Carpenter, Franley named Thiel College Students of the Month for October

Posted October 27, 2016 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College announces Robert Carpenter ’17, of Ulysses, Pa., and Audra Franley ’17, of Jefferson, Ohio, as its October Students of the Month.

Carpenter is an early childhood and special education major. He is the president of the Thiel College Class of 2017, a resident assistant and the treasurer for the Greenville Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of Alpha Chi’s National Council and the Dietrich Honors Institute, where he is on the Student Advisory Board. During the spring of 2015, he studied abroad in New Zealand at Lincoln University.

“Thiel has given me a whole new and deeper perspective on what it means to live one’s life to the fullest as well as helping me on the journey of becoming human, and for that, I am forever grateful,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter, a 2013 graduate of Northern Potter Junior/Senior High School, is the son of Timothy Carpenter and the late Nicole Smith—both of Ulysses, Pa. He is considering the possibility of teaching abroad and earning a master’s degree in education.

Franley is a religion and parish education double major with minors in pre-ministry and psychology. She is a member of Pi Nu Epsilon, Sigma Tau Delta, Order of Omega, Theta Alpha Kappa, Alpha Chi and Les Lauriers. Additionally, she is the president of the Chi Omega sorority. She sings with the Thiel Choir and Chamber Singers and volunteers at the David Johnson Memorial Chapel. She is a member of the Lutheran Student Movement and Thiel Student Support Network. Her father and sister both attended Thiel College.

“My time as a student at Thiel College has served to affirm that I could not have picked a better institution to spend my undergraduate years,” Franley said.

Following graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to obtain her Master of Arts in religion followed by getting her Ph.D. in religion and teaching at the college level.

Franley, a 2013 graduate of Jefferson Area High School, is a daughter of Betsy and Terry Heath and Dr. Harold Franley, of Jefferson, Ohio.

The Student of the Month is awarded to seniors. It is among the most prestigious student awards at Thiel College, with only about six students each semester earning the honor.