Ciera L. Johnson to Represent Penn State's Eberly College of Science as Student Marshal at Summer Commencement 2013

Ciera L. Johnson of Hughesville, Pennsylvania will be honored as the student marshal for the Eberly College of Science during Penn State University's summer commencement ceremonies on Saturday, 10 August, 2013, on the University Park campus. Johnson's faculty escort for the commencement exercises will be Kimberlyn Nelson, a senior lecturer in the Department of Biology.

Johnson will graduate from Penn State with a 3.72 grade-point average and a bachelor's degree in biology. She was on the dean's list during semesters in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 and she is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Medical Honor Society.

During her freshman year at Penn State, Johnson was a member of the Pride of the Lions Pep Band. In addition, she served as an economics teaching assistant for Dirk Mateer, a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics. Her role as a teaching assistant included grading papers and proctoring exams. She also helped pioneer a new Facebook group for students with teaching-assistant roles. After graduation, Johnson plans to pursue an advanced degree to become a pharmacist.

Johnson said she is both honored and humbled by being selected as student marshal. "My advice for other students is not to take anything for granted. Your time at Penn State flies by and if you don't take advantage of the many opportunities available here, you will regret it," Johnson said. "I loved my years at Penn State and I certainly will miss everything about it."

Johnson, a 2009 graduate of Hughesville High School, will be accompanied at commencement by her mother Lynda Clarkson; her father Terry Johnson; her sister Teal Johnson; her grandparents Patricia and Robert Beck; her fiancé Taylor Rosanova, who graduated from Penn State's Smeal College of Business in 2012; and her future mother-in-law Beth Taylor.