Larissa James-LaBranche with the Lion Shrine on the campus of Penn State DuBois
DuBOIS, Pa. – To say that Larissa James-LaBranche has kept herself busy to this point in her life would be an understatement. The graduating honors scholar student was part of numerous groups, clubs and sports teams during her time in high school. That level of involvement continued when she started her post-secondary education at Penn State DuBois, including as a member of the college softball team, a tutor at the center for undergraduate excellence (The CUE) and as the president of the business society. And that doesn’t even cover the entire list.
Larissa James-LaBranche helping a student as a tutor at the center for undergraduate excellence, also known as “The CUE”, at Penn State DuBois
As a student at Kettle Run High School in Warrenton, Virginia, James-LaBranche was involved with DECA, FBLA, Model UN, Edge Christian Club, National Honors Society and National English Honors Society. Being an active member in her church’s youth group as well, James-LaBranche took part in many volunteer and service projects throughout the community and also took part in several mission trips. Her family also had the opportunity to host exchange students from Germany, Austria and Wales, which in turn gave her the opportunity to travel abroad to Wales as part of the exchange program also. In addition, she was a member of the varsity softball team at the school. It was her participation in softball that would start her connection to Penn State DuBois.
Even though I already had a top list of schools, my dad encouraged me to come (to Penn State DuBois) for a visit and when I learned about all of the academic opportunities and resources, the honors scholar program and research, I became very intrigued.—Larissa James-LaBranche , Penn State DuBois graduating Honors Scholar student
“What initially drew me to Penn State DuBois was a recruiting message from the softball coach,” James-LaBranche said. “Even though I already had a top list of schools, my dad encouraged me to come for a visit and when I learned about all of the academic opportunities and resources, the honors scholar program and research, I became very intrigued.”
After talking with several former softball players, learning about the professors' accessibility and being accepted into the honors scholar program, James-LaBranche knew she had found the right place for her to continue her education. All of these, combined with the possibility of playing on the softball team, made everything come together for James-LaBranche, all in one place.
It was, as I like to call it, a name brand degree in a small school.—Larissa James-LaBranche , Penn State DuBois graduating Honors Scholar student
“It was, as I like to call it, a name brand degree in a small school,” James-LaBranche said.
Finding the right fit
James-LaBranche was one of the many high school students that believed they really knew what they wanted to study in college and do for their career, only to have that change after they experienced things first-hand. Through her junior year in high school, James-LaBranche aspired to become an orthodontist. But a career shadowing day changed everything and made her reconsider, and she decided to explore another route for her education and career. Looking back at the electives she had taken in high school, James-LaBranche found that the ones she enjoyed most related to business and marketing. So, when the time came to choose a major, business became a natural fit. But she knew that one major wouldn’t be enough for her because she wanted to challenge herself. In addition to the business related courses during her time in high school, James-LaBranche also greatly enjoyed the psychology courses she took and had a teacher that left a great impression on her for this program. With both interests, her double major of business and psychology came to fruition.
My experience in the program has been a whirlwind of opportunity and adaptation.—Larissa James-LaBranche , Penn State DuBois graduating Honors Scholar student
When asked to describe her experience in the honors scholar program, James-LaBranche responded by saying, “My experience in the program has been a whirlwind of opportunity and adaptation."
One of the first items that she highlighted was giving the program credit for helping her with her education. Through the honors courses, which she admits are challenging, James-LaBranche got the experience the rigorous schedule that she was looking for. Outside of course work, she was also quick to credit the program with helping her become an active member of the campus community. From her involvement with the business society, to the same with the Christian student fellowship to also having a project in an honors course turn into something of which she is extremely proud. James-LaBranche was one of the students who helped develop a program on campus that has now turned into the 21 Days of Sustainability Challenge. Happening for the first time in 2022, the challenge takes place over three weeks with students, faculty and staff participating in sustainable lifestyle activities. The program coordinators worked alongside the business society to culminate the event at the Earth Day celebration on campus. This year’s edition of the challenge and celebration took place last month.
Javonnie Glenn, Larissa James-LaBranche, Taylor Charles and Alicia Bryan at the 2023 Earth Day Celebration, organized with the Penn State DuBois Business Society, which marks the culmination of the 21 Days of Sustainability Challenge.
Through the honors scholar program, James-LaBranche also had the chance to travel to Hawaii. The opportunity to travel to a location that has such a deep cultural history, and a very different climate to that of Pennsylvania, made for an opportunity of a lifetime that gave her a greatly enriching experience, she said.
In the lab
Another aspect of the honors scholar program that has been important to James-LaBranche is the research on group cohesion and discipline that she completed in the program. In her study, James-LaBranche observed how participants were affected by different conditions related to team bonding and deadlines. Her topic was born out of a scientific writing course that was part of her psychology program, which required her to design the experiment and write the proposal for the research that she would conduct. From there, after receiving approval from her advisor and finding the right professor to help her perform her research, she launched her research project.
“The results of my research were very interesting,” James-LaBranche said. “They did not exactly go as predicted or hypothesized. However, that does not mean that the results are not valuable.”
While many of the points that she hypothesized did prove to be supported, such as the fact that a stricter deadline improves group performance, she noted that statistically the results point to the possibility that a larger study group could show different results. While some might see this as somewhat of a failure, James-LaBranche as a positive sign.
That fact is very interesting in itself and encourages further research. It is also interesting that team bonding or a combination of team-bonding and strict deadlines improves group performance. That also leads to further questioning, explanations and research.—Larissa James-LaBranche , Penn State DuBois graduating Honors Scholar student
“That fact is very interesting in itself and encourages further research,” James-LaBranche said. “It is also interesting that team bonding or a combination of team bonding and strict deadlines improves group performance. That also leads to further questioning, explanations and research.”
James-LaBranche’s research opens the conversation for what goes into effective team dynamics. Characteristics such as personal motivation, interest in an assignment or interest in a course area are all factors that could affect a group’s outcome and are all factors that could be tested in further developments in this research area.
“Overall, I think there are a lot of different directions that this study could go, which is very exciting,” James-LaBrance said.
James-LaBrance feels a direct correlation between the project and her future career that she will be starting after graduation. Having the understanding now of all the different aspects of research and the different applications that research can fall into will prove to be invaluable to her after her graduation.
Larissa James-LaBranche catches and frames a pitch during a softball home game at Heindl Field in DuBois
On the field
As a member of the softball team at Penn State DuBois for four years, James-LaBranche has played in a total of 101 games, holding a .307 batting average, and recorded 61 hits, including 16 doubles, three triples and three homeruns. She has also scored 51 runs and driven in 36 RBIs in her career. Playing the majority of her games as catcher, James-LaBranche has a perfect fielding percentage this season and a .973 fielding percentage for her career. She is also one of the team captains this spring. In her final year at Penn State DuBois, James-LaBranche also joined the women’s basketball team, becoming a two-sport athlete for the Lady Lions.
In the future
After graduation, James-LaBranche will start her professional career as a business analyst at FIS Global in Florida. This position comes after she served as an intern with the company last summer. In the future, she plans to return to the classroom to pursue a Master of Business Administration. She also has a few trips planned before she starts her full-time position: a river cruise along the Danube River in Europe with her mother and a solo trip to Argentina where she will be volunteering with an animal rescue organization.
The Honors Scholar program at Penn State DuBois provides opportunities for students who excel academically to participate in specialized courses and activities, allowing them to engage at a higher level. All current students are welcome to apply at the beginning of the fall semester for the Honors Program. The application for Honors Scholars opens in the fall to incoming students for the following fall semester. You can visit the program website to find more information and to learn how to complete an application to the program.
