HARRISBURG, PA – The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) has awarded Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) 1st Place in the 2025 AICUP Comm Awards in the Best Social Media Post category. According to AICUP, these annual awards recognize outstanding efforts to communicate the value of higher education.
HU’s award-winning Instagram Reel – “Bradlee Metzger, an Environmental Science Student at The Hill Farm” – showed the breadth of HU’s influence throughout Pennsylvania in fields like advanced agriculture and environmental science, and celebrated HU students as culture and knowledge ambassadors in the surrounding region. Michelle Luna Victoria, HU’s social media intern, interviewed Bradlee for the Instagram Reel last July.
Bradlee Metzger ‘25 was one of the first HU students to take advantage of a new transportation partnership with Uber. The program provides substantial discounts for students so they can travel to class, work, or internships quickly and affordably. Transportation can account for around 20 percent of a student’s total university costs, and students who lack reliable transportation are more likely to fall behind in their studies.
The Transportation Program with Uber allowed Bradlee to complete a summer internship at The Hill Farm, a nonprofit 2-acre farm located in Allison Hill. The farm works to bring the community together by addressing food security and providing education on urban farming.
Check out the award-winning Go2HarrisburgU Instagram Reel to see how Bradlee is helping the people of Allison Hill explore the potential of controlled environment agriculture (CEA). CEA is a set of techniques and technologies, ranging from “high tunnels” and “hoop houses” to hydroponics (growing food without soil) and aquaponics (soilless growing combined with fish aquaculture), that allow urban farmers to grow highly diversified food crops in areas with limited space or a lack of healthy topsoil.
“This farm is used to educate the people of Allison Hill about urban farming as well as feed the community. We want to make sure that this place is one of the most educational spots we have around,” said Bradlee. “Thanks to the Uber Share Program, I was able to save so much money go[ing] back and forth from home and the other jobs I work. I was spending on average $120 per week. With the Uber Share Program, my transportation costs are around $30 per week. I’m able to spend less and give more back to the community I work with.”
Thanks to the efforts of volunteers like Bradlee, The Hill Farm provides not just educational outreach but also low-cost produce and starter plants, so that area residents can explore agricultural concepts on their own and enjoy healthy foods that may otherwise be difficult to source in Pennsylvania’s urban areas. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, gardens and urban farms are “critical pieces of our Commonwealth’s food and agriculture system … many of these gardens and urban farms fill a void by addressing food deserts and providing workforce development opportunities in communities across Pennsylvania.”
Current or future students who’d like more information about the Transportation Program with Uber can contact the HU Career Services Office. Want to know how Harrisburg University is advancing the state of the art in controlled environment agriculture? Get in touch with the HU Aquaponics Team.
Harrisburg University thanks Bradlee Metzger for his tireless efforts in growing the success of our university and enriching and educating others. HU also thanks our incredible social media intern, Michelle Luna Victoria, for the brilliant work she does in sharing our students’ stories and successes with the wider world. HU is lucky to have you both!
ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY
Harrisburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a private, nonprofit university offering bachelor’s and graduate degree programs in the fields of science, technology, and mathematics. For additional information about the University’s affordable, demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, please call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay updated by following Harrisburg University on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.