The Penn State College of Education has named Morgan Seifert as its student marshal for fall 2018. She will be recognized during the Penn State undergraduate commencement ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 15, in the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus. Seifert has chosen Susan Pavalko, instructor in curriculum and instruction field experiences (CIFE) for pre-service elementary education majors, to escort her as the college's faculty marshal. Suzanne Dannenmueller has served as her academic adviser.
"When I got the call from the College of Education describing to me that I had been selected for student marshal I was so surprised," Seifert said. "Never did I expect to achieve this honor."
Regarding her selection of Susan Pavalko as the faculty marshal, Seifert said, "It was an easy decision selecting Sue to be my faculty escort. Sue was my pre-service supervisor for student teaching and she left the biggest impact on me during my undergraduate career. She also got me through one of the toughest transitions in my undergrad experience and I owe it to her for keeping me going. She made an impact on me as an educator and that is exactly why I am in this profession — to make an impact on my students' lives."
Seifert will graduate with a degree in early childhood education and a minor in special education. She is currently a student teacher at the Indian Valley Intermediate School in the Mifflin County School District for a fourth-grade classroom. In her student teaching position Seifert creates lessons focused in the areas of math, reading, writing, social studies and science. She also participates in community events including parent-teacher conferences.
From September 2016 to May 2018, Seifert served as a counselor to K-5 students in the State College Area School District After School Program. She also was a math tutor and grader for students in Math 200 and Math 201 throughout the 2017-18 school year.
She has been awarded the following scholarships: the Samuel L. Abrams Foundation, the American Association of University Women, the McLean, the Hunnell Trustee, the J. Leonhard Scholarship in Education and the Wickland Family.
Her mother, Nicole Snyder; brother, Shane; grandparents, Deborah and Bob; and many other family members plan to attend the ceremony. Seifert will be seeking a full-time teaching position upon graduating and hopes to one day pursue a master's degree that will help shift her focus to middle level education.