The Guided Pathways: What does it all add up to?

Molly Foy ’27

Psychology major, educational studies minor
Leadership, Teamwork, and Collaboration Pathway

Looking beyond Gettysburg, my experiences here have made me a stronger communicator, collaborator, and student, better equipped for future challenges. Serving as public relations chair for the Patrick Henry Society for Debate & Oration has been a highlight of my time here. Helping to create this club from the ground up and guiding it through two successful rebrands that boosted engagement across campus has been a powerful experience.

This leadership role has tested my ability to adapt, work through trial and error, and believe in the collective vision of our executive board as we built something lasting and impactful within the Gettysburg community.

I submitted this experience as a part of the Leadership, Teamwork, and Collaboration Pathway within the Guided Pathways. Engaging thoughtfully with activities I would have joined regardless has helped me realize just how much I am learning from my passions and how these experiences are preparing me for the future in ways I never expected.

Reflecting through the Guided Pathways has allowed me to articulate the value of these involvements, seeing them not just as hobbies but as meaningful steps toward my goals.

Sean O’Leary ’27

Biology and Spanish double major
Leadership, Teamwork, and Collaboration Pathway

As a first-year student, the Guided Pathways had me participate in activities like volunteering at the Painted Turtle Farm. After the experience, I found out that I enjoyed serving the community in that way. Now, I volunteer there regularly.

I have multiple leadership roles on campus. The emphasis that the Guided Pathways places on leadership not only encouraged me to seek these leadership roles but also helped me to develop skills and reflect on how I identify as a leader.

Reflection—a significant aspect of the Guided Pathways—and the written reflections I complete help me assign personal meaning to every experience. As a pre-med student, being well-rounded is extremely important to me—not only because it makes me a stronger applicant but also because it emphasizes the importance of humanitarian and professional skills.

Through the Guided Pathways Experiential Learning Fund, I obtained a grant that helped cover hotel costs when I shadowed general surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Moyer ’10 at Tower Health for a week. I used to think I was never cut out to be a surgeon. This opportunity made me interested in surgery as a potential career path.

My co-curricular advisor, Cara Smith, has been a great resource and a very supportive voice throughout my pre-medical journey.

Omer Shamil ’27

Mathematical economics and public policy double major
Leadership, Teamwork, and Collaboration Pathway

Any experience is special; each one carries the potential to shape how you see the world and, through your actions, how the world comes to understand you. Within that process lies something deeper: the chance to build yourself, to discover what the world has to offer, and to move closer to a sense of purpose that genuinely fulfills you.

For me, Guided Pathways became that medium. I didn’t realize that a program centered on exploration, reflection, and intentional involvement could influence not only how I spend my time at Gettysburg but also how I learn to navigate the world beyond it.

The Guided Pathways encouraged me to step into experiences I might not have sought on my own. I facilitated leadership workshops through the Garthwait Leadership Center, participated in Eisenhower Institute programs that deepened my understanding of community and the systems that shape it, served students through the Center for Career Engagement, and represented diverse voices in Senate. These moments, along with the program’s emphasis on reflection, helped me connect my academic interests with personal growth and assign meaning to each step I took.

I hope it all adds up to a clearer understanding of who I am becoming. With that clarity comes the confidence to pursue a purpose rooted in leaving the world better than I found it, knowing I moved through it with intention and did my best.

Katie LaPlaunt ’28

Political science major
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Fluency Pathway

Last summer, I was given the incredible opportunity to join Political Science Chair Caroline Hartzell and Political Science Professor Lindsay Reid ’11 for three weeks of fieldwork in Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín, Colombia. We conducted focus groups and interviews with mothers of former military members, Indigenous and Afro-Descendant women, and those displaced by violence.

During my first trip across international borders, I became completely immersed in the culture and conversations. Even though I couldn’t always understand the language, I could feel the passion and power radiating from the women we spoke with. It gave me a real sense of how much our work matters and how it impacts people’s lives.

As a participant in the Global Citizenship and Intercultural Fluency Pathway, this experience has completely changed my perception of the future. I have since declared a double major in international and global studies and plan to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country.

Without funding from the Guided Pathways, this would not have been possible. It has easily been the best experience of my life, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me next!