They arrived as lowly freshmen who were forced to live in “supplemental housing,” that draconian dormitory arrangement that puts eight fledgling students into one crowded lounge.
Now, nearly four years later, two of those students stood in line together to experience one of Penn State’s great traditions. Graduating seniors Amy Zenerovitz and Catie Monahan awaited their chance to be photographed beside the Nittany Lion statue. It’s a photo op that offers one last chance to look back on life in Happy Valley.
“For me,” said Zenerovitz, a native of Clinton, N.J., “moving into a room with seven other girls was a big change. I’d never had to share a room before or sleep on a top bunk bed. But I was thankful to become close friends with Catie.”
“I would describe supplemental housing as sort of like summer camp,” said Monahan, from Atlantic Highlands, N.J.. “I was so upset because I had a roommate lined up (in a two-person room), but I didn’t do the paperwork. But we survived, and now we’re taking graduation pictures together.”
And it’s not just Zenerovitz and Monahan who showed up to say “Cheese.” It seems like the stately Nittany Lion draws a crowd at the end of each semester, especially in the spring. (I’m not sure just when the caps and gowns started showing up at the Lion’s lair, but I graduated a mere 43 years ago, and I don’t remember much happening at Heinz Warneke’s sculpture. Admittedly, I’m a townie from College Heights, so I walked by the Lion throughout my youth and rarely turned my head unless I was curious to see if those rascals from Syracuse had painted him orange.)
LONG LINES AT THE LION
In May of 2018, graduating seniors — or graduating grad students — should plan for a 2-3 hour wait, unless they arrive at non-peak hours. According to local photographer Bill Ames, the long lines are a direct result of the kinds of images that the graduates want.
“It used to be a very casual thing,” said Ames. “You would take one, maybe two poses. Today, everybody wants to document the experience, and they want dozens of photos. Everybody wants a lot of fun photos. I attribute that to social media.”
Many graduates use their wait to reflect on the prior four years or share memories with old friends. “Standing in line sucks,” says Haley DeNardo, a native of Watkins Glen, N.Y. who is receiving a Bachelor of Architecture degree. “But there is a weird feeling that we’re all doing it together. Penn State has a large alumni group, and that makes this less sad. I realize I’ll still have Penn State in my life.”
As for me, I appreciated the relaxed opportunity to talk with the graduates of 2018. Yes, I had a captive audience — an irony when you realize that most consider graduation as a time of liberation.
The Lion occasionally gets a reward for his patience with photo seekers. (Photo by Bill Ames)
HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED?
Few of my subjects hesitated at all when I asked, “How have you changed or matured during your college days?” Most offered something related to becoming more independent or confident.
Said DeNardo, “I became more confident with myself, and I think a lot of that had to do with living on my own. But in architecture, you have to find your own voice and know your own opinions.” Added Lauren Caldwell, a supply chain major from Oxford, Pa., “I know I can count on myself. If I put my mind to something, I know I can to it.”
Danielle Clark, a native of Queens, N.Y., is graduating with a political science major and a minor in African American Studies. “I went to a predominantly black branch campus and a predominantly black high school,” she said, “so I feel like Penn State introduced me to diversity — dealing with different cultures, backgrounds, different opinions. Penn State taught me to deal with others in a professional and scholarly way. And the opportunities Penn State offered were amazing, so I feel like I got what I paid for.”
Cuili Xue, from China’s Shandong Province, is actually not graduating from Penn State. She did her senior year here on a cooperative program and will receive her B.S. in electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. But she loved her time in Happy Valley, gladly got her picture taken with the Lion and happily described the growth in her life.
“I had a lot of free time,” she said. “I learned dancing and learned to do hand crafts. An important ability is to enjoy everyday life, that’s very important for me. The life here is much more peaceful.”
WHO IS THE MOST MEMORABLE PERSON YOU MET?
