Buckley to Represent Penn State's Eberly College of Science as Student Marshal at Fall Commencement 2010

Patrick J. Buckley of Reading, Pennsylvania, will be honored as the student marshal for the Eberly College of Science during Penn State University's fall commencement ceremonies on 18 December 2010 at the University Park campus. Buckley has selected Paul A. Bartell of the Department of Poultry Sciences to be his faculty escort for the commencement exercises.

Buckley will graduate from Penn State with a 3.99 grade-point average and a bachelor's degree in biology. He has received several awards, including a Morrow Family Endowed Prize in 2010, a third-place prize in the Penn State Undergraduate Research Exhibition in 2009, and a first-place prize in the New York Times Civic Engagement Speaking Contest in 2008. He also has been on the Dean's List every semester during his years at Penn State.

Buckley has participated in a number of research projects while working toward his bachelors-of-science degree at Penn State. From January 2008 to May 2009, under the direction of Penn State Assistant Professor of Avian Biology Paul Bartell, Buckley participated in a research project investigating the daily rhythms of gene expression in Japanese quail. From May to August 2009, Buckley served as a research assistant in a laboratory at the University of Munich's Institute for Medical Psychology, where he genetically engineered a Neurospora mold in order to observe the daily rhythms of a particular gene's expression. From August 2009 through the present, he has been working under the direction of Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health Laura Cousino Klein, investigating the association between sickness behavior and immune function in a mouse model.

In addition to his participation in research, Buckley has been an active volunteer in the community. He was a member of the Schreyer Speaker Series Committee from Fall 2008 to Spring 2010 and the Lutheran Student Community from Spring 2008 to the present. Buckley also served as a hospice volunteer for AseraCare Hospice, where he assisted with hospice patients at a local nursing home. He also has tutored and served as a teaching assistant for various biology and chemistry courses.

Buckley says that he always will be grateful to Penn State for giving him the freedom to explore his interests and for introducing him to some of his best friends. Buckley believes that being named the Fall 2010 Student Marshal for Penn State's Eberly College of Science is an incredible honor and a wonderful way to end his Penn State undergraduate experience. Buckley hopes to work in the health-care or consulting industry following his graduation, and also to pursue a graduate degree in biotechnology.

Buckley is a graduate of Holy Name High School in Reading, Pennsylvania. He will be accompanied at commencement by his parents, John and Jane Buckley; his brother, John Buckley III, who received his bachelor's degrees in economics and political science from Penn State in 2009; and his sister Meghan Buckley, a current statistics major at Penn State.

CONTACTS

Barbara Kennedy (PIO): 814-863-4682, science@psu.edu