Dengyumei Du named Eberly College of Science’s summer 2021 student marshal
Dengyumei Du of Guiyang, China, will be honored as student marshal for the Eberly College of Science during Penn State’s summer commencement ceremony on Saturday, August 14, 2021. Du’s faculty escort for the commencement exercises will be Andrey Krasilnikov, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Du will graduate with a 4.0 grade point average and a bachelor’s degree in premedicine and a minor in psychology. She has been honored with numerous awards and scholarships, including the Chancellor’s Award for 2017 to 2018, President's Freshman Award in 2018, the President Spark’s Award in 2019, the Duffy Premedicine Endowment scholarship in 2019, and the Evan Pugh Scholar Award in 2021. Du has also been a member of the Dean’s list for every semester.
While at Penn State, Du conducted research with Krasilnikov. His research focuses on an enzyme family that plays a role in eukaryotic development. The lab investigates these enzymes’ structure and the proteins they bind with.
In addition to her academic achievements, Du was a volunteer for the Crisis Text line, mentor for the Lifelink PSU, a teaching assistant for chemistry and psychology courses, a volunteer for the American Red Cross, and a member of the Reformed University Fellowship Club.
“I would say the most important thing I learn from my experience at Penn State is that we should be passionate about your life,” said Du. “The science professors are passionate about teaching, science, and their research. You can see their faces light up when they talk about their studies. Students here are also passionate about every aspect of their life, even during pandemic. I think the passion they have is pure and valuable. I learned from them that being passionate about life can give me more confidence and courage to try different things as well as focus on the things I love.”
Du is a graduate of Happy Valley International Experimental School in Guiyang, China. Her parents are Zhiyan Deng and Sien Du. Following graduation, Du plans to attend medical school.