Blog, Features
About Julia Mertes
Executive Board Position: Communications Director Intern
Past Lion’s Pantry Experience: Communications Coordinator Intern (Spring 2022-Spring 2023)
Majors:
- English with a concentration in Literary and Cultural Studies in the College of Liberal Art
- Digital and Print Journal in the Bellisario College of Communications
Minors: Technical Writing
Other 2023-2024 Involvement:
- Donor Relations Overall Chair, Relay For Life at Penn State
- News Literacy Ambassador, PEN America x Penn State’s News Literacy Ambassadors Program
- Fellow, Penn State’s Public Humanities Institute
- General Member, National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS)
- Paterno Fellow, Penn State’s College of Liberal Arts Honors Program
A Q&A with Julia
1) What are you most excited about The Lion’s Pantry this year?
- I most look forward to upcoming communication initiatives that will be completed during the 2023-24 academic year. Over the last year and a half of working communications for The Lion’s Pantry, I’ve enjoyed sharing important updates with the community and expanding our reach. The Pantry Pal recipe book remains one of the most exciting and fulfilling projects that I led during the 2022-23 academic year. I look forward to growing this initiative as a resource for Penn State Students.
2) What initiatives, campaigns, or goals would you like to see during the 2023-24 academic year?
- I would love to see The Pantry Pal recipe book continue to grow with new resources! Moreover, I look forward to creating relevant communication campaigns that continue to spark interest in the Pantry’s work!
3) Why should new students join The Lion’s Pantry?
- Students should join The Lion’s Pantry in tackling food insecurity on the Penn State University Park campus. Working with The Lion’s Pantry creates tangible change within the local community and for those who live within it. The work you complete with The Lion’s Pantry directly impacts the student body — whether you are stocking shelves, helping with a promotional campaign, or making a donation to keep our shelves stocked.
4) What does food insecurity mean to you?
- Food insecurity refers to the state of being without stable and nutritious food resources. Impacting people from all walks of life and in diverse circumstances, food insecurity also pervades life in Happy Valley. Everyone deserves to eat nutritiously without stress and anxiety about where their next meal is coming from. The Lion’s Pantry works to reduce these apprehensions and uncertainties, so students’ main priority remains what’s important: family, friends, education, life, and more.
5) What excites you most about the position you hold for The Lion’s Pantry during the 2023-24 year?
- I enjoy using my communication skills to help spread The Lion’s Pantry’s mission to those who need our resource. My position as Communications Director allows me to use my knowledge and background, applying it to a good cause! Having served as Communications Coordinator during the 2022-23 academic year, I look forward to growing last year’s work and bringing new ideas to the table.
6) Please share one of your favorite memories from The Lion’s Pantry.
- Canstruction 2022 remains one of my favorite memories from my time with The Lion’s Pantry. I attended the event immediately after starting the position of Communications Coordinator Intern, and it was the first event I completed communication tasks for, including photography, interviews, article writing and more. The publication of The Pantry Pal acts as another favorite memory from my time at The Lion’s Pantry. Creating the Pantry’s first recipe book proved to be a semester-long feat that allowed me to learn and grow, while also creating a resource that Penn State students (and others) could use in the future.
Some Fun Facts About Julia
Favorite Comfort Movie: The Princess Diaries
Favorite Comfort Book: Anything by Cassandra Clare!
Favorite Way to Unwind After a Long Day: Reading, spending time with family, and being creative!
“Go-To” Fun Fact: I have donated a gallon of blood (and counting) through the American Red Cross!
Blog, Features
About Abbas Bokhari
Executive Board Position: Facilities Director
Past Lion’s Pantry Experience: Lion’s Pantry Intern (2022-23)
Majors: Political Science
Minors: Philosophy and Global Security
Other 2023-2024 Involvement:
- Penn State Liberal Arts Ambassadors- Administrative Chair
- Lion’s Pantry Intern (continuing this year)
A Q&A with Abbas
1) What are you most excited about The Lion’s Pantry this year?
