Six accomplished Penn State seniors have added to their achievements as they were selected to represent the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications as student marshals during commencement exercises Saturday, May 5, at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The group of honorees includes an overall marshal and a representative from each of the college’s five majors. The honorees are:
Overall: Katherine Litwin
Litwin, who graduates with degrees in journalism and political science, is also a Schreyer Honors College student. She completed an international programming department internship with C-SPAN in the nation’s capital through the Penn State Stanley E. Degler Washington Program and served as a nightly news intern with WCVB-TV in Boston.
Litwin also served as a researcher and communications strategist through Schreyer, developing and researching the topic of partisan gerrymandering and fake news, and their impact on electoral outcomes.
On campus, she compiled a variety of broadcast experiences. Litwin was a member of “Centre County Report,” serving as a reporter, anchor and producer. She also served in a similar role with the Penn State News Network. She contributed to Penn Statements, Kalliope literary magazine and has written and published a book online.
Following graduation, she will be working in New York City with GQR Global Markets in the Life Sciences sector.
Advertising/Public Relations: Natalie Guarna
Guarna is a Schreyer Honors College student who also earned a degree in psychology. She has completed a corporate ad sales internship at Scripps Networks Interactive in New York City, a market research internship at Optimal Strategix Group and was a social media evaluator for Appen. At Penn State, she served as a marketing and writing contributor for Spoon University and as a researcher in the Media Effects Lab. She was also president of Operation Smile.
In addition, Guarna created @Music2MyMouth, an Instagram page that pairs food pictures with love song lyrics and currently has more than 23,000 followers. She also has an @Music2MyMouth blog, and offers social media consulting.
Following graduation, she will continue her education in the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program at the University of Pennsylvania.
Film-Video: Jaime Chan
Chan gained a wide range of real-world experiences while at Penn State. Through the Penn State Hollywood Program, Chan completed a production internship with Cartoon Network Studios for the show “Powerpuff Girls.” She also completed a talent production internship with Bunim Murray Productions for the Lifetime show “Project Runway” in Long Island City, New York.
Chan’s on-campus experiences included serving as an ad designer, comic artist and writer for The Daily Collegian, a cinematographer and editor with PSNtv and an anchor/writer for CommRadio. She also directed and produced films that were showcased in the Penn State Blue & While Film Festival.
Chan was recently selected as one of five Penn State students to receive a John W. Oswald Award for outstanding leadership. Following graduation, Chan plans to move to California to pursue her passion for animation.
Journalism: Emily Kohlman
A Schreyer Honors College student, Kohlman also earned a degree in Russian.
She has interned with WPSU and with Calkins Media at The Beaver County Times. During the U.S. presidential election season, she studied in the nation’s capital through the Stanley E. Degler Washington Program and interned with Czech Television's U.S. correspondent. She covered the 2016 Republican National Convention for McClatchy and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
For her bilingual honors thesis, Kohlman traveled to Latvia to interview the founder of an independent Russian media outlet. She also covered the Cuban migrant crisis in Panama through the international reporting class.
At Penn State, she was a member of PSN News and CommRadio and the director of the Bellisario College’s Peer Mentor Program.
Following graduation, Kohlman will serve as a summer intern with CNN’s Reliable Sources. As a Fulbright award recipient, Kohlman will complete an English Teaching Assistantship in the Czech Republic in 2018-19. Her dream is to become a foreign correspondent.
Media Studies: Yifan Zhao
During his time at Penn State, Zhao compiled an impressive list of experiences. Last summer, he completed a marketing solutions internship with LinkedIn. He has also served as a Word-of-Mouth Marketing Monitor intern with Baidu Inc., as a researcher and editorial assistant with Forbes, and as an intern with AXA. Zhao also served as a Chinese instructor at BNU-HKBU United International College.
Zhao’s on-campus experiences include serving as a teaching assistant for an introductory communications class and an upper-level communications class. He also served as a research assistant, and led and participated in studies regarding human-computer interaction and computer-mediated communication.
Following graduation, he will pursue his Ph.D. in communication from the University of California, Davis.
Telecommunications: Leen Obeidat
Obeidat, a Schreyer Honors College student who is graduating with degrees in telecommunications and finance, most recently served as business manager for The Daily Collegian. In that role, she oversaw marketing, operations and financials to ensure the stability and sustainability of the organization. Previously, she served as a sales manager and account executive at the Collegian. In addition, Obeidat served as an on-air host for 46 LIVE during THON and as a radio host for CommRadio.
Off campus, she completed a marketing and telecommunications internship with West Arête in State College, and two internships in Saudi Arabia – one as a commercial innovation intern with Abudawood Group focusing on Procter & Gamble, and one as a summer intern with Construction and Investment Company, a member of the Taher Group.
Following graduation, she will be working as a supply operations associate at Flytedesk in Boulder, Colorado.