Pennsylvania’s Surprising People

Story posted March 30, 2015 in News, Best of CommMedia by Luke Smith, Gabrielle Yocum, Annemarie Butkiewicz and Megan Swiatkowski


They may look like regular, run-of-the-mill college students. But outside of the classroom it's another story.

During the week John Gipe is a model student in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State University. On the weekends, though, he likes to burn some rubber behind the wheel of his 1997 Chevrolet Camaro.

Gabriella DeMartino is one of 1,800 students attending DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. She is a sophomore communications major. However, DeMartino and her twin, Niki, live a double life as YouTube sensations with over 900,000 subscribers to their videos about fashion and beauty.

Penn State senior Yasser Mahmoud is a varsity athlete and an artist. Mahmoud hopes to compete in fencing at the Olympics. The sport is a big part of his family's life. He is also working to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree with a concentration in sculpting.  His extensive knowledge of fencing comes out through his artwork, in which he expresses body movements and molds fencing masks.

Samantha Lantz is working hard to become a local news reporter after graduation. She is carrying twice the required number of credits in her last semester at Penn State, so taking an occasional break from the books is important. But even in her free time, she keeps her eyes on the target as a member of Penn State's club archery team.