Empowering event spotlights AWE-some campus women

Thirty-eight Penn College students were honored during the Awesome Woman Exemplar Ceremony, held recently in the Thompson Professional Development Center. The women were nominated by student peers, faculty and staff.

“Celebrating the Awesome Woman Exemplar nominees, which has been an annual tradition for many years at Penn College, is an honor and a privilege,” said Meghan Delsite Coleman, assistant director of student engagement. “Many of our women go into male-dominated workforces, and they work hard to excel in their fields, but they are often not celebrated for what they do and the things they accomplish. Their contributions to Penn College and beyond are exciting to witness, and I am very pleased we have the chance to highlight the women who make Penn College a better place.”

The evening reception featured a keynote address by Tanya Berfield, director of student advocacy and Title IX coordinator. Her topic, “Empowered Women Empower Women,” focused on the importance of building up other women – not competing against them.

In addition to appetizers and mingling, the ceremony included a recognition of the 2024 nominees:

Sarah E. Allen, pre-physician assistant studies
Christie R. Baldwin, heating, ventilation & air conditioning engineering technology
Morgan T. Bartholomew, plastics & polymer engineering technology
Shawnna J. Bingaman, pre-nursing
Elaina M. Brady, residential construction technology & management
Tomi K. Branyan, pre-dental hygiene
Leah M. Brown, dental hygiene
Ellen E. Buckley, industrial design
Stephanie Campbell, biomedical sciences
Katheryn E. Cline, human services & restorative justice
Cadence J. Copson, nursing
Kristy L. Creasy, nursing
Hailey J. DeBrody, nursing 
Mia Demas, brewing & fermentation science
Rachel A. Doyle, pre-dental hygiene – B.S.
Leslie Escamilla-Ambrosio, information assurance & cyber security
Sara A. Halligan, engineering design technology
Kaitlyn R. Hill, human services & restorative justice
Jocelin I. Kinsey, aviation maintenance technology
Rachael S. Lamb, welding & fabrication engineering technology
Nicole R. Lichtinger, pre-applied health studies
Olivia Magann, business administration
Emmalee Marshall, dental hygiene
Jolee T. McCarthy, dental hygiene
Cierra D. Miller, welding & fabrication engineering technology
Miranda Mohammad, nursing
Becky D. Morrison, business administration
Elizabeth L. Ortiz, dental hygiene
Jeanita Pierre, applied management and baking & pastry arts
Michaela Schneider, dental hygiene
Paige A.E. Shultz, dental hygiene
Madison Shaffer, applied management
Devin L. Shellhammer Smith, brewing & fermentation science
Carissa J. Shirk, welding & fabrication engineering technology
Maddi H. Smith, applied management
Chakai A. Stanton, pre-nursing bachelor of science in nursing
Morrisa Taylor, human services & restorative justice
Allison M. Troup, nursing

Held annually in conjunction with the national observance of Women’s History Month, Penn College’s Awesome Woman Exemplar event is a highlight of the spring semester.

Joining Delsite Coleman and Berfield in honoring the latest “AWE-some” women were Jennifer McLean, dean of students, and Allison Bressler Grove, director of student engagement.