Behrend Sophomore Eliza Greenawalt continues to find ways to get more involved at Penn State Behrend. Greenawalt serves as the captain of the Penn State Behrend Dance Team, but this is only a glimpse of her true involvement at Behrend. What exactly has pushed Greenawalt to be such an involved community member at Behrend? There are a lot of fellow students, and also some close family members, who have encouraged her to follow her passions and become more involved.

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Greenawalt is a 2016 graduate of Clarion-Limestone High School, and she was extremely involved, which helped make her transition to Behrend easier. She was a member of the high school dance team, volleyball team, student council, National Honor Society, show choir, yearbook committee, Future Farmers of America and Future Teachers of America. She was able to learn key time management skills in high school because she has always had a full schedule. Through interacting with different people every day, she discovered her passion for the field of communications. Greenawalt is double majoring in communications and digital media arts and technology. She also has hopes to possibly minor in marketing, and when asked about why she chose this academic path, she said “I chose my major because I believe I can make the biggest difference in people’s lives when I get to think creatively.” Greenawalt’s involvement at Behrend goes far and beyond just being a student and dancer, though.

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When she is not busy at dance practice or performing at a basketball game, Greenawalt finds time to serve as a Resident Assistant, a member of Behrend Benefitting Thon, Lion Ambassadors and has played a role in founding the new REEL Club within the communications department. When asked about who has inspired her, she had a lot of great people to talk about. At Behrend, communications professor Tom Deau has played the biggest role on her professional career. She stated of Deau “Professor Deau is so personable, so easy to talk to and he cares about each and every one of his students in a unique way. He has helped me with my resume, looking for internships and he has helped me cheer up if I am having a bad day. He is just someone who provides a boost to all of his students.” While Mr. Deau continues to push Greenawalt to new levels, she has a great group of friends who also play a huge role in pushing her.

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Craig Miranda is one friend who has been there for her since her first day as a Behrend student. Miranda is a 2017 graduate of Behrend, and has since moved to Texas to continue his career. “Craig always pushes me to do more. He is always the first person to encourage me, congratulate me, or comfort me no matter what is going on in my life. I owe a lot to him for pushing me to do more in the classroom and outside of it as well,” she said of Miranda. While she credits Miranda for a lot of her success, she has many other friends including Ashley Jankowski, Alyssa Novak, Morgan Shaw, Shreddhaa Vallabh, Steve Scalise, Michael Funera and Ben Lowery, who all encourage one another to do the best work possible in all of their commitments. “I am very grateful to have such a great group of close friends who want the best for each other even though we have different goals and career paths,” Greenawalt said. While she has found a great support system at Behrend, she has a wonderful family who is truly her root.

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She likes to credit her brother and her mom as two people who she learned a great work ethic and attitude from. “My brother is four years older than me, and I always admired how he handled his busy schedule in high school. He was very involved, and it made me want to join a lot of clubs when I got the chance to. He already has a great resume, and he continues to find ways to better himself,” she said of her brother. While her brother set a great example for her, her mom was additionally instrumental in helping her handle her crazy schedule. She stated “My mom somehow managed to take care of everything in all of my family members lives. She drove me to anywhere I needed to be; she has an unbelievable attitude and work ethic, and she is so unselfish. She also managed all of this while holding down a full time job, which is amazing.” While her transition to Behrend was not picture perfect, dance has been an activity to relieve stress and help her bond with some great teammates, according to Greenawalt.

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“I was able to bond right away with a great group of girls that all have a great passion for this sport. They made it easy to feel comfortable,” she said. While Behrend’s Dance Team does hip-hop routines, her favorite kind of dance is tap dancing. She was involved at a dance studio in the Clarion area for over a decade, and she credits this dance studio for helping her gain a true passion for many different kinds of dance. When she is not cheering on Behrend sports, Greenawalt is definitely cheering for Penn State football and the Pittsburgh sports teams.

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Eliza Greenawalt has accomplished a lot in her two years at Penn State Behrend, and she has a lot to look forward to.