Penn State New Kensington

First week of the semester vibes are 😎. Today, students spent time at the annual Back to School Bash with lunch, music, games, furry friends, a photo booth and more. How's the first week going, Penn Staters?

Day two of Welcome Days is in the books for our incoming students! Today, our new Penn Staters took part in Academic Convocation; visited the Alcoa Arch for their class photo; toured the city of New Kensington to check out the shops, restaurants and our Digital Foundry at New Kensington and The Corner; enjoyed the annual all-campus picnic; and took part in the annual Welcome Days team building olympic field games. On Saturday, students will enjoy the day at Kennywood amusement park before they start their very first semester on Monday!

Anyone else as excited as we (and the Nittany Lion!) are about welcoming our newest Penn Staters to the family? Welcome Days started today on campus with our incoming class of students, who participated in team building, friendship-making and learning activities throughout the day. Tomorrow, they'll take part in even more fun to get them ready for their first week of class, which starts Monday!

to last month's "ARTificial Intelligence: Elevating Art through AI" event at ! The event, organized by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, benefitted student aid at the campus for scholarship support, student emergencies, and critical investments in programs and services on campus. Attendees enjoyed a special outdoor concert by SQUONK Opera before moving indoors to interact with a variety of live art and technology demonstrations, delicious food, music and a silent auction. Thanks to the event's sponsors, attendees and friends of the campus, the event raised $14,000 for the students! (Photos by: Savvy Shots Photography)

“Without the workings of a biomedical engineer, there would be major gaps in patient care due to lack of functional equipment. For the doctors to save or improve the lives of patients, they need the devices to do their job, and the ones maintaining, fixing, and checking those devices are biomeds. I once was told that biomeds are the caped shadows behind of the heroes. It was a comment I have never forgotten and I think of daily.” - Dalynn Park, BET alumna

Happy Management Week to all our Penn State New Kensington Biomedical Engineering Technology students and alumni, like Dalynn, who has been working and specializing in the field of OR and dialysis equipment that past three years.

If you’re interested in learning about this unique, accredited and important two-year healthcare tech program with a 100% job placement rate, check out newkensington.psu.edu/bet to find out more!

Tomorrow, join during New Kensington’s May to take a “paws” and enjoy family-friendly activities and fun at our during the city’s spring/summer monthly food truck and business event! Grab some food from all the wonderful food trucks, shop and stop at all the local downtown businesses and come visit us at the Digital Foundry!

🐾 Youth STEAM and robotics activities with ABC CREATE, 100 Black Men, R&D Impact
 
🐾 Small business/entrepreneurship resources and meeting with local business owners with
 
🐾 Training information (entry-level to advanced) and robotics demonstrations with the Digital Foundry
 
🐾 Academic program, admissions and campus information and giveaways with Penn State New Kensington
 
🐾 Choose-your-own giveaways using a Digital Foundry robot and win a chance to have your own 3D-printed sculpture made
 
🐾 Meet and take photos with the Nittany Lion, as well as princesses and superheroes from Pittsburgh Costumes with a Cause
 
🐾 Music and dancing

Today, hosted faculty from colleges and universities from the Southwestern PA region for the first day of the second annual Future Readiness Academy for Faculty! Day one included a keynote related to diversity, equity and inclusion; lunch with regional industry representatives telling their stories about technology in their fields; and workshops about teamwork using robotics, XR use in industry, and ethics in the digital age. The Academy is a unique, multi-day professional development experience for higher education faculty members to learn about how technology is used in industries, network with colleagues from across the region, and better prepare students for their future-ready goals. The event is provided at no cost to those in attendance thanks to generous support from the SWPA New Economy Collaborative funded by a Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant.

Congratulations to all our graduates! 🎓Thank you for being part of our community these past two and four years. As always says, you always have a home at Penn State New Kensington. 🐾 Enjoy your commencement day, and proud of you!

Be sure to check out a full photo gallery of graduate portraits and other photos on our campus page early next week! (fb.com/pennstatenewkensington).

Saturday is the big day, graduates! 🎓 Join us in congratulating Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 graduates at ! The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and will feature guest speaker, Adis Juklo, WPXI-TV Pittsburgh meteorologist and Penn State alumnus who got his start at the New Kensington campus! Get all the details about the commencement ceremony, including the livestream link at:

New Kensington prepares for Spring 2024 commencement Penn State New Kensington will honor its fall 2023 and spring 2024 graduates on May 6 with an in-person ceremony at 10 a.m. The ceremony will also be livestreamed. Adis Juklo, alumnus and current meteorologist at WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.

It's a Wednesday, and as we wrap up the spring semester, we can't help but think about all our amazing student organizations on campus, including our very own STEAM Club, which was named the 2024 Club of the Year at our recent awards ceremony! Not only does the club have activities on campus, but they spend time out in our local community and schools spreading knowledge and fun related to science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

https://newkensington.psu.edu/story/15326/2024/04/23/new-kensington-students-promote-steam-local-community

, welcomed some very cool cats (literally) hoping to become future Nittany Lions! (Well, we’re not sure about that last part, but we think they felt right at home!) 🐾 A roaring shout out to Dr. Morrow and Frankie's Friends Cat Rescue for hosting a special Kitty De-Stress event on campus heading into this Finals Week! We think it was the “purr”-fect break for students, faculty and staff!

