Editor’s note: Throughout the week, we’re posting profiles of the 10 members of the 2010 Penn State Homecoming Court: Daniel Cartwright, Danielle DaSilva, Dan Florencio, Marina Johnson, Katherine Larimer, Curran McCready, Jared McKnight, Jessica Pelliciotta, Katy Poole and Justin Ross. Check back as we continue to publish more and more profiles. And click on our Homecoming page for a full listing of the week’s Homecoming events. Penn State students can cast ballots for Homecoming king and queen online here: https://homecoming.psu.edu.
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If you can’t get your day started without some caffeine, then head over to Sisu in Waring Commons for some extra Penn State spirit added to your cup of Joe(Pa).
At Sisu you’ll find student manager Jessica Pelliciotta, one of the members of the 2010 Penn State Homecoming Court.
Pelliciotta has not always bled blue and white, saying that she didn’t find that Penn State pride until she got herself involved around campus. Even though she first decided on Penn State because she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, she eventually settled into life as a political-science major.
Through extracurriculars, she has expanded her political interest and become involved in campus politics at the University Park Undergraduate Association, where she is chair of the Assembly. Pelliciotta is a former president of the College Democrats, too.
She also is something of a campus historian.
Most students could tell a stranger where the Sparks Building is. Many might even know that the building is named after onetime university President Edwin Sparks. Pelliciotta seems to know even more about him: If she could have a dream date with any Penn State alum ‘celebrity,’ she says she’d pick Sparks.
And not just because he’s the ‘handsome man with the handlebar mustache,’ Pelliciotta says, but also because of his accomplishments as a president. In her opinion, the man who established the College of the Liberal Arts, as well many aspects of student government, lived true to his motto: ‘Carry the college of the state to the people of the state.’
A former Homecoming captain, Pelliciotta is not unfamiliar with tradition-rich nuances of the event. Her favorite part is seeing the past, present and future of Penn State all come together in a single weekend. What makes Homecoming unique, she says, is that ‘you see little kids yelling, ‘We are!’ and alumni reliving their college days like they were yesterday.’
As for her own memories, she says her favorite football-game memory is having beckoned the Nittany Lion mascot with her ‘We want the Lion’ chants.
Now, as a member of the Homecoming Court, she’ll certainly have the Lion’s ear more than once.
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