student

Rob Penaherrera '13

I was really involved in extracurricular activities in high school, but at Susquehanna I’ve gotten even more involved. I was fortunate to get a four-year, 10-hours-a-week paid assistantship in the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), which organizes many of the 25,000 hours of service Susquehanna students contribute each year. I’m also a resident assistant. I’m the only male member of the dance corps, I sing with the University Chorale and I row with the co-ed crew club.

A lot of Susquehanna students are really committed to service, and we have so many opportunities to do that. I recently volunteered at Haven Ministry, a homeless shelter, and it was a real eye-opener. I had no idea there were such poverty problems in central Pennsylvania. But it was also great to meet former residents who were able to develop life skills, get a job and move out.

Rowing is awesome. It’s like we’re one big family. You have to put a lot of work into it. But I love being on the water, going out onto the Susquehanna River every day. It relieves stress and clears my mind, and it just makes my day.

I’ve really come into myself and feel more comfortable, mature and confident. I’ve learned things like pushing myself more physically than I ever thought I could with crew, branching out beyond tap dancing and assuming more leadership positions than ever before, like becoming an RA and having the CCE assistantship. I even cut my long hair. I feel it personified the final step into my new identity, like the final stage of a metamorphosis, when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.