University Park, Pa. -- Arielle Hesse, of State College, has been selected as the student marshal to represent the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State’s Spring 2010 commencement.
Hesse, who is completing geography, Jewish studies, and French majors, will lead the procession of graduates at the baccalaureate ceremony on May 14 in the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus.
Hesse’s faculty marshal will be Brian King, an assistant professor of geography.
Hesse earned a 3.99 grade point average and was named to the dean’s list consistently throughout her college career.
Hesse earned numerous honors and awards, including the Dean Edward Steidle Memorial Award in Earth and Mineral Sciences; the John and Elizabeth Holmes Teas Scholarship in Earth and Mineral Sciences; and the G.D. Richardson Scholarship in Geography. She was named an Evan Pugh Scholar, an academic award for students in the top half percent of their class, and she was inducted as an EMSAGE Laureate, an honor given to EMS students who demonstrate a higher level of achievement than the majority of students at Penn State in scholarship, experiential learning and global literacy, and service.
The daughter of Brian C. and Paula W. Hesse, of State College, Hesse did field research in Bulgaria as part of a geography class in 2008, and she studied the memory of the Holocaust in France in 2007.
Her activities include participating in Young People For in 2008; University Park Allocation Committee from 2008-2009; Penn State’s Amnesty International; and as a course development intern.
After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in academia with a focus on social theory. She will enroll in a diploma program in the United Kingdom.