Rev. Lora Adams-King to give Penn State Shenango commencement address

Penn State Shenango will hold its 2015 Spring Commencement Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, in the Shenango campus auditorium with a reception immediately following. Jo Anne Carrick, campus director, will confer baccalaureate and associate degrees on 50 graduating students.This year’s commencement address speaker is the Rev. Lora Adams-King. Adams-King has been associated with Farrell Schools since fall of 2001, when she was first hired as an elementary school teacher for the district. In 2008, after an extensive search, Adams-King was promoted to Farrell High School principal, and then, in 2010, was hired by the Farrell Area School District’s board of directors to be superintendent.In addition to her passion for educating students, Adams-King is the senior pastor of New Life Family Worship Center in Franklin, where she has led an ethnically diverse congregation since 1998.She is a doctoral candidate at Youngstown State University in its educational leadership program, which she will complete this summer. While Adams-King obtained her bachelor’s degree in education from Westminister College, she completed the first two years of her degree as a Penn State Shenango student. She earned her master’s degree in educational administration, also at Westminster College.Adams-King currently serves on multiple community boards, most recently joining the Penn State Shenango Advisory Board. She has been recognized for her outstanding leadership -- receiving many accolades, including being asked to speak at the National Urban League’s Pre-Convention Session on Education in 2013. That same year, Adams-King was inducted into the Farrell Alumni Hall of Fame, and was the recipient of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania House of Representatives Citation.She is the mother of six children and has three grandchildren.This year’s student speaker is Kelvin Jordan. Jordan will be graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies (HDFS). He is the youth minister at Second Baptist Church in Farrell and has worked for Dean’s Dairy in Hermitage for the past 10 years.During his tenure at Penn State Shenango, Jordan has been a member of the campus’ HDFS Club for the last four years, serving as club president in 2013-14 — that year the club received the Most Outstanding Club award. He has also been a member of the Student Government Association, serving in the roles of president and vice president. In November 2013, Jordan was named the Student of the Month. Jordan authored the slogan, “The small campus with the big heart,” which is used by many students, especially when working with other Penn State campuses.His parents are Melvin and Chris Jordan. He has a son Angel.The commencement ceremony will conclude with the induction of the 2015 Penn State graduates into the Penn State Shenango Alumni Society by society President Christine Scherer.For more information about this year’s graduation ceremony, contact the Registrar’s Office at 724-983-2856.