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“Appreciative, humble, intelligent, and persistent—that’s Desmend Phillips,” stated Kristin Weixel, assistant director of the Upward Bound Program at Saint Francis University. Desmend is an incoming freshman in the petroleum and natural gas engineering program, but he is no stranger to Saint Francis University. He participated in the University’s Upward Bound Program where he learned about himself and his dreams, and began making them come true. The Upward Bound Program, celebrating 50 years at Saint Francis University, is a program designed to motivate and prepare students for a four-year

Pablo's Story Name: Pablo Medina Major: Finance, Accounting, and Management Information Systems (triple major) Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico Graduation: 2016 Keeping Your Eyes on the Ball and Having a Clear Goal in Life I believe that setting high goals will always give you something to strive for and work towards. In the long run, reaching these goals will become a habit, and will only allow you to continue to aim higher and accomplish things you previously might have perceived as unattainable. Pablo Medina Pablo Medina came to Saint Francis University from Mexico City, Mexico to play

Tori Martin, a fourth-year Master of Occupational Therapy student, was awarded the prestigious Ann Eppard Scholarship and congressional internship presented at the Presidents Awards Convocation on April 26. Tori is currently completing her internship in the office of U.S. House Representative Bill Shuster R-PA 9th district on Capitol Hill. Tori has so far learned the ins-and-outs of the voting process, met many staff and legislators, and is now trained to provide tours to visitors to the Hill. She talks to constituents about their concerns and if this is not enough, it's only her first of four

Saint Francis University student Matthew Fraley of Frederick, Md, will be traveling to Poland in July as part of the College Knights Pilgrimage to Krakow and World Youth Day. World Youth Day is an international event started by Saint John Paul II in 1985, celebrated annually at the diocesan level and every two to three years in a major city with millions of youth and young adults who come to be with the Holy Father and to celebrate the Catholic faith. World Youth Day 2016 will be held July 26-31 in Krakow, Poland. For its theme, Pope Francis has chosen a line from the Beatitudes, “Blessed are

With a passion for politics and a love of writing, Amanda majored in communications and minored in pre-law. Her future plans include attending law school, earning her law degree, and practicing law with efforts of becoming either a judge or a political analyst. Amanda Schiavo Communications major, Pre-Law minor Class of 2016 Interning at the RNC Presenting at a National Conference Communications at SFU Pre-Law at SFU Meet Amanda Schiavo, a passionate writer with a flair for politics “Politics has been a huge part of my family life,” stated Amanda Schiavo. “Looking back to the Bush/Kerry

Ms. Dallas Mosier Chemistry and Criminal Justice Major, Class of 2016 Towanda, PA Dallas’ Story Eight-year-old Dallas Mosier wants to be a forensic scientist when she grows up. Fast forward 14 years, and you will find her still in full pursuit of her dreams. As senior at Saint Francis University, Dallas double majored in chemistry and criminal justice. While the two seem like very different fields of study, Dallas says there are more similarities than you might think. “They both focus on following the data, and I think that is what I enjoy so much,” Dallas said. “Whether it is chemistry or

For the second year in a row, students at Saint Francis University trained and conditioned dogs from the Central PA Humane Society and found them loving families and forever homes. Three different dogs, one goal This year, Saint Francis University welcomed three dogs—Neeko, Jango and Akira—to campus through the help of Central PA Humane Society member and trainer Megan Sanchez. Akira was the youngest, shyest of the three. A puppy with a lot of love to give, Akira was a six-month-old female dog. Neeko was a fun-loving, full-of-energy, three-year-old female dog, and Jango was a very relaxed and

The Environmental Engineering Department at Saint Francis University is pleased to thank Gwin Dobson & Foreman Consulting Engineers of Altoona, Pennsylvania for their generous donation of an Armfield hydraulic flume. The flume is 2.5 meters long (center) and comes with a large hydraulic workbench with pump (right). This flume will be of great teaching and research value in the department. It will provide a tool for courses such as Hydraulics & Hydrology and Fluid Mechanics in addition to student research and real class projects. Standing with the flume are nine of our thirteen Environmental

Heather N. McHenry, PA-C, ’08, MPAS, ’09, has been selected as the speaker for the 2016 Graduate Commencement ceremony on May 8. About Ms. McHenry Heather McHenry says she knew immediately—on her first trip to Honduras as a Saint Francis undergraduate—that she was hooked on medical missions. “It opened my eyes,” says McHenry of the experience. Even though she was not a licensed provider at the time and could only assist the physical therapy team in charge of the trip, she says she found the work immensely gratifying. After earning her master’s in physician assistant science and licensure

Senior strategic communications major and pre-law minor Amanda Schiavo presented some of her research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) on April 7 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Schiavo presented findings from a study she completed in her Communications Theory and Research course during the 2015 fall semester at Saint Francis. The title of her study is “Media Coverage of the 2016 Presidential Primary Debates: Information or Infotainment?” After viewing the first Democratic debate and the third Republican debate of the 2016 U.S. presidential primary