipend of $500, are Meagan McGlone and Michael Shaqfeh.  

The award recognizes study group leaders’ commitment to creating and sustaining a welcoming and academically supportive learning community for their assigned course. Working closely with course instructors and routinely attending class sessions, study group leaders host drop-in study sessions in which they review course materials, help students hone their problem-solving skills and stimulate a challenging and collaborative learning environment. Both of this semester’s recipients exemplify the award criteria, according to their nominators.  

Meagan McGlone was nominated by her MATH 201 instructor, Darla Forsha Simpson, associate teaching professor in the Department of Mathematics, for her transition from an excellent student to an outstanding GSG leader committed to academic excellence. McGlone is a junior early and elementary education major with a minor in special education. She has shown exemplary pedagogical skills in leading MATH 200 and 201 study groups for three semesters. Forsha Simpson wrote that McGlone is consistently prepared for her sessions with engaging and informative PowerPoints that make it easy for students to follow along with the material. 

“As a student teacher, she models the ideal behavior with her patience, caring attitude, extensive knowledge and sense of responsibility,” said Forsha Simpson. 

Many students have noted McGlone’s ability to explain difficult concepts in a unique way that is easier to understand. McGlone said that being a GSG leader has been one of her favorite parts of her time at Penn State and has developed her confidence while preparing her for future work as a teacher.  

Michael Shaqfeh received multiple nominations for this award. All described him as a model leader who has created and sustained a welcoming, academically stimulating and collaborative learning environment for students to engage in. Shaqfeh, a senior majoring in chemical engineering with a minor in accounting, currently in his fifth semester leading Guided Study Groups for ECON 104. Bill Goffe, teaching professor of economics, stated that Shaqfeh is extremely thoughtful and dedicated to helping students. He has mastered the hybrid GSG model (in-person and online live) to provide students with quality demonstrations and helped to teach his methods to other GSG leaders.  

Students wrote that Shaqfeh’s thorough explanations and practice problems made them feel very prepared to excel on quizzes and exams. His leadership skills were further shown by the more than 100 student survey responses he received last semester praising the help he provided in ECON 104. Shaqfeh, whose older brother was also a GSG leader, said it has been a rewarding experience and that he has enjoyed helping students have their “a-ha” moments each semester. He said the public speaking, presentation, rhetorical and interpersonal skills practiced in his role as a GSG Leader have prepared him well to pursue management positions in his fields.  

Penn State Learning extends its congratulations to these outstanding GSG leaders. 

Additional information about the award, which is funded by philanthropy, is available at pennstatelearning.psu.edu. In addition to providing no-charge Guided Study Groups in a wide range of courses, Penn State Learning provides tutoring in mathematics, world languages, public speaking and writing.  

Penn State Learning is part of Penn State Undergraduate Education.