Engaged student marshals find their callings — and each other — at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sabrina Knox and Morgan Overman are tying the knot after receiving a liberal arts education through Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College.

The now-engaged couple came together through their studies and are graduating from the University as student marshals for two liberal arts majors — Knox for philosophy and Overman for African studies. Though they are following distinct professional pathways, the two complement each other through a shared dedication to success and leadership.

Both said they’re honored to serve as student marshals.

“The distinction is a recognition of our hard work and commitment towards our courses,” Overman said. “For me personally, I view it as a recognition of my dedication to African studies as an academic pursuit, particularly given that my professional career does appear more aligned with my other major, finance.”

Knox, a fourth-year student from Pittsburgh, graduated from a small, liberal-arts-focused Catholic high school and knew she wanted to continue her philosophical education.

“The College of the Liberal Arts not only supported my academic aspirations but offered financial support for my business-oriented internships through the Chapel Executive Internship Program,” she said.

The philosophy and English double major committed to Penn State for the intimate academic environment in the Schreyer Honors College and the professional and extracurricular opportunities in the arts and research. Knox is also graduating with a master’s of international affairs degree with a concentration in international energy policy this spring, having pursued an integrated undergraduate-graduate (IUG) degree through the Schreyer Honors College.

Both students said they were also drawn to Penn State because of its extensive and enthusiastic alumni network, a fact Overman noted when he first arrived as a finance major. But after taking some courses his first year, his academic interests expanded.

“I quickly fell in love with my African studies courses that I took as general education credits — I always had an appreciation for a liberal arts education,” he said.

Born in Dakar, Senegal, and raised in various African countries, Overman added the African studies major in addition to his finance major and international business minor to deepen his connection to the continent. Knox, meanwhile, pursued a similar approach through her two majors.

“I chose to study philosophy because it empowers us to understand reality and the human experience, which has historical, moral and scientific implications,” she said. “I chose to study English because how people tell stories, write poetry, and pen novels reveals the human sentiment toward social and political environments, and what matters to individuals through the ages.”

The two first met briefly at an incoming Schreyer Scholars event in Pittsburgh before their first year. They reunited the first weekend of the fall semester in the Simmons Hall piano lounge while both were living in the hall, with Overman living in the GLOBE Living Learning Community. They’ve been close ever since.

The couple also took the rhetoric and civic life honors course with Teaching Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences Jessica O’Hara. Since then, they’ve continued to share what they’ve learned across their respective majors throughout their four years together.

Through her coursework, Knox said she’s improved her communication, storytelling and creative skills while also gaining exposure to peers and faculty with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise.

Knox’s leadership at Penn State extended well beyond the classroom. She served as the vice president of the Penn State Graduate & Professional Student Association, president of the Penn State vocal jazz ensemble, Vocal Dimensions, for four semesters, and spent five semesters as a resident assistant in East Halls. She is also a member of the Presidential Leadership Academy and the Paterno Fellows Program, and previously served as an ethics fellow at the Rock Ethics Institute, the marketing and strategy intern for the Department of English and a staff writer for Onward State.

“I learned to embrace the serendipity of meeting new people and being curious about their interests and stories,” Knox said. “I feel confident in my drive to be curious, conscientious and humble when confronted with new and exciting opportunities.”

Knox said Penn State allowed them to grow together by setting a strong foundation for supporting each other’s individual goals and developing honest and realistic expectations, which was important when taking advantage of all of their involvement opportunities, like her two internships with the Westinghouse Electric Company.

“Knowing how to write quickly, concisely and comprehensively while performing deep research and analysis has served me well, especially in my government relations internship,” Knox said.

While at the University, Overman has served as a teaching assistant and took part in the International Model African Union, two opportunities he said he would have never thought of doing if it weren’t for the College of the Liberal Arts.

Overman also sought out a variety of leadership roles, serving as vice president of the International Business Association, lead analyst of the energy sector for the Nittany Lion Fund and treasurer of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He has also been an active member of the Sapphire Leadership Academic Program in the Smeal College of Business.

“One of my favorite African studies courses was Introduction to Contemporary Africa with Assistant Teaching Professor of African Studies Bruce Heilman,” Overman said. “That experience eventually led to my decision to take another course with Heilman, 'Africa in Global Politics,' and becoming a TA for it in my final year.”

His involvements on campus have allowed him to develop strong communication and time management skills, two things he says will be critical in his full-time job in the energy industry after graduation.

Both students have a shared interest in the energy industry that flourished at Penn State.

Overman’s interest began overseas, where he saw firsthand how energy access affects people’s day-to-day lives and how it is intertwined with economic performance and human flourishing. That interest has grown through his part-time internship at RBN Energy, an energy analytics company based in Houston.

“The experience has been instrumental in developing my understanding of the energy industry but also has been a great opportunity to apply the skills I have developed through my liberal arts education,” Overman said. “Specifically, being able to synthesize information from various sources and write coherently about complex topics has been critical in writing published blogs on the site.”

Knox credited her curiosity to her first internship with Westinghouse, where she learned about the nuclear energy industry and deepened her knowledge through visits to the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor on campus in subsequent semesters. Her integrated undergraduate-graduate degree in international affairs, with a concentration in international energy policy, has further shaped her global perspective.

Both Knox and Overman participated in the Global Careers Institute, which connected them with alumni working around the world, and Overman applied that lens further through his participation in the International Model African Union in Washington D.C., where he engaged with peers from across the U.S. and Canada.

By incorporating a liberal arts background into their work in the energy sector, the couple said they see an opportunity to shape how the field is understood and communicated.

“The global energy system has ethical, geopolitical and social implications that relate especially to my background in philosophy,” Knox said. “How we communicate about energy is especially important and impacts what is prioritized from a policy perspective.”

After graduation, the couple will get married on the fourth of July before moving to Houston, Texas, where Overman will join TPH&Co., the energy business of Perella Weinberg Partners. Knox is starting a new role at Westinghouse Electric Company as an APX strategic operations analyst.

“We would love to spend time working overseas as a couple in the future,” Overman said. “We hope to succeed in helping to secure global energy freedom and develop affordable, reliable and safe access to energy and power.”