Who is Taylor Dorsett?
Taylor Dorsett is a senior majoring in Biobehavioral Health with a minor in Human Development. She currently serves as the president of The Lion’s Pantry for the 2022-2023 academic year.
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The Lion’s Pantry Involvement:
- President (2022-2023)
- Manager since Fall 2020
- First person to be D&I (Diversity and Inclusion) Chair for The Lion’s Pantry after suggesting the position be added to the Executive Board
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Other Involvement and Extracurriculars:
- Member of NCNW (the National Council of Negro Women chapter at Penn State)
- Co-Coordinator for the Student Advisory Board on Student Poverty (2022-2023 Year)
- Undergrad Teaching Intern in HDFS (Human Development and Family Studies)
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Why did you decide to join The Lion’s Pantry team?
I have always volunteered at pantries. It’s a passion of my mom’s, and I naturally took a liking to it. I wanted to find a way to give back to our students and make positive change at PSU!
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What is your role with The Lion’s Pantry? What are you looking forward to bringing or implementing to The Lion’s Pantry in the upcoming academic year?
As the 2022-2023 President, I want to focus on visibility and collaboration across the campus. By working with other organizations, we reach as many students as possible and reduce the stigma relating to poverty and food insecurity.
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What is your favorite part about working with The Lion’s Pantry?
I like seeing how willing the community is to help out. We often have volunteer groups and individuals come in, and they’re always so excited to help out, which is always nice to see. The Exec team is also full of great people, and I’m glad I get to work with them.
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What are you most looking forward to for the upcoming academic year with regard to your role with the Pantry?
This is such a big year of change for PSU. We have our first queer person of color as UPUA President and our first woman of color as University President. Both of whom are invested in helping students on issues of affordability and food insecurity. To add to that, we will have a Director of the Lion’s Pantry soon, which is a new position. I’m confident these changes will result in progressive initiatives to better serve our students. I’m also excited about our renovations and our new ability to have fresh produce at the Pantry!
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If you could talk to an incoming student interested in joining The Lion’s Pantry, what would you like them to know about this organization?
I would say in the past we operated as more of a resource compared to a student-run, student-led affiliated organization. This year, we are focusing on making the club as fun as possible with a lot of great volunteer opportunities in store. We are obviously task-oriented, but we can have fun too, and I hope you’ll join us in the fall!