- I am most excited to see the continued growth of The Lion’s Pantry. We made great progress this past academic year and I feel with our upcoming executive board we will continue to see great improvements made to the daily operations of The Lion’s Pantry.
2) What initiatives, campaigns, or goals would you like to see during the 2023-24 academic year?
- Overall, The Lion’s Pantry is headed in the right direction, but I would like to see us work towards a more efficient storage system. I would also like to see us continue to build more community partnerships within Penn State and Centre County. Another initiative/campaign idea I have would be getting more THON orgs and committees involved in food drives with us. I see this as an easy way to get donations from a large sample size of students and it is a good way to boost community engagement towards The Lion’s Pantry. Lastly, for Liberal Arts Ambassadors our board is currently looking for additional volunteer opportunities for our members and I would strongly encourage them to do volunteer shifts at The Lion’s Pantry.
3) Why should new students join The Lion’s Pantry?
- As a collective, the work being done at The Lion’s Pantry has made a considerable impact towards addressing food insecurity at Penn State. I feel that as an intern that joining The Lion’s Pantry has allowed me to build great relationships while directly helping the Penn State community. New students have the opportunity to be a crucial part of the continued growth of The Lion’s Pantry’s operations. My time at The Lion’s Pantry has truly been humbling and I always look forward to my shifts every week. I recommend that any new student gets involved.
4) What does food insecurity mean to you?
- To me food insecurity means a lack of consistent access to nutritious food. This cause is important to me because many college students struggle with food insecurity and this is no different at such a large institution like Penn State. Food insecurity has a detrimental impact on mental health and academic performance for students. None of my classmates at Penn State should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from. I hope to help contribute towards the end of food insecurity at Penn State one day.
5) What excites you most about the position you hold for The Lion’s Pantry during the 2023-24 year?
- As a Facilities Director, I am very excited to continue working with Heide and Julian to help maintain inventory and make informed decisions that best support the growth of The Lion’s Pantry. I feel that we already work well together and I am excited to see the results of our collective effort as a team.
6) Please share one of your favorite memories from The Lion’s Pantry.
- I will never forget when Boxing Club gave us over 1000 pounds worth of donations towards the end of Spring Semester 2023. This was a sign to me that organizations at Penn State are taking notice of the work we are doing and I believe there is potential for us to keep developing and expanding relationships with Penn State student organizations.
Some Fun Facts About Abbas
Favorite Comfort Movie: Breaking Bad
Favorite Way to Unwind After a Long Day: Go to the gym and listen to music.
“Go-To” Fun Fact: I am an avid fan of mixed martial arts.
Blog, Features
About Madison Jackson
Executive Board Position: Outreach Director
Past Lion’s Pantry Experience: Volunteering
Majors: Microbiology
Other 2023-2024 Involvement:
- Minority Association for Premedicine Students
- Girl Gains
- Kwapis Lab (Laboratory Assistant)
A Q&A with Madison
1) What are you most excited about The Lion’s Pantry this year?
- This year, I am the most excited to work with different organizations to bring in more funding and resources for the Lion’s Pantry. I am excited to start the journey of expanding the reach of this organization to make the lives of the Penn State students easier.
2) What initiatives, campaigns, or goals would you like to see during the 2023-24 academic year?
- During the 2023-24 year, I would like to coordinate an event to educate students on the shuttle options to reaching the Lion’s Pantry, improve the communication between organizations that coordinate agreements with the Lion’s Pantry, and to improve directions to different cub pantry locations.
3) Why should new students join The Lion’s Pantry?
- New students should join the Lion’s Pantry as an opportunity to advocate for the needs of who culd be their friends, colleagues, professors, or anyone who is a part of the Penn State community who is impacted by food insecurity.
4) What does food insecurity mean to you?
- To me, food insecurity describes the situation of a person who has little to no access to healthy, nutritious, or any food options. To me, a basic human right and necessity is access to food sources for themselves and their families. Disproportionate access to food, especially healthier options have led certain communities, such as communities of color, to experience different life threatening diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, and others in alarming rates.
