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.

Lori was embarking on yet another trip when news of her being selected as student marshal reached her. "I was actually asleep in the car on the way to a scuba-diving weekend in the Florida Keys when the call came in. At first I was a bit confused and wondered how this could happen to me," Lori said. "Then I felt very honored. It felt nice to have all the hard work pay off, though I know I have plenty more hard work to do."

Her interest in biology stems from a Quaker Valley High School teacher, Edward Schroth, who opened her eyes to the natural world. "He really got me interested in biology. I attended his summer biology camps as a little kid. Then I took his advanced-placement biology and science research classes in high school. I also participated in his environmental club, which traveled to China," Lori recalled. "It was through his superb teaching and difficult classes that I learned I was really drawn to understanding how living things work, especially the physiology of humans and animals. I am still trying to combine both my passion and my intellect into a career that can benefit humans and animals alike."

She has selected Andrew Clark, a professor of biology and Lori's thesis advisor, to be her faculty escort for commencement.

Lori will be accompanied to the ceremony by her parents, William and Ann Gross, and her brother and sister-in-law, David and Elisa Gross, who are both Penn State graduates. Also accompanying Lori will be her fiance, David Hoe, and her fiance's parents, Sandy and Denise Hoe.

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