Students on All-PA Academic Team

JOHNSTOWN — The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges recently honored the 31st annual All-Pennsylvania Academic Team, consisting of select students representing 15 community colleges from across Pennsylvania.

This honor recognizes high-achieving college students who demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor combined with leadership and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society.

The students are selected for the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team based on a nomination and application process.

The 2025 scholars include six hailing from Pennsylvania Highlands. The following Transfer Scholars are members of the All-Pennsylvania Academic Transfer Pathway Team: Olivia Cavallo of Northern Cambria, Hannah Detterline of Petersburg, Adelyn Dull of Hollsopple, Sarah DeBose and Kyle Feliciano of Johnstown and Lanette Rayman of Cairnbrook.

Transfer Pathway honorees plan to transfer to a four-year college after graduation. They must have completed at least 36 credits at a community college with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher. Pennsylvania’s community colleges partner with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to provide scholarships to Transfer Pathway students, providing two years of tuition at any PASSHE school.

Students honored by Pitt-Bradford

BRADFORD — The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford honored 58 students for a variety of academic achievements at its annual Honors Convocation on April 11.

The ceremony was livestreamed on Pitt-Bradford’s YouTube channel and on upb.pitt.edu/academics/commencement/honors-convocation.

Among those receiving awards were Olivia Reese of Flinton, nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing award for academic excellence; and Seth Kirby of Lilly, computer information systems and technology, Senior Academic Excellence Award.

Phi Kappa Phi elects new members

BATON ROUGE, La. — Several area students recently were elected to membership into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Kylee Witmer of Clearfield, Michelle Kelley of Port Matilda and Timothy Stainbrook of DuBois, all joined at Penn State University; and Dylan Ceschini of East Freedom, who joined at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.

They are among approximately 20,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year.

Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter.

Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

Geisinger students celebrate Match Day

SCRANTON — On Friday, March 21, soon-to-be graduates of Geisinger School of Medicine took part in “Match Day,” an event at which all fourth-year medical students around the country simultaneously open envelopes to learn where they’ll spend the next years training in their chosen specialty.

Julie Byerley, MD, MPH, president of Geisinger College of Health Sciences, dean of the School of Medicine and executive vice president and chief academic officer, Geisinger, noted that Geisinger hospitals successfully matched 152 new physicians into 29 residency programs.

In addition, Geisinger offered 27 pharmacy resident positions to pharmacy school graduates in this year’s pharmacy residency match.

These 27 resident positions are spread across the Geisinger service region, with some in specialty practice areas such as critical care, hematology-oncology, emergency medicine and health-system leadership.

The pharmacy residency program matched 23 pharmacy school graduates in phase I of the pharmacy residency match and will be in phase II to identify four additional trainees for the next academic year.

Celebrating a successful Match Day were:

– Grant DeLozier of Hollidaysburg, who matched into family medicine at Temple Univ/Chestnut Hill Hospital.

– Dayna DeSalve of DuBois, who matched into pediatrics at Geisinger Health System.

– Madison Frank of Altoona, who matched into obstetrics-gynecology at UPMC Medical Education.

– Tyler Singer of Philipsburg, who matched into General Surgery at Geisinger Health System.

– Lynzi Smith of Claysburg, who matched into general surgery at West Virginia University School of Medicine.

Student attends FBLA conference

ANNVILLE — Shelly Bliss of Huntingdon was one of three Lebanon Valley College students who attended the Future Business Leaders of America State Leadership Conference in Harrisburg in April.

Bliss placed first in Job Interview and fourth in Public Speaking.

A graduate of Mount Union High School, Bliss is pursuing a bachelor of science in exercise science at LVC.