📷: Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue (check out more photos on their page!)

Penn State New Kensington celebrated the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff during the annual Academic and Student Achievement Awards ceremony on Friday, April 26. Awards were given to recognize academic, teaching, staff and extra-curricular honors. See a full gallery from the event at the campus page (fb.com/pennstatenewkensington).

Thank you to Barb and all our campus volunteers, donors, supporters, partners and friends!

Dr. Barbara Arnold's first volunteer experiences at Penn State started at Penn State New Kensington.

She has had a lengthy volunteer journey and continues to serve on New Kensington's advisory board as an associate member.

“Since I benefitted from philanthropy, I wanted to be able to help other students in the future.”

Read more about Barbara in our latest volunteer spotlight!
https://ow.ly/Z99r50Rpa5i

Hey higher education faculty in southwestern PA! Don’t miss out on the upcoming Future Readiness Academy! Check out the details and register today to grab your spot (and earn a stipend if you attend all three days and complete an assignment).

📢 Last Call! Don't Miss Out on the Southwestern PA Faculty Future Readiness Academy at Penn State New Kensington! This is your chance to be a part of educational transformation. Registration closes on April 30.

Why attend?
✨ Meet industry professionals
🔌 Engage with cutting-edge technology
🤝 Practice techniques for fostering belonging
🌐 Network with colleagues from across the region
🎓 Create innovative course content
💰 Earn a $400 stipend for attending (details on the registration page)

Registration is closing soon, so act fast to reserve your spot, open to full or part-time higher-education faculty: https://forms.gle/Q9ZpYfx3BnNfJECCA

Learn more here: https://newkensington.psu.edu/spring-future-readiness-academy-faculty

friendships are for life! 🐾 It was a mini reunion at the recent wedding of Carly (center), campus alumna, who was joined by another campus alumna, Danielle (left), and Dr. Penelope Morrison, associate professor of biobehavioral health at the campus. Congratulations to Carly, and thanks for showing the ❤️ on your big day!

(Photo shared by Dr. Morrison) 📷

Mondays are so much better when you’re still excited from the weekend! On Saturday, welcomed 49 accepted and prospective students for a fun Spring Open House AND Accepted Student Reception! Students were able to meet with faculty, take campus tours, learn about all the opportunities on campus and enjoy some Berkey Creamery ice cream! We Are looking forward to seeing so many of these future Penn Staters on campus in the fall!

“The school having events like these helped me get the career I have. The opportunity to have professionals in the field come in and ask you about your projects — that’s an experience you don’t often get.”

Check out this great feature on yesterday’s Research and Student Engagement Expo!

Penn State New Kensington students show off skills, network with future employers Bryce Eddy knew the New Kensington cat rescue Frankie’s Friends often takes in lots of cats rescued from poor conditions. So, to take some pressure off Frankie’s team of volunteers, the Harrison native and his Penn State New Kensington classmates James Matus and Heather Shultz decided to...

Students from campuses across the Commonwealth, including ’s own Alyssa C., traveled to Harrisburg this morning for Capital Day. Students had the chance to meet with legislators and share their Penn State stories to showcase what the University means to them. 🐾 You can join our students and help take action for the future of Penn State by visiting advocate.psu.edu to learn how you can !

📷: Our friends at Penn State Greater Allegheny

Hey, students! Week starts on Monday (March 18)! Join our innovation hub, The Corner, for a fun scavenger hunt you can do all next week for a chance to win some fun prizes...AND learn about the and other entrepreneurship ecosystems. Check out the scavenger hunt at: https://psnkhunt.com/2024.

Did you know has hosted the annual Math League Contest for nearly 40 years? Today, the tradition continued as high schoolers from Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Freeport, Kiski Area, Kiski School and Leechburg spent time on campus for the second (and last day) of the competition, with the first day of competition being held this past fall. School teams competed each other by answering a series of mathematical questions featuring algebra, geometry and other areas of mathematics. The contest is one of the many ways Penn State New Kensington provides local school districts extra opportunities for STEM education and engagement. A roaring congratulations to Kiski Area High School for winning this year’s competition, as well as the Kiski School and Armstrong for earning second and third place!

Wow...WE ARE! That’s how we’re still summing up last night’s Student and Alumni Networking Dinner, which featured campus students getting to meet, network and have a complimentary professional dinner with young alumni of the campus. Held at our Digital Foundry at New Kensington, the event provided great opportunities for our students to hear and learn from recent graduates who were in their shoes not too long ago! This year, we welcomed back more than 30 young alumni spanning academic programs including business, biobehavioral health, communications, electro-mechanical engineering technology, project and supply chain management, information sciences and technology and 2+2 programs!

We know there was a big game this past weekend, but it was our Athletics Open House and Student-Athlete Signing Day that made our weekend SUPER! Prospective and accepted student-athletes and their families spend the day at on Saturday to learn more about the campus and roaring as one with . Accepted students were able to make things official by taking part in Signing Day with coaches! Everyone then joined together in cheering on the men’s and women’s basketball teams in their back-to-back conference matches against Penn State Fayette.