I walked along the queue and asked various graduates to name the most memorable person they met at Penn State — a faculty member, a fellow student or someone from the community. Almost to a one, they mentioned a faculty member, sometimes of the demanding variety. Who says today’s students don’t want to be challenged?
Angel Sipilia, a marketing major from Brooklyn, mentioned Johanna Slot, his professor in a writing-intensive marketing class.
“We conflicted a lot,” he said. “We had a couple heart-to-hearts. We had different opinions, but at the end of the day, she’s someone I will remember with very positive memories. I learned a lot from her. She makes things tough to drive home her lessons.”
“Dr. (Errol) Henderson,” said Clark, “he’s in the political science department and he taught one of the classes I failed. He’s an amazing person. He will read your work, word for word, and he allowed me to know there’s always room for improvement. He was a good mentor.”
Lauren Ritter, an information science and technology major from Landisville, Pa., named a teacher from her first semester who has since retired.
“Professor John Hill,” she said, “made me fall in love with my major. He was really great. He also had the same sense of humor as my father — sarcastic.”
WHAT IS YOUR BEST STORY FROM LIFE AT PENN STATE?
Of the 14 students I interviewed, only half could spontaneously recall an interesting story from their years on campus. I was amazed that of those seven, four talked about the very same moment: running onto the Beaver Stadium field after Penn State’s 2016 White Out victory over Ohio State.
“Definitely, it was rushing the field during the White Out,” said Kyle Bogdanovich, a petroleum engineering major from Lebanon, Pa.. “That was insane, it was like the entire student body going on the field at the same time. We were tailgating all day, so we were pretty crazy at that point. So when Grant Haley blocked the field goal everyone just erupted.”
(Actually, Kyle, it was Marcus Allen who blocked the kick and Haley returned it, but we understand the effects of tailgating.)
A graduate from Voorhees, N.J., preferred not to give his name, but he was as excited as anyone about the big victory over Ohio State.
“When we actually won and stormed the field,” he said, “I was towards the front and I was one of the first people on the field. That was incredible. Everybody in that stadium — it didn’t matter if you knew them or not — high fives, hugging ‘em, it didn’t matter. That was the moment you knew Penn State is like a family.”
Meanwhile, it somehow seems fitting that the girls from supplemental housing also found their way to the Beaver Stadium turf that night.
Said Zenerovitz, “Once we knew (Penn State would win), I grabbed everyone that was around me and we just went for it. Just being able to be down on the field with everybody — the community and family that is Penn State — I will never forget that feeling.”
Added Monahan, “When we actually won, Amy was the one pulling me over the barrier to get me onto the field because I was afraid I was going to fall. It was so much fun.”
Crowds gather and lines lengthen at the Nittany Lion Shrine during May, but graduates enjoy the chance to reminisce. (Photo by Bill Horlacher)
The Nittany Lion photo op is a rite of passage that can elicit various emotions. As for my interview subjects, Jimmy Bonilla noted that he’s saying goodbye to State College after an especially long stay. Bonilla studied at State College Area High School for two years before earning his B.A. in theatre at Penn State.
“To be honest,” said Bonilla, “it still hasn’t hit me. I feel like I should be feeling happiness or sadness. But it is weird to realize it’s my last couple days here. It will either hit me when I walk (at commencement) or when I drive away from State College.”
Clark is another person who is expecting to feel more emotion in a few days.
“When I applied to Penn State,” she said, “I knew I was going to graduate from Penn State. So it’s not a surprise. I’m always driven to achieve my goals and this was something I wanted. I’m the first in my family to go to college and the first to graduate. I think it will hit me on my graduation day.”
Zenerovitz chose the term “bittersweet” to describe her feelings at the Lion Shrine.
“It’s been a long ride here, honestly,” she said. “There were a lot of times when I didn’t know what I was doing, but I found people and I found my place.”
And how about one of those people who Zenerovitz found? How did Monahan describe her emotions as she approached the Lion? “It’s nice,” she said. “It’s a time to move on, but I’m sad that I’m not going to be a college kid any more.”
