Meet Penn State’s 2025 Homecoming Court
It’s Homecoming week, folks!
Penn State Homecoming has announced the 2025 Homecoming Court nominees. This year’s Homecoming events started on Sunday with a new Wiffle Ball Tournament at Bigler Field, and they will conclude with the homecoming football game on Saturday, October 11, against Northwestern.
The Homecoming Court nominee pool this year is packed full of talented students, graduates, and alumni alike. Check out their various achievements and university involvements in their biographies below.
Student Court
Ava Blansfield
Major: Geography major with minors in sustainability leadership and energy business & finance
Involvement: Senior Program Coordinator for EcoReps, works in the Donald W. Hamer Maps and Geospatial Center within Pattee Library, contributes to undergraduate research, ambassador for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, and proud member of the Roar Zone
Mackenzie Bronk
Major: Finance
Involvement: The Blue Sapphire, a four-time gold medalist and national champion baton twirler, and member of professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi
Shelby Corbett
Major: Criminology, international affairs, and Spanish, with a minor in child maltreatment and advocacy studies
Involvement: University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) Executive Director of the Office of Internal Inclusion and Support
Michael Fowler
Major: Political Science, with minors in media studies and politics & public policy
Involvement: Chair of the University Park Student Fee Board (UPFB), general member and former President of the Lion Caucus, and an active member of the Penn State Lion Ambassadors
Tyler Word
Major: Advertising, with minors in sports studies and African-American studies (with a certification in diversity studies)
Involvement: Secretary and Vice President of the Gamma Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., lead marketing intern for Penn State Athletics, involved in Blueprint, Eminence Modeling Troupe, Minorities in Sports, and the Division of Undergraduate Studies Leadership Council
Kai Holden
Major: Cybersecurity analytics and operations with a minor in security risk analysis
Involvement: President of the Gamma Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., President of WIREDIN, Bunton-Waller Scholar, Resident Assistant for two years
Marola Anes
Major: Biology with minors in child maltreatment and advocacy studies
Involvement: Recipient of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN) Scholarship, participated in research and lab work (including a semester abroad in Florence, Italy)
Noa Diggs
Major: Criminology with minors in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and social justice in education
Involvement: Arts Engagement Assistant, Community and Belonging Educator, awarded with the inaugural Rising Star Award from the WGSS Department
Rasha Elwakil
Major: Geography
Involvement: Member of the Millennium Scholars Program, Current President of the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), represents students on the Alumni Council Executive Council through UPUA, Vice President of DEI for the Panhellenic Executive Council, involved in Earth and Mineral Sciences Ambassadors, Centre Documenters News Lab, Next-Gen Leadership Academy, Humanities Institute Fellowship, and the Presidential Leadership Academy
Erik Bolang
Major: Political Science
Involvement: Member of the Penn State swim team, earned Academic All-Big Ten Honors and ranks among the top ten in program history for the 200 fly, President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Expert Guest on the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee Faculty Senate, Vice-Chair of Government and Community Relations, Athletic Liaison, and At-Large Representative of the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA)
Graduate Court
Evelyn Thomas
Education: Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate researching additive manufacturing and compliant origami-based design, Master’s degree in engineering design from Penn State, and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and history from the University of Texas at Austin
Involvement: President of the Multicultural Engineering Graduate Association (MEGA), Chair of the Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA)’s Advocacy & Diversity Committee, a GPSA College of Engineering Delegate, and a member of Black Graduate Student Association
Sumant Rokade
Education: 5th-year graduate student pursuing his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2019, Master of Science in Engineering Design from The Pennsylvania State University in 2023
Involvement: Chair of the Graduate Council Student Caucus at the Fox Graduate School, Vice President of the Multicultural Engineering Graduate Association (MEGA), member of the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA), mentors several Schreyer Honors Thesis students and early-stage graduate students
Keia Jones
Education: 4th year Doctoral Candidate at Penn State, pursuing a dual degree in Rural Sociology and International Agriculture and Development, Master’s in Agricultural Economics, International Master’s in Rural Development (IMRD)
Involvement: Member of the 2021 LandscapeU cohort and 2022 NSF-IGE cohort, the past president of RSGA, holds current executive board positions on BGSA and INTAD-GSA, holds membership across the PSU community, including ESGSA and LAGRASA
Seth Hojnacki
Education: 3rd year law student at Penn State Law, earned an MBA and BS in International Business Management from Lynn University
Involvement: President of the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA)
University Court
Lori Gravish Hurstack
Position: Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Kinesiology
Involvement: Department of Kinesiology alumni development coordinator and internship coordinator, awarded the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2025
Christy Witmer
Position: Teacher at the Childcare Center at Hort Woods
Involvement: Department of Kinesiology alumni development coordinator and internship coordinator, awarded the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2025
Jimi Werner
Position: Advocacy and Communications Specialist for the Office of Government Community Relations
Molly Countermine
Position: Professor in Penn State’s Department of Human Development & Family Studies
Involvement: Has earned the College of Health & Human Development’s Excellence in Teaching Award over a dozen times, delivered a TEDxPSU talk in 2021, and is a professional musician in the local State College music scene
Alumni Court
Tyler Estright
Education: Graduated from Penn State with a degree in Journalism in 2013
Current Role: Student Success Supervisor in the Chaiken Center for Student Success in the College of Information Sciences and Technology
Wendy Edgar
Education: Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Penn State in 1992, Master of Science Degree in Nursing from Widener University in 1998, and Doctor of Nursing Practice in Nursing Leadership from Penn State in 2023
Current Role: Assistant Teaching Professor in Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing’s undergraduate nursing program at the Fayette Campus
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