Ryan Buell founded the Paranormal Research Society the first month he arrived on campus in September 2001. Buell always knew he was interested in the paranormal ever since he could read. He regularly checked out books from the library ranging from poltergeists to the Bermuda Triangle. A native of Sumter, South Carolina, Buell began investigating at the age of 15. His first investigation was on the Salem-Black River Church just outside of his hometown.
After three years as Director of the PRS, Buell was invited to speak at colleges and high schools all over the east coast. Two book proposals have also been offered since him founding PRS, as well as several television opportunities. Buell was approached by producer Betsy Schechter during spring break in 2005 and was instantly interested in working with him and his group for a TV series. Later that year, Schechter found a home for PRS and its show: A&E. A year later, filming began for "Paranormal State," a half-hour docu-drama that chronicles PRS and their investigations into the paranormal. Schechter also made Buell a producer for the show.
Buell got his first degree in May 2006. He is now finishing another degree while working on the first season of "Paranormal State." Buell also announced that he would write a book in 2007. Aside from the paranormal, Buell travels the world, writes, is an avid movie junkie and is a freelance journalist.
Heather Taddy is a senior at Penn State, majoring in Film and Media Studies, with an invested interest in French. She spent her first two years at a branch campus in Altoona, her hometown. In Fall 2005, she discovered PRS after reading an article about the club in the Halloween edition of the campus newspaper. The following year she transferred to main campus and started attending PRS meetings.
"PRS is the only club that I am a part of," said Taddy, "but if I had more time I would definitely join the comedy club."
When asked about what she thinks are her greatest accomplishments while at Penn State, she lists joining PRS and the opportunity to participate on a major television show.
In the future, she hopes to continue documenting and helping those who experience hauntings with PRS. She also wants to pursue a career in the film/TV industry to explore her creativity. Outside of PRS, you can find Heather creating music with her experimental/progressive rock band, working at Hot Topic and producing experimental films.
Eilfie Music is currently the Field Investigation & Research Director for PRS. Her interest in the paranormal started at an early age. Music was raised in an open spiritual setting, and she eventually chose paganism as her faith. Her deceased father was a brilliant man with a Ph. D in Social Anthropology, yet he surprised people when they learned that he was an occultist.
Eilfie's father had only a passing interest in the paranormal, but he encouraged Eilfie to pursue what she cared about. She spent the majority of her time within the pages of books dealing with paranormal research and stories.
After she graduated from high school, she found out about PRS and has been a member ever since. She continues to study and observe various aspects of occult practice. This knowledge of various religions and their practices comes in handy with PRS when they try to understand the belief structures of the individuals they meet.
Outside of PRS, she is a painter. She is also working with an author for an upcoming autobiography.
Katrina Weidman is a senior at Penn State earning a dual degree in Integrative arts with an emphasis in music production and Theatre with an emphasis in performance. She originally wasn't going to attend college, but after dropping a friend off at University Park and seeing the campus, she knew it was where she belonged. The next day she signed up for classes at Bucks County Community College, which she attended for two years before transferring to Penn State University Park in 2004. Besides being an investigator for the Paranormal Research Society, she's been a member of the Penn State Snowboard club since 2004. In 2005 she joined The Lion 90.7 fm as a co-host for a variety of shows and voice over work.
She was born and raised in Bucks County, PA along with an older sister and a younger brother. She was born into an artistic family - both of her parents perform in their spare time and her mother writes original musicals for local playhouses. Some of her earliest memories are watching her mother and father tap dance together on stage; this also coincides with some of her strangest memories of her father dressed in drag for multiple shows. "Either way, my parents helped to shape my love and appreciation for performance art, which is why I'm a performer; I guess you could say it's in my blood."
Besides theatre, Katrina writes her own music. At the age of 11, she taught herself how to play piano. She learned how to play songs by ear and it lead into writing her own music. In 2003 she co-wrote a song with her mother for her first original musical called "Curtain Call for Murder."
"As long as I can remember I've had an interest in the paranormal," says Katrina. "I knew Penn State was a perfect fit, not only did they offer majors that fit my wants and needs, but they had a paranormal club. I joined the club in 2006 and went through extensive training to become an investigator. I absolutely love every minute of what I do. I get to help people, learn about the paranormal, work with amazing people, and now that we have a show with A&E I get to work in the entertainment world as well. "
When she has free time outside of school and PRS, she enjoys snowboarding, singing, dancing, cooking, knitting, coloring, working out, music, the beach, playing piano, going out with friends, her family, animals and driving. She's also always up for a good movie and nap on the couch.
Sergey Poberezhny, as you can see, has a very long last name. That must mean one thing: he is foreign. For those of you who guessed that, give yourself a star. Sergey was born in Sevastopol, Ukraine. A place so small and unknown that he would just tell people he was born in Moscow to make things easier. He left Ukraine when he was 4 years old to travel across Europe. His parents joined him on his adventure. A wrong bus ride in Switzerland caught him by surprise because in 1989 he arrived in New York City.
Sergey didn't know it at the time, but it seemed as if fate was bringing him closer and closer to PRS. He did not start off at the University Park, but instead he chose another campus: Penn State Erie, a campus that was smaller and further away. Spending his time with a variety of activities - hiking, volunteering at a historical society, crashing frat parties, he never imagined getting interested in the paranormal. After several nights of watching shows about the subject, he took it upon himself to find out if the paranormal existed. Getting into his '94 Sentra at midnight, he ended up driving around Erie, looking for ghosts and taking photos. While he did get some amazing photos, he did not get any ghosts.
He put the paranormal behind him until he arrived in University Park. Transferring from another campus meant he had to start fresh in finding friends. After looking through the organizations the main campus had to offer, he found three that he joined: Finance Club, Billiards Club, and Paranormal Research Society. That year, Sergey was still a member in but one of those three clubs.
PRS has had a huge impact on Sergey's life and he hopes it will continue to do so. Outside of PRS, you can find Sergey practicing the art of photography, hiking... doing what all regular people do.
