Slippery Rock University

The REACH program at Slippery Rock University gives students the opportunity to climb a rock wall, ride a zipline or complete a high ropes course, all without leaving campus. And students like Katie Weiner are right there, 25 feet above the ground, facilitating the experiences that take education literally to a higher level. Weiner, a junior early childhood and special education major from Levittown (Neshaminy HS), is part of the Campus Recreation student staff that runs the Outdoor Adventures programming, including the REACH program.

Carrington Williams found her purpose at Slippery Rock University through leadership, service, belonging and mentorship. When she first came to SRU, Williams was unsure of her exact direction, but with the help of mentors in the campus community, she is now set to graduate next month as an experienced leader, ready to pay her inspiration forward and empower others through nonprofit service. Williams, a senior dual management and interdisciplinary studies major from Verona (Neighborhood Academy HS), benefited from experiences in and out of the classroom at SRU.

Through hands-on research and attentive faculty mentorship, two Slippery Rock University students are advancing their careers while also helping provide cleaner, more efficient systems for global water safety and the treatment of wastewater. Rachell Lajara Flores, a junior civil engineering major from Philadelphia (First Philadelphia Prep HS), and Van Westbrook, a civil engineering major from Pittsburgh (Mount Lebanon HS), are conducting research into wastewater mixing, particularly how easily different disinfectants move through infected water. This research is being conducted under the close mentorship of Sajad Hamidi, associate professor of engineering. Funding for this research came from a $1,500 grant from SRU's Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities Grant Program.

When Elsie Eason transferred into Slippery Rock University, she knew that she wanted to teach. A nursing major at her previous school, Eason had a close friend at SRU who pushed for her to come to The Rock to study education. "I wanted to become a teacher for a lot of reasons," said Eason, a senior special education major from Pittsburgh (Bethel Park HS). "I see children as so impressionable, and we need more kind, well-rounded people, so I think teaching young kids allows you to make a difference in how people think and view the world for the rest of their lives."

What began as a summer internship at Westinghouse Electric became a career launchpad for a Slippery Rock University student. Nathan Sharp, an SRU senior dual physics and mechanical engineering major from Wexford (Pine-Richland HS), took advantage of real-world engineering experience this through his internship at Westinghouse Electric in Cranberry Township and turned into a job offer. Sharp spent his summer in the fluid systems department at Westinghouse, tasked with technical writing projects that required a very particular style of writing. In his previous semesters at SRU, Sharp had taken courses on technical writing and fluid systems analysis, which prepared him well for his work at Westinghouse.

Audiences have two opportunities to experience Nick Payne's "Constellations," performed by the Slippery Rock University Theatre Department for its inaugural second-stage performance, which is the department's new program to offer smaller productions off the University's main stage. Showings will be hosted Nov. 1 in the Stoner East Black Box Theater with a 2 p.m. matinee, followed by a 7:30 p.m. performance. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for students and can be purchased at sru.edu/tickets or in person at the ticket counter up to one hour before each performance.

Driven by a passion to protect others and make a real impact in the field, a Slippery Rock University student turned classroom lessons into life-changing experience through a summer internship. Nathan Thompson, an SRU senior safety management major from Sewickley (Moon HS), spent this summer serving as a site safety intern at Blattner Energy in Buckeye, Arizona. A significant portion of Thompson's time in this internship was spent in the field, meeting and checking on crews. "Visibility as a safety professional is important for relationship building," Thompson said. "Blattner values safety and has a really caring company culture. Safety posters aren't just slapped on the walls for show there."

Slippery Rock University senior Alexa Rivero is driven to help people express themselves in ways that words alone cannot. Through an internship with Creative Citizen Studios, Rivero gained hands-on experience and refined her vision of how she can help others by combining art and psychology. Rivero, a senior art major from Uniontown (Laurel Highlands HS), worked one-on-one with adults with disabilities to express themselves through art during her three-month summer internship at CCS. For more than a decade, the Pittsburgh-based art studio has hosted weekly art classes, workshops and exhibits to bring people of all abilities together, primarily working with artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Critical Writing is the kind of class Slippery Rock University students don't face alone. The required general studies class lends itself to collaboration and fast fellowship among classmates. But three students who transferred to SRU this year are ahead of the curve when it comes to making connections -that's because they come from the same family. Jason Rabold and his son, Sabastien, and daughter, Calliope, share not only a surname but also class notes, study tips and a journey as transfer students.

A Slippery Rock University art major earned an award to have her artwork displayed in SRU President Karen Riley's on-campus residence. Veronica Yeschke, a senior from West View (North Hills HS), earned the President's Student Art Award in Residence for the Fall 2025 semester. Each semester since Fall 2023, an SRU art student has their art selected for display in the president's on-campus residence by a committee of SRU Art Department faculty members. Yeschke's acrylic painting of one of her personal lamps, titled "My Beautiful Lamp," represents warm emotions and symbolism associated with her home. Her ceramics on display, titled "The Bigger Picture," represent the appreciation of a larger image or goal, with the smaller ceramics fitting into a larger, tiered cross-section ceramic.

Dakharee Mann gained a behind the scenes look into one of golf's biggest tournaments at Oakmont Country Club. Mann, a Slippery Rock University sophomore sport management major from Harrisburg (Susquehanna Township HS), experienced first-hand the inner workings of the U.S. Open tournament through an internship with USGA Pathways. The 10-day internship, on location in Oakmont during the U.S. Open earlier this month, gave college students the opportunity to learn to every facet of the $84 billion golf industry. Mann was one of 24 interns selected from a pool of more than 750 applicants.

The following people recently were initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines.