UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When asked how she felt about being chosen as a student marshal for commencement, Alice Greider said how honored she was because her peers’ work impressed her so much in the classes she’s taken. However, Greider’s own accomplishments are what led her to receive the honor of being selected.
Like the 21 other student marshals representing Liberal Arts, Greider took advantage of the experiences that were available to her and made sure to make the best of her education in her time here. The Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Honors Scholar is graduating with bachelor of arts degrees in international politics and global and international studies, a master of international affairs degree, and minors in French and History.
Because of her majors, Greider has extensive international experience. During her time at Penn State, she traveled to Germany and delved even further into her love of other nations. She then completed an internship with the European Parliament that allowed her to gain firsthand experience in international relations.
It was this that set Greider on the path towards a career in European foreign policy and democratization efforts. This piqued her interest in the inner workings of international governments and allowed her to see how the European Union crafts policy towards Eastern European nations. Years later, Greider has now accepted a job serving in the Peace Corps as a community youth worker in Ukraine after graduation. This position will allow her to do the work she’d become interested in while in college.
The liberal arts experience has been central to Greider’s time here at Penn State. Greider named the writing and research skills she gained as the most important and advised future students to take advantage of the opportunities to perfect them.
“Being able to do scholarly research and logically articulate arguments will be an asset in any situation and put us [students] instantly above those who didn’t focus on writing and critical thinking as often,” Greider said.
Greider’s ability to do just that has greatly impressed the staff and faculty members in her field. However, Greider still recognizes the work that others in her field are doing and strives to improve her own dedication to international politics. It is this commitment and appreciation to her area of study and her education in general that led Greider to describe her experience as “hugely humbling.”
Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series of stories on the 22 student marshals representing the College of the Liberal Arts at the spring 2018 commencement ceremony.