This month, we recognize Sara Neville, for all of her contributions to Earth and space science education while an undergraduate student at Penn State Brandywine in Media, PA.  Sara graduates this summer with a custom-designed bachelor's degree that explored the connections between middle school Earth science education and educational technology, while minoring in environmental inquiry and civic and community engagement.

Sara authored the Academy of Natural Sciences' Bicentennial curricular unit and several Google Earth tours for common reads (Field Notes from a Catastrophe, Dirt, The Control of Nature) featured on the PAESTA website.  She has published four journal articles (three as first author) and given three presentations at national and international conferences on her pedagogical innovations.  Sara has visited middle school classrooms in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Kentucky to share with students and teachers how to use Google Earth for inquiry-based exercises.  Sara will tell you that the highlight of her undergraduate career was being selected as one of 60 students from across the nation to present her work, "Integrating Google Earth with the QUEST for Science Literacy," at a Council on Undergraduate Research event at Capitol Hill in Washington DC in 2010 - in her sophomore year! 

Congratulations, Sara - you are clearly a PAESTAR!