Katie Motycki
The Student Affairs in Higher Education program is pleased to announce the recipient of the Ronald Lunardini Distinguished Alumni Award, Katie Motycki (SAHE Class of 2004). Katie currently serves as the Director of Student Orientation and Transition Programs at The Pennsylvania State University.
Katie’s career has largely focused on the area of orientation, in which she has held roles at both Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Assistant Director of Orientation Programming from 2008-2013) and at the Pennsylvania State University (Associate Director, Senior Associate Director of New Student Orientation; Director of Student Orientation and Transition Programs). She started her career after graduating from the SAHE program as the Assistant Director of College Activities at La Roche College. Teaching roles are included in her professional experience as well; she has taught leadership, career exploration, and counseling courses at the college level.
Colleagues who nominated Katie for this award noted her many talents and skills, particularly her creativity, adaptability, and mentoring. She places trust in students and their abilities, which allows them to learn and grow. One nominator stated, “Her knowledge, creativity, and commitment to her field and students, along with her ability to collaborate within the college community and beyond, have always impressed me.” Another summed her up as follows, “Katie is a force. She is smart, caring, determined, and always maintains a focus on students first.” The award selection committee of SAHE faculty, students and alumni found that she meets and exceeds the award criteria. The award will be presented at a future event.
The Ronald Lunardini Distinguished Alumni Award, begun in 2006, was created to acknowledge an alumna/alumnus of the SAHE program whose experiences and accomplishments as a student affairs professional significantly reflect the standards and values of the SPS program/SAHE department. In 2008, in recognition of Lunardini’s 37 years of service at IUP (18 as a SAHE faculty member), the award title was changed to honor him. More information about the award and a list of previous award recipients is available at Ronald Lunardini Distinguished Alumni Award.