Graduating seniors reflect on their Penn State journeys
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State commencement 2022 is almost here — and it is an exciting occasion for graduating students. Their time as undergraduates is ending, their degrees the culmination of their grit and hard work as Penn State students.
A large group of parents, friends and students congregate on the stone walkway of the Nittany Lion shrine. Graduating students gather around the lion, smiles stretching ear-to-ear and donning their brilliant, blue graduation gowns.
Parents take pictures as students pose with the proud statue, the atmosphere overwhelmingly lighthearted and pleasant. Beautiful, green foliage frames the scene perfectly — it makes for a nice and memorable photo.
However, the prospect of starting a new chapter in life is not only exciting and cause for immense celebration, but it also allows for a moment of reflection.
Three graduating students did just that: reflecting on their Penn State journeys, their greatest accomplishments and most pertinent takeaways.
Brian Krall: ‘you’re always where you should be’
Brian Krall (senior-biology) is a theater minor and has been heavily involved with student activities ever since freshman year of college — a driven thespian and aspiring med school student.
“I auditioned for Penn State Thespian Society’s first production in the fall of 2018 of Young Frankenstein,” said Krall. “From there I auditioned for No Refund Theater’s production of Boeing Boeing.”
These are just a couple of productions that Krall was involved in. He would later go on to be involved in many, many more — and spanning his entire college career.
Krall was the vice president of the Performing Arts Council (PAC), which is responsible for promoting cooperation between the many student run arts groups at Penn State. He was also president of PAC this year, but retired April 1.
Furthermore, Krall is a Lion Ambassador and is looking forward to attending graduate school, where it will hopefully “lead to a career in pediatrics of some kind, or a specialized field.”
Blake Pierson (senior-biology), Krall’s roommate, thinks of Krall as a friendly, hardworking person.
“He’s a sweet guy,” Pierson said. “But yeah, he’s involved in a lot, so he’s kind of constantly always doing stuff.”
According to Pierson, Krall enjoys being around others — whether that means attending meetings, spending time with other thespians, or being involved in shows.
“I didn’t really have any aspirations into what I thought college is going to be socially,” Krall said. “I knew I wanted to [be a] thespian and do theater. That was the extent of what I knew I wanted to do. Once I got that first show, the rest fell into place.”
Despite having a “really hard adjustment” his first semester of college regarding some courses, Krall said that he regrets very little and is overall happy with the path he took, saying “you’re always where you should be.”
“I wouldn’t change any C I got, any bad organic chem test grade I got for [the] new experiences I had. I think I did everything I wanted to do,” he said. “If I can go back though, I think something I’d like to do is get involved with more stuff earlier. It really wasn’t until I became president of Arts Council that I knew about other orgs, but I wish I learned more about them before, kind of made myself more aware.”
Krall also took COVID-19 in stride, saying that it helped him become a better person, choosing not to look at it as he “lost two years,” but rather, “gained two years.”
“Helping the arts community bounce back from COVID and connect, and like, reestablishing those COVID guidelines and making sure you perform safely…I think that I wouldn’t have done most of that necessarily, or I wouldn’t have had such a big leap if it wasn’t for the pandemic.”
According to Krall, the biggest takeaway is that college mirrors life: you get as much out of it as you put into it.
“If you put yourself into it 100%, you will get 110% out of it,” Krall said. “There is no shortage of opportunity or people who want to be your friend here.”
Daniel Hancuff stresses to ‘find new opportunities’
Daniel Hancuff (senior-Asian studies) is a Chinese/history minor, as well as the division head of the esports club of fighting games and content chair for the League of Legends division of the esports club.
Hancuff started taking Chinese language courses in high school, and he would later go on to take them his first four semesters at Penn State.
He chose Asian studies as his major because of an interest in Japanese culture; his interest then expanded to Chinese culture, South Korean culture and South Asian culture.
“When I was younger, my mom introduced me to Studio Ghibli. And so, the first thing that interested me was the culture,” Hancuff said. “I went to India when I was in high school as well. As my mother was putting on a college trip because she’s a professor, and I decided to tag along as a high school student.”
After going to India, Hancuff felt at home with the Asian studies major, saying that it “hit everything” that he was interested in.
