First time donor joins PSU-Michigan State battle for blood bank supremacy

Video posted November 14, 2012 in News by Casey McDermott

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Marissa Cutillo, a first-time blood donor, is one of many students participating in this year's Penn State-Michigan State Blood Donor Challenge. Each year, Red Cross Donor Field Resources Representative for Penn State Wendi Keeler explains, the schools face off to see which university can raise the most units of blood. Keeler said the schools use contrasting strategies: Michigan State will hold consistent blood drives throughout the three-week period, while Penn State relies heavily on a last-minute push in the final days of the challenge to increase its total.

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Casey McDermott's photo

Casey McDermott

2012 Graduate / Journalism

As her Twitter bio notes, Casey’s often most comfortable juggling some combination of a cellphone, coffee, pen and notepad in hand – and, chances are, you can find her doing just that in the basement offices of the James Building. There, she is settling into a new job as the editor in chief of Penn State’s independent student newspaper, The Daily Collegian. Casey served as the managing editor during the 2011-2012 academic year, and she previously held positions as the campus chief and a reporter on both campus and metro staffs.
A senior majoring in print journalism and sociology, she is a student in the Schreyer Honors College and a member of the Paterno Liberal Arts Undergraduate Fellows Program. This spring, she traveled to Rio de Janeiro as part of an international reporting class with the College of Communications. She has also interned for USA TODAY, where she worked primarily on the editorial page and wrote several articles for print.