5) What excites you most about the position you hold for The Lion’s Pantry during the 2023-24 year?
- For my position personally, I am excited to use my position to strengthen communication between different organizations and our own.
6) Please share one of your favorite memories from The Lion’s Pantry.
- One of my favorite memories from the Lion’s Pantry would be working as a volunteer for the first time. I was happily greeted by Heidi who guided me through the process of organizing the pantry for students and was able to engage with other service minded students who were dedicated to eradicating food insecurity on campus.
Some Fun Facts About Madison
Favorite Comfort Show: Scooby Doo or Grey’s Anatomy
Favorite Comfort Book: The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina
Favorite Way to Unwind After a Long Day: Reading
“Go-To” Fun Fact: I am a die-hard J.Cole fan.
Blog, Features
About Harrison Perring
Executive Board Position: Cub Pantry Director
Lion’s Pantry Experience: I joined as a general body member during the Fall of ’22. By the Spring of ’23, I began volunteering at The Pantry during open hours. Now, I am excited to serve as the Cub Pantry Director.
Majors: Biomedical Engineering
Minors: Biology, Natural Sciences
Other 2023-2024 Involvement:
- Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED — a pre-health honors society)
- Outdoor Volleyball Club (OVC)
- Undergraduate researcher (in developmental biology)
- Learning Assistant for BIO 110
A Q&A with Harrison
1) What are you most excited about The Lion’s Pantry this year?
- I am most excited to work with the new executive board to develop and implement new ideas that will help bolster the services Lion’s Pantry offers. I look forward to spreading awareness about The Pantry, educating others about food insecurity, and reducing the stigma that surrounds these subjects.
2) What initiatives, campaigns, or goals would you like to see during the 2023-24 academic year?
- I would love to see the implementation of a more organized, continuous food drive that is sponsored by a rotation of different student organizations per “cycle.” That is, a select number of student organizations could sign up for a ~2 week time slot to collect donations for the pantry. We would provide a continually updated list of high-need items to help guide the organizations’ efforts. After the 2 weeks, the donations from the first group of organizations would be collected, and the next cycle of the food drive would begin (containing different organizations that would do the same). The goal of this initiative would be to have consistent donations from the student organizations throughout the entire semester rather than a single lump-donation from all of the participating organizations at the end of the semester.
3) Why should new students join The Lion’s Pantry?
- Joining the Lion’s Pantry offers a unique experience to give back to the community. Not only that, but it will also help new students strengthen their leadership qualities as they become educated about food insecurity and work with others to combat this exigence.
4) What does food insecurity mean to you?
- Food insecurity refers to the to inability to access adequate quality and/or quantity of food. Food is a basic human need, and according to the USDA, there are 34 million people that struggle with food insecurity in the United States. This statistic alone encapsulates the severity of food insecurity and illustrates the importance of initiatives being taken to combat this nation-wide problem.
5) What excites you most about the position you hold for The Lion’s Pantry during the 2023-24 year?
- I am excited to play a lead role in bettering how the Cub Pantries operate. Specifically, I hope to improve access to, and distribution of, Cub Pantries so that we can reach as much of the student population as possible. Also, I hope to improve the way Cub Pantries are stocked by developing a more defined, continually updated order forms so that the sponsors of the Cub Pantries are able to efficiently place orders to meet the student’s needs.
6) Please share one of your favorite memories from The Lion’s Pantry.
- One of my favorite memories from The Lion’s Panty was when I walked in the Homecoming Parade. There were not many members of our club there, however, that did not stop dozens of people from calling out to thank us for how much the Pantry has supported them. I was relatively new to Lion’s Pantry at the time, but this experience was immensely heart-warming and it inspired me to become more involved. It was truly incredible to see how much our organization benefits Penn State students and I am so thankful to be a part of it.
Some Fun Facts About Harrison
Favorite Comfort Movie: You
Favorite Way to Unwind After a Long Day: Potting, propagating, and caring for my plants
“Go-To” Fun Fact: I am not a U.S. citizen, I was born in England!
