Lori A. Gross Selected as Student Marshal for Eberly College of Science

Lori A. Gross, of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, has been selected as the Eberly College of Science student marshal for fall commencement ceremonies at Penn State on 15 December.

A biology major, Lori was selected to represent her class because of her outstanding academic record. During her undergraduate years at Penn State, she earned a 3.97 grade-point average. She also conducted research in the laboratories of Lorraine Sordillo-Gandy, professor of veterinary science, and Andrew Clark, professor of biology.

Along with those achievements, Lori earned numerous awards and honors during her undergraduate career. She was honored as an Evan Pugh Scholar, as a National Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, and with the Beckman Scholar Award as a senior and junior. She earned the Penn State Schreyer Honors College Academic Excellence Scholarship, the Dapper Dan Charities Scholarship, and the President's Freshman Award. She was a member of the Westinghouse Science Honors Institute and was a Robinson Family Fund Scholar.

Lori also was involved in a wide range of activities outside the classroom. She was assistant troop leader of a Boy Scout troop for mentally retarded adults. She made a missions trip to Rose of Sharon Orphanage in San Juan, Dominican Republic, to help construct a sewage system, paint the orphanage building, and give personal care to 66 boys. She was a member of the Penn State Outing Club, Christian Student Fellowship, and Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity. She participated in a cultural and scientific exchange with Chinese students as a student delegate to the People's Republic of China. And she helped build homes in Crystal Coast, North Carolina, and in the State College area with Habitat for Humanity.

Lori undertook three internships with the help of the Eberly College of Science Cooperative Education Program, two at Walt Disney World. One was as a veterinary services intern; the other was as a marine mammal intern. She also interned at the National Institutes of Health. And she participated in the Penn State course "Tropical Field Ecology Biology," a two-week international experience in Costa Rica.