Despite being confident in his major, Hancuff thought that college would be very challenging; however, he later found out that his worries were unfounded.
“I thought it was gonna be like, ‘Oh my god, this is going to be so hard,’” he said. “High school kind of kicked my ass early on. I figured college was going to be a lot harder. But honestly, I adapted to it pretty well.”
While Hancuff adapted to being away from home and the college environment in general, the COVID-19 pandemic marked the beginning of a period of time where Hancuff felt less motivated.
“The №1 bad thing it did was kill some of the work ethic we had,” he said. “It hasn’t been that bad for me where it’s like I don’t go to classes and stuff like that. But online learning is kind of a soul crusher, honestly.”
Even though he experienced burnout from online learning, Hancuff remained dedicated to his extracurriculars during the pandemic, as he said that gaming helped him relax.
Hancuff’s greatest achievement as a Penn State student was running the fighting game club.
“It’s just something that I’m very passionate about,” he said. “And [it’s] something I came in freshman year doing, and then I was just a member of it, and now I run it.”
Alexander Lutz (junior-computer science), Hancuff’s friend, said that Hancuff is a dependable person, claiming that “if you need something, if you have an issue, he’s willing to help out.”
“He’s just very committed to it. Like, he takes his computer all the way from Pollock to Willard every Thursday, like in a cart, and to me that’s actually insane,” Lutz said. “If you’re new there, he’ll be like, ‘Okay, what do you want to play?’ and then tell you what games he has, how to do each one.”
Lutz said that he will miss Hancuff, saying that “it’s going to be very strange at fighting game club without him.”
Hancuff’s advice to new college students is to “find new opportunities,” go to a club that looks interesting, or maybe even try something new that doesn’t interest you at first.
“That’s what college is for,” Hancuff said. “[There are] a lot of resources to just, find something that you’re passionate [about].”
Marley Bradner reminisces about THON
Marley Bradner (senior-biology) is a member of the Penn State Thespian Society and the vice president of No Refund Theater, participating in many productions throughout her time at Penn State. She was also a new student orientation leader during the summer of 2020.
“I started off involved with the Penn State Thespian Society, which I’m a member of,” she said. “And I’ve done all the productions that they have done. I’ve been in their children’s shows, I’ve done their masquerades and other cabarets that they do.”
Another thing that Bradner was heavily involved with was THON, being on the operations committee for three years. This year she was not on the committee as she danced in THON for No Refund Theater.
Going into college, Bradner was accustomed to Penn State as she came from “a pretty big Penn State family.”
“So, I was very familiar with the campus and the atmosphere and everything that came with being a Penn State student,” she said. “I knew pretty quickly that I wanted to get involved. I knew it was going to be a big campus with lots of people. I was very well prepared for all of that.”
Despite her being prepared for everything Penn State, Bradner said that she was under the impression that by the time she was graduating, she would know what she wanted to do after college.
“And I definitely don’t,” she said. “It really has just helped me figure out what I don’t want to do, which you know, that can be pretty helpful as well. Where I thought it was just going to be sort of like a place to grow academically, it’s really just helped me grow as a person and I’m very confident in the person that I’ve become.”
James Gaschler, Bradner’s friend, who graduated in 2021 with a degree in criminology, echoed Bradner’s sentiment.
“My first impression of Marley was someone that was very confident, that knew what she wanted, that wanted to have new experiences in life and wasn’t afraid to go for it,” he said. “She spoke about THON and her experience and getting to see her actually on that floor dancing — it was such a special moment for me to see her truly flourish in that environment.”
Bradner said that her proudest achievement was dancing in THON.
“I’ve been involved in THON for a very, very long time,” she said. “Being able to stand for 46 hours — both personally being able to do that and know that I’m capable of pushing myself to do something that challenging, and then also the meaning behind it, and being able to raise awareness, and being part of a record-breaking year. THON raised more money than it ever has in its history, and that was just really, really empowering — and probably the best moment I’ve ever had.”
Bradner’s message to those starting college is to “get involved,” something she has told incoming students as an orientation leader.
“The thing I always, always told them was find your place, because if you’re here there is a place for you,” she said. “Get involved in something.
“College is way more than a degree.”
