UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sara Manetta, daughter of John and Susan Manetta, of Yardley, will serve as the student marshal at the Dec. 20 commencement ceremony for the College of Health and Human Development. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in biobehavioral health (BBH).
While at Penn State, Manetta received the Bayard D. Kunkle Scholarship, Bucks County Alumni Association Scholarship and the Schreyer Honors College Academic Excellence Scholarship. She was also named to the dean’s list each semester.
Manetta was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society and Mortar Board Honors Society. She served as a research assistant for the Stress and Health Laboratory and Evolutionary Biology Laboratory and as a clinic intern for University Health Services. She was also a clinic floor volunteer at the Mount Nittany Medical Center. Manetta is a certified emergency medical technician.
Manetta also conducted a thesis project, titled “Chronic Pain, Depression, and Academic Performance in College Students,” for the Schreyer Honors College under the supervision of Jennifer Graham-Engeland, BBH associate professor. Graham-Engeland will also serve as Manetta’s faculty marshal.
“My thesis is about the relationship between chronic pain, depressed mood and academic performance, and the mechanisms by which they interact,” Manetta said. “Chronic pain and depression are both complex experiences that can have significant effect on a person’s physical and psychological health. Unfortunately, little research has examined this relationship among undergraduate students, taking into consideration students who are academically driven but experiencing high-stress in a college atmosphere. The aim of the present research was to examine the complex relationship between the chronic pain experience and depressed mood, and investigate the extent to which this relationship affects academic performance in undergraduates, focusing on the possible mediation effect of depressed mood.”
Additionally, Manetta served as a morale committee member, EMS liaison and dancer registration chairwoman for the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. She was also a peer leader for BIOL 003 Peer Learning in Biology.
Manetta plans to take a couple of years off of school before attending either medical school or graduate school to study public health.
“In the meantime, I will be seeking a job involved in clinical health care or the nonprofit sector,” Manetta said.