Daniel Serfass began volunteering in politics before he was old enough to vote. A few years later, he was considering joining a national campaign that would take him across the country. Organizers suggested he consider taking a semester off. “My immediate thought was, ‘I don’t have to,’” says Serfass, who began his studies at University Park but became a full-time World Campus student in 2019. “I could move to Iowa and still be on course for standard graduation.”

A security and risk analysis major with a minor in political science, Serfass joined the recently formed World Campus student government last year; in March, he was elected its president, and he has since helped amend its constitution. He says the unique needs of World Campus students should be considered where academic policies and the student experience are concerned. “There is too much good in this university to not address issues [that] need to be met,” he says, “and to do that, you need solid student voices to make sure that the administration knows the views of the students.”

Serfass is also working to set up a meeting of students at online programs throughout the Big Ten to discuss best practices and how they can share resources. In 2020, he helped launch the World Campus chapter of THON, which this year was represented by student dancers (Brayden Caraynoff-Huber and Danielle Ray) for the first time. As the number of World Campus student organizations has swelled from less than half a dozen to 20 in the last four years, Serfass wants to ensure that students know university traditions. “You’re not just sitting down at a computer that has a Penn State logo,” he says. “You’re a Penn State student.”