LINKED IN    

Abigail “Abby” Conrad is a junior majoring in public relations with minors in creative writing and American Sign Language. She’s thriving in the Bellisario College of Communications: “At Penn State, you get this big school, but you also have this small college where you make connections and have opportunities.”

POETRY IN MOTION         

Conrad was always intrigued by ASL and took courses in high school. “It’s a beautiful language with its own grammar structure,” she says. “You have to use your face and body to communicate.” She was thrilled when the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders began offering ASL as a minor last year, and she credits professors Nick Mastromatteo ’15 A&A and Shasta Dreese, both of whom are deaf, for their immersive classrooms.  

COMMUNITY IMPACT     

Since her first semester at Penn State, Conrad has held a number of roles with the student-run Happy Valley Communications, through which she attends client meetings, writes media pitches, and does media tracking. She’s been able to work with a diverse list of clients in the State College community—rock-climbing companies, Lego retailers, and a news app catered toward Gen Z, to name a few—to develop their communication strategies. This year, she is serving as the director of university and alumni relations.

OUT OF HER SHELL        

During a creative writing class, professor Megan Reilley assigned “hermit crab” essays, which take on atypical structures, and Conrad used the rules of playing Bingo to frame a narrative about grieving. Later, she would contribute to Reilley’s weekly nonfiction literary magazine true, writing articles and helping out with its social media strategy.

GOOD PR            

After graduation, Conrad wants to work in corporate social responsibility, ideally running philanthropic endeavors and community outreach programs.