School of STEAM

Saint Francis University Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Student Chapter has been awarded the Student Chapter Excellence Award for 2019. This prestigious award, previously known as the Gold Standard, is the second highest honor a student chapter may receive and is awarded to only 20% of student chapters around the world. The award is in recognition of the student chapter’s programs in industry engagement, operations and planning, community involvement, professional development, and innovation. The SFU student chapter of the SPE was officially established in February 2016. The mission of

Candace Rupert ‘18 is truly living the motto of Saint Francis University, “Become That Someone.” Candace remembers falling in love with the ocean when she was in second grade and presented a research project on stingrays. From that moment on she knew she wanted a career in helping save the ocean and all of its inhabitants.

Vanessa remembers the day well. She was in 6th grade and was helping her mom set up their church for a retreat event. Young adults from NET Ministries were visiting her parish for the day to encourage youth how to embrace their faith and cultivate a personal relationship with Christ. Vanessa showed some interest and was invited to join the other teenagers to participate in the day-long retreat. The joy and energy from that day stayed with Vanessa through middle school and high school. When it came time to choose a college, Vanessa found Saint Francis University and was excited to get involved

Cade Young, a freshman General Engineering major with an Aviation concentration , completed his first solo flight in a Diamond DA40 NG, flying out of the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport on December 9th. Cade is only one semester into the Aviation program and is excited with how quickly he progressed in the program. “When I went down to the airport that morning I had no clue I was going to be flying solo. I was told that I was getting close and could possibly solo before Christmas break, but I didn’t see it coming so soon. When the flight instructor, Larry Servinsky , stepped out

Chemistry professor, Dr. Samantha Radford , and two of her classes, Environmental Chemistry and Human Toxicology are working with the community to bring more awareness to the under-reported issue of lead exposure in Central Pennsylvania. Several cities in Pennsylvania, including Altoona, have a higher children’s lead exposure rate than that of Flint Michigan, even during their recent lead crisis. The city of Altoona ranks second worst in the state with an alarming 20% of children having elevated lead blood levels. Dr. Radford worked with the Saint Francis University Center for Service and

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates the U.S. has likely surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer of crude oil. Sophomore Teresa Reid is inspired by the growth of the industry in the U.S., and is looking to the future when she can toss her hat into the ring and work with some of the best petroleum and natural gas engineers in the world. “Out of all of the engineering fields, Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (PNGE) was most intriguing to me because of the opportunities stemming from growth of the industry in the U.S.,” said Reid. Since well

English and Philosophy double major, Shayna Boisvert, will be presenting at the National Popular Cultural Association Convention (NPAC) held in Washington, DC, this spring. Shayna will be presenting alongside professors, independent scholars, graduate students, and perhaps even a few undergraduates. Her presentation pertains to her research on the link between Nietzsche and 21st Century literature. The following is an abstract from Shayna’s presentation: According to the philosophy of Nietzsche, human existence is, in and of itself, a tragedy. Taking great influence from Greek tragedy, he

Saint Francis University’s Environmental Engineering students get hands-on experience working on real projects from local organizations. These projects allow the students to get out into the field as an undergraduate, and perform work that makes a difference. In one such project, Environmental Engineering students, along with SFU’s Center for Watershed Research and Service (CWRS), are partnering with Altoona Water Authority and other agencies to assess the level of impurities and improve the water quality of a drainage impaired by historic coal mining near the Kittanning Run stream in Logan

I'm Dr. John Harris , 1982 graduate of Saint Francis University, and now the Chair of the Engineering , Computer Science and Mathematics departments at SFU. But forty years ago this year I faced the same questions as you: "What should I major in at college? And what college?" Yeah I get it, I am old, but I still remember the fear I felt, the very real concern that I might make the wrong decision. It is a big decision. Huge, right? Well, I had three major things going for me as a senior in high school: awesome parents that loved me and wanted me to go to a safe school where I could get a solid

With a passion for politics and an interest in women’s equality issues, Harry Olafsen has spent his time at Saint Francis focusing on gender studies. As a history and English double major he hopes to continue to encourage a brighter, more accepting future for everyone. Go to previous item Go to next item Harry Olafsen History major English major Class of 2018 Interning at the DNC Researching "The Real Housewives..." History at Saint Francis English at Saint Francis Meet Harry Olafsen, a literature lover and social activist A self-proclaimed liberal Democrat, Harry Olafsen is passionate about