Student with triple-major pairs global learning with campus leadership

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When she first began thinking about college, Shelby Corbett said she knew she wanted to study criminology. Growing up in small-town Bourbonnais, Illinois, she was fascinated by the question of how people raised in nearly identical environments could end up living such different lives.

“Why did one person follow one path and another choose something entirely different?” Corbett said.

That curiosity about choice, behavior, environment and the gray areas that sit between right and wrong made criminology feel like the natural place to start, she said. Through her search, Corbett found Penn State offered one of the strongest programs in the country.

“When I finally visited campus, I fell in love immediately — the mountains, the trees, the blend of old, historic buildings with new and growing spaces,” she said. “It felt like a place where I could build a life, not just earn a degree.”

Now a fourth-year student triple-majoring in criminology, international politics and Spanish, with double-minors in child maltreatment and advocacy studies and global and international studies, Corbett’s various experiences at Penn State have informed her wide-ranging academic paths.

Many of Corbett’s out-of-classroom experiences, including internships and education abroad, were supported by enrichment funding from the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network.

One experience that proved especially influential was an education abroad program in Puebla, Mexico, where she was placed in the home of two elderly women who spoke no English. She said this led her to pick up the Spanish major, while her minor came after taking a child maltreatment course she found compelling. That decision eventually led to an internship at the Centre County Youth Service Bureau.

Another defining experience for Corbett was serving as a Perreault Fellow in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, she interned with Fundación Global Planet of Children, working with sick children in hospitals.

The experience, she said, was deeply moving. It allowed her to further improve her Spanish and gave her confidence, clarity and a profound belief in the importance of small joys. She now dreams of returning to Argentina someday.

“Argentina taught me that joy doesn’t have to be big to be meaningful,” Corbett said. “Being there pushed me outside my comfort zone and showed me how deeply human connection can transcend language and culture.”

Meanwhile, Corbett has sought a number of leadership opportunities at Penn State, from serving as executive director of internal inclusion and support for the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), to working as a Liberal Arts peer adviser, to serving as a teaching assistant for LA 083: First-Year Seminar in the Liberal Arts. She also represents students as a senator on the Faculty Senate, giving her a voice in shared governance at the University.

“Opportunities fell into place in ways that felt almost strange, yet each one changed how I see the world,” Corbett said.

Corbett loves helping people feel seen, supported and confident, she said. In her role with UPUA, she spent two years building an initiative to improve housing resources for students between semesters, something small that made a big difference for students who stayed on campus during University breaks.

As a teaching assistant and peer adviser for the College of the Liberal Arts, she said she's learned to mentor from a place of flexibility, understanding that every student experiences college differently. Sometimes they’re having the best year of their life; sometimes they’re overwhelmed and homesick.

“My job is to support them when they need it, not to hold their hand every step of the way,” Corbett said. “I want students to experience the joy of small victories, the first football game, the first exam they ace, the day they realize they belong here.”

Through her work as a peer adviser, Corbett has gained a deeper appreciation for the network of support available to Liberal Arts students.

“Liberal Arts Student Services has been such a constant source of support for me,” Corbett said. “As a peer adviser, I see firsthand how much care goes into helping students succeed, and as a student myself, I’ve relied on the Career Enrichment Network staff for guidance, encouragement and reassurance as I’ve explored internships and career paths. They genuinely want to see students thrive.”

One of the most grounding experiences of Corbett’s college career was serving as a panelist at the Liberal Arts Career Readiness Summit this past fall, she said. Sitting there, listening to students ask questions with hope in their eyes, she realized just how much she had accomplished.

“It was surreal to think I had become the person who had answers,” she said. “My biggest advice to them was simple: Be gentle with yourself. College is an intense developmental period, and one bad grade or bad day doesn’t define you. We’re all still figuring things out.”

She also urges students to “try everything, even if it scares you.”

“Especially if it scares you,” Corbett said. “The worst feeling is regret, and you never know which experience will open a new door. Leaving the country changed my life, and I wouldn’t have discovered that if I hadn’t pushed myself.

“Penn State, and especially the College of the Liberal Arts, has shaped me into someone I’m proud to be, someone who listens, who serves, who leads with compassion, and who always looks for ways to bring joy into the world,” she continued. “And for that, I’ll forever be grateful.”