For the overachievers who compete there – William Barfee, with his clogged nostril; or Marcy Park, the prodigy from Our Lady of Intermittent Sorrows – “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the fall production of the Studio Theatre at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a high-pressure P-A-L-A-E-S-T-R-A: a place to learn combat, described by one writer as “‛Survivor’ for nerds.”
Chelsea Monroe, a Williamsport native, has always been good at math. She also knew she wanted to work in the medical field. When she learned that Penn State Behrend’s accelerated optometry program would allow her to spend one less year in school, she knew it added up to a smart career choice.
Eighteen years, 1,875 interviews and one life-altering event later, the goal remains the same for Daniel Hernandez Jr.: helping people.
That was the prevailing message from the motivational speaker’s lunchtime presentation in front of 40 students, staff and faculty members in the lobby of Metzgar Center at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.
