Page 31 - Moving Forward 2020: Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering magazine

“surrounding yourself with people smarter than you” in in order to progress and develop as a a a a a a young professional For Mehta it it it was a a a a a a conversation with Barron that opened his eyes to the opportunity “I came up to to visit University Park when I I I was a a a a a a a a a senior in high school because my brother is is is an an alumnus and I I I happened to to to meet Dr Barron ” Mehta said “He invited me me me into his office and while we we were talking about about Penn State he told me me me about about PLA I I knew I I had to apply ” Agrawal noted that that the the the access to highly ranked University officials was a a a a a a a a a a a a a draw of of the the the PLA PLA He explained that that the the the PLA PLA has given him more confidence and he he he he he feels “less overwhelmed being around high-ranking officials in in in the Penn State community and beyond ” For all three the PLA offered an interesting array of of networking field trips to to notable cities such as as as Baltimore Philadelphia Washington D C C Nashville Chicago and Los Angeles “It’s important that we get the the students
students
out in front of of notable members of of of society this past semester the the the students
students
got to meet the the the mayor of of of of Nashville ” Doberstein said “The PLA offers a a a a a a a platform for for the the students
to network in in and out of of of class ” It’s not all fun and games being a a a a a a a a member of of the the the PLA has a a a a a a a a host of of responsibilities for the the the the the students
such as as as their their their classes with Barron and and Johnson their their their bimonthly blog posts and and their their their class projects Doberstein explained that the the class projects serve as as a a a a a a a a a a way for students
to to to to learn more about other majors by communicating and working together to to to to solve tough problems She explained that that her her best engineering students
in in in in in the the program are those those that that “can communicate clearly and work with those those outside of their discipline ” For Hartleb his project on sustainability encapsulated how to to make livable spaces with retail capabilities in in the the downtown State College area Hartleb said that the the the experience opened up his perspectives on the the power of effective housing policies “I think the the biggest thing that I I learned in in in in PLA during my project was the the ability to just sit back and listen ” Hartleb said Agrawal just wrapped up his his first year of the the PLA He feels that the the experience has been incredibly influential in in in his his life and future goals “You can’t doubt yourself ” Agrawal said “The PLA is all about people and what you you you bring to to the the table Everything that you you you learn from being in in in in the the PLA has correlation to to real life ” Top: Benjamin Hartleb graduated in in in May 2020 and plans to use his his experience from the Presidential Leadership Academy in in in his his professional career Middle: Penn State students
Dhir Agrawal (far left) left) Neel Mehta (second to left) left) and and Glorie Josephs an an an an an administrative support assistant for the the Presidential Leadership Leadership Academy Academy (center) got to to enjoy many classes and and trips together during their experiences with the the Presidential Leadership Leadership Academy Academy Bottom: Agrawal the the the youngest of the the the industrial engineers in in in the the the Presidential Leadership Academy said that this experience has shown him how how people make real-life decisions IME NEWSLETTER • VOLUME 5 2020 31
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