MEDIA, Pa. — When Maddie Malfara came to Penn State Brandywine she was a biomedical engineering major who planned to transfer to University Park after two years. Now as a junior, the Schreyer Honors scholar plans to stay put at Brandywine. Malfara switched her major to biology and is excelling in her field.

In high school, the biology classes Malfara took did not spark her interest, but an overall love of science brought her to an initial interest in engineering. Yet when she got to Brandywine and registered in biology courses, the more advanced and intriguing content changed her opinion of the subject.

She soon switched her major to Biology with a vertebrate physiology option.

“I love engineering and learned valuable skills, even during the short time I was taking classes for it, but changing to a biology major was one of the best decisions I’ve made while here,” Malfara said. “I figured out that I love science and want to do it for the rest of my life, and have had amazing opportunities to work with biology faculty on campus.”

Malfara began her research experience outside of the classroom by working in the Brandywine science labs as an assistant to the laboratory director. She spent this time putting out equipment for labs, learning how to make stock solutions of chemicals, and developing essential skills and laboratory methods.

After a year of working as an assistant, Malfara was craving a research-based opportunity and reached out to Brandywine biology professor, Dr. Megan Povelones, who agreed to let Malfara work in her lab. Projects that Malfara has worked on include mitochondrial dynamics such as fusion and fission in the model organisms T. brucei and C. fasciculata.

Malfara has an interest in how the content she is studying in classes relates to real world problems and diseases. Because she plans to attend medical school, she feels it is crucial for her to understand how diseases work on a cellular level.

Malfara states that being an honors scholar has offered her many opportunities. The honors course offerings each semester have pushed her to enroll in classes she wouldn’t necessarily think to take.

“Some of the honors classes I have taken I wouldn’t have normally registered for because they aren’t something I thought I would be interested in,” she said. “However, I end up enjoying them.”

Malfara has also taken advantage of the honors option opportunity. This allowed her to work on interesting projects with the science faculty that would otherwise be out of reach. Malfara believes that honors courses and options help students in finding their niche.

“It allows the students to have meaningful relationships with professors, pushes them to do research, and ultimately find out what they might want to do for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Malfara credits much of her success and the opportunities she has been given to the Brandywine science faculty, who have always been supportive of her education and future career.

As her senior year approaches, Malfara has been working with Dr. Povelones to hone in on a project for her honors thesis.

Outside of the lab, Malfara is the secretary for the Lion Ambassadors. She has played on the Brandywine softball team since her freshman year, and volunteers as a coach for the recreational softball teams in her community.

Malfara plans to continue to work in Dr. Povelones’s lab until she graduates. She aims to excel in the classes she has left and throw her energy into her honors thesis.

Malfara will graduate from Penn State Brandywine in Spring 2019. She plans to attend medical school.

MEDIA, Pa. — Adam Bivens—a senior English major and Schreyer scholar at Penn State Brandywine—has spent the last eight months tearing through countless texts and undergoing extensive research for his honors thesis. He aims to explore how worker movements are depicted in novels of 19th century England.

Bivens has been analyzing the relationship between how worker movements were viewed by the middle class, and how those perceptions are reflected in the literature of the era. He has been focusing on influential industrial novels and newspaper articles, noting relevant patterns as he evaluates.

“The texts I’ve studied confront the disparity between the ruling class and the working class,” Bivens said. “They feature scenes or commentary about worker strikes, trade unionism, mob violence, and revolutionary activity.”

While the texts Bivens studies are about two centuries old, Bivens stated that his motivation stems from the “reemergence of populism and reactionary ideologies in the United States and across Europe.”

“It’s no secret that there is a great divide in the world right now between the very wealthy few and the poverty-stricken, economically insecure masses,” he noted. “I saw an opportunity to write about this in a way that tested my development as a writer throughout my career at Penn State, while also focusing on a very important period in the history of English literature.”

Bivens admits that the thesis process seemed daunting at first. However, being an English major has offered him research opportunities and access to the faculty of the Brandywine English department.

Bivens has been working with professors who specialize in the time period his thesis explores. They have not only offered him advice on useful texts and research methods, but have also agreed to set time aside to guide him through the entire process.

Bivens feels that the honors thesis forces students to utilize the research, writing, and organizational skills they have acquired throughout their undergraduate career. His experience as a Schreyer scholar, while sometimes stressful and intimidating, is what has allowed him to grow both professionally and personally.

He fondly remembers his freshman year honors classes, and befriending people that would become his sources of inspiration and knowledge. Bivens explains that the program pushes students and forces them to look at concepts in unique ways.

“Sometimes you have to learn entirely different ways of thinking about things,” he said. “You might even have to question your assumptions, prejudices, and beliefs as you develop and mature. I think I’m a rather different person than I was four years ago.”

Bivens is an open advocate for English majors in the United States. He wants to educate people on the versatility and complexity of the degree that is often mistaken for nothing more than a ticket to becoming a teacher, or an excuse to be a bookworm for four years.

“The greatest tragedy in this world is telling children they can do whatever they want when they grow up only to trash their passions when they reach a certain age because their interests are not deemed as ‘profitable’ or worthwhile under the current economic status quo,” he said.

After graduation he plans to continue to educate people on the importance of literature, art, music, and history in our society.

“Find your path or cause, follow it even if you have doubts or if people try to point you in the direction they’ve set for you,” he said. “Do something—write a book, help people, paint, or sing. Create something. Leave a piece of yourself behind. If you’re a college student, do your part and fight to improve the world.”

Bivens is set to graduate in spring 2018 after spending four years at Penn State Brandywine.