Pitt-Greensburg is proud to celebrate the achievements of our students who have completed the GEM (Greensburg Experience More) program.
"I want to say how proud I am of each inductee. To me, GEM is a way to personalize and become fully engaged in the collegiate experience. To paraphrase, Malcolm Forbes, a diamond is a GEM that was a chunk of coal that stuck to its job. Each inductee persisted and stuck to their job. They are all GEMs. They have made themselves better and have the potential to make the world better. Congratulations on completing GEM. We share the joy and pride of their accomplishments."
– Mr. Rick Fogle, Dean of Student Services
Click on each student's name below for a breakdown of their time at Pitt-Greensburg!
Melissa’s time as a Peer Leader was one of her most impactful experiences while completing GEM. She valued the Peer Leader roles of assisting with summer orientation and helping with the Cornerstone class. Her experiences with Student Government culminated with her serving as the Speaker of the House this year. These different leadership roles in conjunction with her position as a Community Assistant this year, allowed her to collaborate with her peers and build meaningful relationships. Her outside-the-classroom experience is what ultimately led to Melissa deciding to pursue a future in Student Affairs in Higher Education. It was a rare day to not find Melissa sitting in the SGA office or meeting with someone in the Student Services hallway. Melissa says the work she did for the SGA Charity Game was one of her most enjoyable campus experiences. She is one of a few students who can say they have been a part of planning four different Charity Games. And as busy as she was as a student leader, Melissa always found time to put her name at the top of any sign-up sheet for various campus-wide events.
Throughout her experiences in GEM, there was never a time that Sam felt obligated or went to something just to get the credit. Her first GEM experiences occurred during her first year on campus and she did not stop there. During her time as a student, Sam served as a Peer Leader, Commuter Mentor, Community Assistant, and committee chair for SGA. Sam is one of the very few students who has served time as both a Commuter Mentor and a Community Assistant. Sam was the president of the Student Alumni Association and even since graduating in December, has been an active alum. One of her most meaningful GEM experiences was the Allies Training. Sam appreciated that the Allies Training went beyond the basics and helped her explore her own identity as well as become a strong advocate and ally. Her experiences with career services, especially one-on-ones with Katie & Dorothy and her CASA Internship, were super helpful and gave her a clearer vision of future goals.
Joyce is one of the few students who has completed GEM and will also graduate from Pitt-Greensburg in just 3 years. That’s most impressive because this was during a global pandemic! Joyce got involved from the very beginning. In fact, she won the Outstanding First Year Leader during her first year on campus. Over the past three years, Joyce has served as a SGA Senator and House Exec member, a Community Assistant, Pitt Pal, Chambers Hall desk worker, and CFAR assistant. Her experiences in the Service and Career Development areas were instrumental in her choice to pursue a career in family law. Joyce was active with service groups on campus including Circle K and Habitat for Humanity and helped plan SGA Charity Games. She found her voice while serving as a leader on campus and appreciated that GEM made sure her experiences at Pitt-Greensburg were not just about school. The GEM program was also the reason that Joyce attended and enjoyed her first women’s basketball game.
One of the most impactful experiences that Bobby had while completing GEM was his internship with local politician Kolby Cole. This gave him a better sense of his career path. He has served in countless leadership roles on campus. Those roles have ranged from Peer Leader and Community Assistant to serving as a founding member of the Sigma Beta Delta honor society. He has also served as Vice President of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA); a student rep on the University’s PACUP Committee, and SGA Senator and Treasurer. His experiences as a Peer Leader were some of his favorites. He appreciated that his leadership roles gave him a chance to make effective changes on campus and in the Pitt system. His experiences with social justice trainings in GEM gave him an understanding of issues beyond the LGTBQ community and helped him to become more thoughtful in his interactions. Bobby completed many components of GEM simply because he saw it as his duty to the campus community.
Katie used GEM as a checklist of sorts to make sure she had a well-rounded experience as a non-traditional student with real, outside responsibilities, including running a small business of her own. She valued in-person interactions with her peers through service projects, including Into the Streets and Circle K. She said these are the things that helped her to feel connected to the campus community. The item she most anticipated was Blue & Gold Week! She had to wait an extra year to see it happen due to COVID but was excited to be a part of it. Katie enjoyed learning more about what other groups on campus were doing during the SGA House meetings and gave her a sense of normalcy. The Allies training helped to expand her perspective. She was thankful for the opportunity to do a career assessment and found it helpful in further clarifying her career path.
Of all the students who have completed GEM, Tom has been one of the most intentional about his experiences and taking advantage of opportunities shortly after beginning classes at Pitt-Greensburg. In fact, Tom officially enrolled in the GEM program during his first month at Pitt-Greensburg. Tom stated that he used GEM to jumpstart his involvement. His most memorable experiences were the ones that were the most difficult for him to complete. He enjoyed the on-campus clean-up projects involving the Slate Run creek and the Bell Trail. These projects gave him a chance to serve the campus in a different way. He learned the need for flexibility while founding & leading the Film Club, especially when the pandemic hit shortly after their founding. His commitment to the group is one of the primary reasons that the group will continue to grow and thrive after he graduates. His work with Career Services, specifically internships, have led to potential job opportunities. He stated he would not have done many of the Cultural Awareness and Appreciation or Pitt-Pride and Traditions events without the GEM program.