Schreyer Scholar and geography major explores interests beyond the classroom

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — While the number 13 is often viewed as unlucky, for third-year Schreyer Scholar and geography major Ann Ehrlich, it represents an extensive family history of Penn State pride. Ehrlich is the 13th Penn Stater in her family and said she always felt called to the University’s wide-reaching community and lively student body. The decision to apply to the Schreyer Honors College was an easy one for Ehrlich, she said, as the college offered resources for undergraduate research, global experiences and the chance to form a close-knit community at Penn State.

Taking geographic information systems (GIS) courses throughout high school, Ehrlich developed an early passion for using remote sensing technologies to analyze landscapes and natural resources. She is currently pursuing an Integrated Undergraduate-Graduate (IUG) degree and will graduate from Penn State with her bachelor's degree in geography, a master's degree in spatial data science and a graduate certificate in remote sensing and Earth observation.

This unique IUG degree program did not originally exist within the department of geography; however, Ehrlich hand-crafted her degree with the support of the Schreyer Honors College.

“Geography does not have a built-in IUG degree program. So, I began talking to my advisers in Schreyer to plan out my own master's degree. This was only possible because Laura Rotunno, the Schreyer associate dean for academic affairs, advocated for me, and the Schreyer staff helped me navigate this approval process,” Ehrlich said. “Schreyer has fully supported my educational aspirations and allowed me to slingshot my career forward with a dual degree.”

Outside of her geography courses and undergraduate research at the Penn State vegetation dynamics lab, Ehrlich balances two leadership roles on campus: her role as a peer educator for the honors college and president of the Penn State Storm Chase Team.

Ehrlich’s peer educator role allows her to welcome new students into the Schreyer community and support first-year Scholars in their transition to college as an instructor for the LA 197: Foundations of Scholar Success course.

Scholar Experience Coordinator Lisa Dierks highlighted Ehrlich’s enthusiasm and compassion for connecting with incoming Scholars, and how Ehrlich is a thoughtful leader dedicated to uplifting those around her.

"Ann stepped into her first year as a peer educator like she had been doing the role for years. Her warm and engaging personality immediately welcomed scholars, and she fostered meaningful connections through SHO TIME [Schreyer Honors Orientation] and her role as an instructor in LA 197,” Dierks said. “She shows such initiative in improving herself and those around her, and I could not be prouder of how she has grown into the peer educator role this year.”

Outside of her peer-educator position Ehrlich also serves as president of the Penn State Storm Chase Team. Here, she leads the team and its members through bi-weekly lectures on weather and storm chase safety, in preparation for a Midwestern storm chase at the end of the spring semester. Ehrlich has worked diligently within her presidential role to create a more diverse and inclusive environment on the team, while actively pursuing her lifelong interests in meteorology, she said.

“It is actually one of my passions to help people learn how to chase severe weather, as the more you can understand these storms, the better you can prepare communities for them. I am the second woman to be president in the past 15 years, and the first executive member to not be a meteorology major," Ehrlich said. "My main goal this year is to open the club to non-meteorology students. So, I recently amended our constitution so that all majors can join us as active members.”

Ehrlich has not only pursued her academic interests through her involvement on campus, but also through opportunities beyond University Park. One of these distinct experiences includes Ehrlich’s internship at NASA during the summers of 2024 and 2025. Each program allowed Ehrlich to work with a team of students from across the country to research pertinent scientific topics, including space weather and invasive species.

Despite being the youngest student on her research teams, Ehrlich said she was able to gain immense technical knowledge and significantly broaden her global mindset.

“This internship at NASA truly changed my life in terms of teaching me collaborative skills, technical skills, career understanding, and networking. I learned how to communicate with project partners who were based in Brazil, overcoming a language barrier and time difference,” Ehrlich explained. “I was working as a significantly younger person in this field, which helped me build a lot of confidence and a sense of self-efficacy. I now apply these skills within my own research at Penn State.”

Following her internship at NASA, Ehrlich said she knew that she wanted to continue enhancing her global perspective and further explore how geography is studied across the world.

She has made immense progress on this goal by participating in three distinct study abroad experiences to Australia, Germany, and Iceland. Each of these programs was vastly different in terms of content and purpose, she said, yet they all had a profound positive impact on Ehrlich’s personal and academic growth.

For example, Ehrlich said, she recent experience studying geothermal energy in Iceland exposed her to new, innovative ways of thinking about energy, natural resources, and sustainability.

“I went to Iceland with the international Green Program where I learned about energy generation with students from around the world and got to see a nearly 100% sustainable community. This trip even inspired me to consider what post-graduate education would look like abroad,” Ehrlich stated. “Overall, the experience made me more curious about how science is implemented differently, funded differently, and has different public opinion around the world.”

While study abroad programs are attributed to their academic value, Ehrlich said she found that global learning can also enhance one’s personal skills and self-confidence. For example, Ehrlich’s solo study-abroad trip to Germany pushed her far beyond her comfort zone, as she navigated a language barrier and an unfamiliar country without a class cohort to accompany her.

“I had the opportunity to go to Germany and learn about digital elevation analysis and geographic models at a conference in 2025. I wanted to put myself into an uncomfortable situation where I was the youngest person there, I did not know anyone, and I was surrounded by people speaking other languages,” Ehrlich said. “During this trip, I was able to build my confidence as an academic and as an adult in a global setting. After traveling to Germany, I want to explore more opportunities, as I now know I can go anywhere on my own.”

The common source of support through each of Ehrlich’s global experiences was the Schreyer community, she noted, as the honors college staff assisted Ehrlich in locating and funding these one-of-a-kind, international opportunities.

Ehrlich sad she plans to continue expanding her knowledge globally, and embark on more international adventures through Penn State. She encouraged all Scholars to take advantage of opportunities outside of the classroom and experience the widespread network of the Penn State community firsthand.

“Originally, it scared me to go abroad or intern at NASA, but now I would regret it if I didn't take advantage of these opportunities. Using the global resources at Penn State and Schreyer will pay off,” Ehrlich explained. “The Penn State global network is wide-reaching. When I went to Iceland, I met a professor who was a Penn Stater, and it made the world feel very connected. No matter where you go around the globe, you'll always find members of the Penn State and Schreyer community.”