We Are
“We are…” wait what?
The chants I heard excessively during my first day at Penn State. Walking down the street, in my dorm, in the dining area, “we are” became the soundtrack to my freshman year. I did not know who we are, I don’t even know who I am.
Coming to Penn State I was oblivious of the school’s legacy, reputation and social construct. It’s complex to even analyze what Penn State is but I was able to boil it down to 4 core things: Penn State University is environmentally conscious, prideful, cult-like and consumed with football. But, was I a “we” with Penn State?
Penn State University is pride. It is overwhelming at first the amount of pride that emits from here, even being from the always boastful New York. See in New York, you don’t show your pride unless it is threatened by someone out of town who tries to minimize the significance of New York City as just another city. Here at Penn State, the pride oozes from the community in everything they do.

You can see it when you ask anyone about Sandusky, a former football coach that was charged with sexually assaulting children, they don’t allow him to deter their spirit. “He does not represent us,” my resident hall assistant, Andrea Ortiz, told me.
Penn State University is a cult. You cannot ever truly leave here, physically maybe but mentally they got you. From tailgates where people have Penn State branded grills, to how almost every store accepts Lion Cash (Penn State debit cards for its students), or how late on weekends you can see a few drunken alumni come back year after year to relive the “good ol’ days.” When I bought my first Penn State shirt I knew they had me, I was already thirsty to get matching sweatpants. Penn State can quickly become a way of life.

Penn State is environmentally conscious? Kind of. From the first moments you enter, they enforce their environmental standards on you. Aimlessly throwing away trash is not welcomed here. “There are various recycling bins at the front of every hall. There are ones for plastics numbers 4 to 6, compost, bottles, glass, aluminum …” Said my housing coordinator as she gave us a tour of our floor. I soon assimilated to separating my trash piece by piece making sure they were in the right bin. I realized, however, that their plethora of recycling bins aren’t available at every building, just most of them. So maybe Penn State is ¾ the way of being completely green.
Penn State University loves football. Penn State clearly adores athletes and sports, but nothing compares to the love it has for its football players and for football. Penn State loves the football team so much; they give them their own dining area while us “regular” students have a completely separate area to eat. Where’s the “we are” in that? From the coaches’ salary to the extensive football training areas we have around campus, football is the universities livelihood. I was barely prepared for my first tailgate, seeing thousands of Penn State football fans ready for the game dripping in blue and white attire.
“Who is Joe Pa?” I asked after hearing the name numerous times. My entire English class struck silent as they turned to me. I knew I had made a mistake but I wasn’t sure what it was. The professor repeated my question slowly, one guy in the class with a stern look on his face burst out with the history of Penn State football and the impact Joe Paterno had on Penn State.
That was the last football related question I ever asked. I wouldn’t dare ask what 409 meant; another saying I did not understand. It is safe to say, Penn State is football.

I learned about Penn State in a very short period of time, but was it me? Were we a we? First day of school, I walked around for hours looking for classes and had people point me in the wrong direction. I was lost. Having forced interactions with strangers called “ice-breakers” at every class and with my hall, creating extremely awkward conversations. I was uncomfortable. Moving into your two-person dorm and it actually being an 8-person room with 4 sets of bunk beds. I was shocked. And then realizing that you’re the outcaste because you are in an international building and everyone else is from another continent. I was out of place.

Being a first year student and being able to coexist with who you are and what Penn State is, is testing. The conformity is not impossible but it’s overpowering at times, you just want to find your classes and thrive in school not paint your face blue to show your loyalty on the first day.

“What’s happy valley?” A question that changed my life forever. One of my roommates asked it on a Wednesday night, she almost whispered it like it was a secret. My face lit up with joy as I sat up in my bed. I jumped up from my bunk, looked down at her and answered with the biggest smile on my face, “I don’t know.”


The key to becoming a we with Penn State, for me, was not about chasing the idea of what Penn State is, but it was about bonding with other students over your how much we don’t know. The perception of Penn State is not a reality for everyone, what is real is what you make out of coming here. So yes, some of us go to every football game and can recite all 933 building names here in alphabetical order. But, some of us still get lost getting around campus and still don’t know what 409 means. We all are Penn State, and the diversity of the students is what makes Penn State so boundless.
The things you learn quickly here is that your jacket will get stolen at a party, always be ready to yell Penn State at any given moment and that you can become a we with Penn State because I am, now, Penn State.

