Coming Up Clutch; Noah Kunst Continues to Shine in Big Moments

Penn State Behrend is home to several hundred engineering majors. This commitment can be long and grueling over a four year stretch. It is filled with long nights in the lab, many projects, and numerous and countless examinations. It is remarkable that many engineering majors are involved in anything else at Behrend. For Behrend senior Noah Kunst, being busy has and always will be key to his success in all ventures.

Noah is a 2015 graduate of Kittanning Area High School which has since merged with nearby Ford City to create Armstrong County High School. The class of 2015 was the last graduating class of Kittanning, but there are several athletes who can still say they played sports for the Wildcats. Among these are Noah who played basketball and now is a golfer at Penn State Behrend, Jason Nolf who is one of the best Division I wrestlers in the country who attends Penn State, and Yale running-back Zane Dudek who played both for Kitaning and later Armstrong County.

Noah reflected on what it meant to graduate from Kitaning and be surrounded with such a great group of friends in his high school days. “I had a close group of friends that I made in middle school after transferring from the catholic elementary. We played a lot of sports together and brought the best out of each other in any sort of athletic environment. In addition to these friends, I made a close group of friends because of academics. We always wanted to get the best grades but would encourage and help each other become the best students we could be. I owe a lot to Kittanning for helping me succeed both in high school and now in my college years.”

There was also one particular educator who helped Noah find his passion in the field of engineering, but it was not always smooth sailing in this educators class. “School came pretty natural and easy to me, but not in Deborah Snyder’s class. I struggled in her physics class initially, and I knew I needed help to become better at the subject. For several years, she sat down with me to help me improve as a student. She then became my go to person for everything. She would help me if I was having trouble in another class or if there was a problem in sports. She motivated me to become a better student and person, and I credit her for making me realize the importance of hard work and doing well in school.”Lastly, Noah’s family has always provided him with opportunities to succeed in both sports and in the classroom. His parents (Brenda and James) allowed Noah to play for multiple AAU basketball organizations while also supporting him to play tennis, track and field, golf, and basketball for Kittanning High School. “The experience I had in travel basketball was like none other. It made me a better athlete all around. If it was not for my parents support and driving me to play basketball, I am not sure if I would have had the same chances to play college sports. I am thankful they pushed me to improve as an athlete.” Kunst said.

While sports and school work has certainly kept Noah busy during these last four years, he has found time to form friendships in Triangle fraternity. Noah has been a member of the fraternity since 2016, and has formed a great bond with fellow STEM majors. In addition, Kunst serves as the president of the Behrend Outdoors Club which he founded during his freshman year. He has been able to grow the club to around 200 members in his time at Behrend which is quite the accomplishment.

The accomplishments and recognition does not stop there, however. Kunst has been recognized as an All-AMCC selection twice and finished third in the AMCC individual golf championships in 2017. He also has been a part of two AMCC team championships with the Lions in his three year collegiate golf career. Four total varsity letters among two sports during a college career is quite impressive, but Kunst continues to impressive in more ways than in athletic competition.

In the spring of 2018, Noah was encouraged by some peers to apply for a scholarship  AIST(Association of Iron and Steel Technology) was presenting STEM students with. The winner of the scholarship would also be featured multiple times in the Materials and Manufacturing magazine which is one of the most popular of its kind worldwide and also would be awarded an internship in a preferred STEM field. After filling out the paperwork that was necessary, Noah was not exactly optimistic about his chances to win. “

There were likely thousands of applicants from across the world.” Kunst said. “All of the big engineering schools were likely represented by applicants. I got an email a few months later to my surprise that I had won. I was in the library studying when I found out the great news which was not an ideal location to celebrate. I remember jumping up and down and cheering after seeing the email which created some strange looks by fellow students in the library. It was a great accomplishment in my young career.”

After interning at ATI as a maintenance mechanical engineering intern, Noah’s work experience was about to change as he accepted an internship with SMS Group in Pittsburgh as a technical sales intern. This type of work had interested Kunst for a long time, but now he finally had the chance to work in the field. The opportunity has led to a full time position which he will begin in May of this year upon graduation.

With just a few months left at Behrend, Kunst is still preparing for spring golf season which will be his last with the golf program. With the help of coach Erik Barzeski, Kunst has become a far more consistent golfer during his college career. His clutch play has led to two more AMCC golf championships for the golf program. Noah will miss the friendships and bonds he has made with his teammates, classmates, and fraternity brothers over the last four years most.

The Kittanning Area High School high jump record holder has continued to impress through his young career in a variety of areas. He hopes to play in some ammateur golf outings in the next few years as he transitions to a full time technical sales engineer in Pittsburgh. His work in the Behrend community has helped Triangle Fraternity welcome many new members and the Outdoors Club grow to one of the biggest clubs on campus. His stellar play in golf has helped the Lions add to the trophy case which are moments he will cherish forever. Whether it is on the course, on the court, or in a sales meeting; Noah Kunst is always going to find a way to impress in a variety of ways.