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Outreach

Engineering student credits Readiness Institute for life skills, success

Alexandria Rhoads (bottom left) served as a mentor for incoming freshmen during the 2024 Women in Engineering Program Orientation Credit: Alexandria Rhoads. All Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Alexandria Rhoads is an aerospace engineering student in Penn State's College of Engineering. While many of her classes are setting her up for success as a professional, she said the Readiness Institute at Penn State Summer Discovery that she participated in high school set her up for success as a person. Rhoads was part of the cohort that attended the summer program during its inaugural year in 2021.

“I loved being a part of the Readiness Institute Summer Discovery because it taught me the life skills required for success just as I was beginning my journey into the real world,” Rhoads said. “It took us on a fully formed journey through learning, practicing and perfecting interpersonal skills that we would carry through with us into college and beyond.”

Summer Discovery is a five-week paid experience for rising seniors in Allegheny, Bedford, Blair, Cambria and Somerset Counties. Since its inception in 2021, nearly 225 students have participated in the program, establishing relationships and learning skills to address real-world problems through workshops and field trips to area businesses and nonprofits. While enrolled, they develop a personalized road map for future success and then have continual access to additional support after program completion including mentorship, learning experiences, workshops and opportunities through the Summer Discovery Alumni Network.

Rhoads said Summer Discovery helped her to understand the various definitions of success and that one size does not fit all.

“Being successful doesn't mean you have a 4.00 grade point average, or that you're involved with a million things or that you are working a full-time job in exactly what you always wanted to do. The program taught us that success wasn't defined by what we put out into the world,” Rhoads said. “This has been especially helpful within the context of my time at Penn State because there have been times when I needed to remind myself that I don't need to be perfect to be successful. It is far more important to take care of yourself and do the things that you are passionate about than it is to try and change yourself to fit in a predetermined mold of what success is.”

Rhoads said she also learned the value of community.

“I never could have made it to where I am in school if I had not learned the importance of leaning on those around me for support and to excel publicly as an active part of the world around me,” Rhoads said. “It is because of this that I help elderly community members with yard work, serve as a mentor for incoming students as part of the Women in Engineering Program Orientation, and lead engineering students in a club that is all about designing a car that gets over 800 miles per gallon. I don't think that I would have ever come out of my shell enough to contribute all these things to my community if I hadn't been taught the necessary skills in Summer Discovery.”

Rhoads has most recently been accepted into the Brooke Owens Fellowship program for the class of 2025.

Snigdha Ramavathu was part of the Allegheny County cohort that participated in Summer Discovery in 2024. She said the program helped her to be more outgoing in her pursuits.

“I have had a myriad of experiences through the Readiness Institute, and it has enabled me to network and grow to a completely new level,” Ramavathu said. “Before Summer Discovery, I was reserved in my ability to connect with others using the resources around me. After experiencing what the Readiness Institute had to offer, I was able to understand how there are many individuals who are there to aid me in growing through my life if I just take the step to reach out.”

Ramavathu said she looks forward to attending Penn State University Park.

Nakia Curtiss Jr. also participated in Summer Discovery during 2024, as part of the Central Pennsylvania cohort. He said the program delivered much more than he expected.

“You don’t just sit in a classroom for six hours straight, you travel to a lot of different places. The activities opened a lot more career opportunities for me. I learned that I am open to a lot more things and discovered a lot of new places,” Curtiss said. “This program also helped me develop communication skills. During my first week I wasn’t as open to talk to people as I am now. One of the best times of the day was lunch, the food was amazing!”

Registration will open for Summer Discovery on Jan. 31.

The Readiness Institute is a service of Penn State Outreach.

Last Updated January 28, 2025

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