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We Are… at the End of an Era. Or Is It Just a ‘Paws’?

On Saturday, Dec. 17, over 5,000 new graduates are expected to walk across the stage at the Bryce Jordan Center to receive their Penn State diplomas. One of those students will be our youngest son, Ryan, the last of our three children (Brianna – 2015 and Jonathon – 2016) to do so. It will be an emotional and bittersweet moment for sure as it brings an era to a close. Or does it? Only time will tell if future Battistas someday become Nittany Lions and wear a PSU cap and gown.

Ryan follows his grandmother Nellie Kline-Smith (class of 1943) and grandfather Francis Smith (1949), whose education was interrupted while serving the U.S. Army during World War II, his mother Heidi (1981 & 1983), and yours truly (1983). Besides Ryan’s grandparents, parents and siblings being Penn State graduates, his cousins Connie Fee, Cheryl Ann Plewa, Shannon Oehme, and her husband, Chris, are also Nittany Lions. We may need to adopt a student or two until the next relative makes the trek to Happy Valley!

For now, we will celebrate the present and take great joy as Ryan graduates with honors (which he clearly gets from his mother) from the Smeal College of Business with a degree in supply chain management and a minor in management information systems. He is also graduating a semester early, which means he’s both saving us money and giving me an unexpected but very welcome golfing partner for the next five months in South Carolina before he starts his full-time job. He will join medical technology leader Medtronic in June in their Global Supply Management Leadership Program in Minneapolis. 

We are so very proud of all three of our Penn State children, and this coming week we are especially proud and excited for Ryan. You’ll have to forgive me as I share a proud parent moment. Aside from a stellar academic record, earning Dean’s List every semester, Ryan has served as vice president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (attending the National Conference in Atlanta and Nashville), was a THON volunteer, worked regularly as an Intramural sports referee and umpire and was an employee at the Penn State Golf Courses. He Interned after his sophomore year with U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh and this past summer with Medtronic in Minneapolis. Medtronic just so happens to have a certain former Penn State hockey player (Geoff Martha) as its CEO, whose wife AND daughter also just happen to be Penn State graduates.

Oh, so that’s how Ryan got his job! Well, it was a part of the story, a Penn State story. But I can tell you that Ryan earned both the internship and the job (see credentials above) and was savvy enough to utilize his Penn State connection to assist in creating an opportunity. That is one of the reasons having 700,000 living alumni and their extended networks matters.

To say he made the most of his Penn State experience would be an understatement. He participated in various clubs and causes and had student season tickets for football (and learned the great tradition of Nittany Lion tailgating), men’s basketball and men’s hockey while supporting other PSU sports teams as well. He participated in flag football, basketball and softball intramural sports (even winning a softball championship), traveled to see the football team play on the road with good friends, went to see concerts at the BJC, worked at and played golf at the PSU golf courses and enjoyed the local social life without any major issues (at least any that his parents are aware).

Ryan Battista and friends at the Penn State football Senior Day game vs. Michigan State

There are way too many people to thank for their guidance and assistance over the years in helping all three of the Battista children to enjoy and benefit from their Penn State education and experiences. They were each blessed with roommates who have remained friends and professors, academic advisors and career counselors who went above and beyond at crucial moments in their development. To all of Ryan’s friends from over the years who we have gotten to know because of your relationship to “Bubba,” thank you all for adding a little something special to his life and to ours. Oh, and to the parents, especially of the wonderful group of State College kids that Ryan has been so blessed to grow up with, thanks from the bottom of our hearts.

This past Saturday night he was able to host some of his closest college buddies in the Pegula Suite at the Pegula Ice Arena for the Nittany Lion men’s hockey game against Ohio State. We are so grateful to Terry and Kim Pegula for making our Penn State Hockey family’s dream come true. I must give a shoutout to fellow Penn State alums John Sieminski and former women’s hockey standout Kelly Seward for their help throughout the years and to the staff at Pegula Arena for making it a world-class facility. 

Growing up in State College meant that going to Penn State could be considered a bit of a letdown for some local kids as it felt like grade 13. But I believe that in the end our children simply strengthened the bonds of their local friendships while increasing and enhancing their relationships with others from across the state, the country and the world. They enjoyed all the benefits of being at a major research university and Power 5 athletic school with one of the most prominent alumni bases in the world. 

Ryan Battista hosting his friends in the Pegula Suite at the Penn State men’s hockey game vs. Ohio State. 

In full disclosure, I have not been very happy with a lot of what has happened at Dear Old State in the past decade, from the botched handling of the crisis of 2011 to the self-flagellation surrounding it that we have allowed to go on for far too long.  Other schools (most notably Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and USC) have had terrible scandals only to escape the media spotlight after learning how not to handle a crisis from us. But that’s water over the dam and I am willing to forgive those responsible for the colossal collapse of leadership if we agree to move forward and stop beating ourselves up. I believe it’s time we heal our wounds once and for all, self-inflicted or not, and take this already great institution and collectively help it to reach the next level of excellence. 

Having had the opportunity to meet the new university president, Neeli Bendapudi, and new athletic director, Pat Kraft, I have great faith that we are past the lengthy period of mourning and are ready to roar into the future. I don’t personally care about the Paterno statue, and don’t believe Coach ever particularly cared for it anyway, but the time has come to recognize the man (and Sue) for the decades of amazing contributions that they have made to this area and the university. I hope for future generations sake that everyone involved will have the courage to admit mistakes were made, forgive each other, and to show some real leadership and make this the ultimate teachable moment “For the Glory.” 

The Penn State Family is everywhere and while we may not always agree on everything, we usually find a way to set aside our differences to support each other. We’ve already experienced the power and the magic of the “We Are!” network and the lifelong friendships and memories that it creates here in South Carolina, and we even experienced it several times on our family trip to Italy last May. We Are…everywhere! It is my sincere hope that future Battista and Smith and extended family members will be able to enjoy their own “We Are” experiences as much as the three generations that are concluding with Ryan’s graduation. 

While it may be 18 years or more before we have a grandchild of our own attend Penn State, there are a few grand-nieces and nephews that could keep the tradition going in the meantime. For now, I get to stay connected and live vicariously through others, as former Icer players, Lion Ambassador classmates and friends now have children attending. Is Dec. 17 the end of an era? Or simply a “paws” in our family’s journey as Nittany Lions? Time will tell.

To all the fall semester graduating students, whether you are graduating early (like Ryan), or needed a little extra time (like his father!), congratulations and may your “We Are” journeys continue to take you to new and bolder places.