Athletic Department Holds Yearly Open House

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. - The Penn State New Kensington Athletic Department held its regularly scheduled Open House in the Cafe on Saturday to welcome the newest Nittany Lion athletes to campus.

A plethora of prospective student-athletes filed into Cafe 780 Saturday afternoon following a warm welcome from New Kensington students and staff. The guests ate lunch behind the great windows looking into the snow-covered courtyard while they awaited their moment to sign their letter of intent.

The day consisted of a student-athlete panel in which visitors could listen and discuss the daily activities of college and sports. The board provided valuable insight into what it takes to be a college student and athlete at Penn State.

"We just tried to tell them really, this is the right time to be here if you want to come to New Kensington," said Freshman Guard Shyheim Flanagan (St. Martinville, La. / Westside) "Everything is looking good, on the right path and we're doing really good as a team. I feel like if there's any time to be here, the time is now."

The current student-athletes stressed the importance of academics in relation to also being a great athletic team. "I think the majority of it was primarily comprised of academics," said Senior Forward Joseph Dusabe (Toronto, Ont. / Fox Chapel) "Just because you know, you are a student-athlete but student comes first. We talked about your ability to manage your time correctly and now that you're in college you're going to have a lot more time than you would expect so you just need to be able to manage it accordingly."

With reference to life as a college student, the guests had a fantastic opportunity to hear a presentation on behalf of Student Life about the variety of events Penn State New Kensington students can participate in each semester.

"Student Life presented in a multitude of ways today," said Campus Activities Board President Nic Hill. "We talked about different ways that students can be engaged and involved on campus from either being in clubs, sports, different organizations as well as being a peer tutor. I did talk about other different clubs such as THON, our STEAM outreach club, E-Sports Gaming, Murder Mystery Club. Basically, just different ways students can be involved on campus besides athletics and academics."

The occasion for an open house also allowed for visitors and their families to hear from the Admissions Department. While this discussion mainly covered the transitional process from being a high school student to a college athlete, it was also a great chance for the recruits to ask questions about Penn State New Kensington's incredible academic possibilities.

"We talked about the application process," said Admissions Counselor Arthur McCray "we also talked about eligibility, once they are accepted the things they need to do to maintain their eligibility. We spoke about New Student Orientation, those types of things."

"Academics is a big part," added McCray. "And that is when we talk about eligibility. A lot of times students feel that they want to make decisions on their own but they're not aware of how it will impact their eligibility. Every major has an academic plan that consists of so many credits. As part of the academic eligibility, students have to pass at least 24 credits a year and what goes along with that is that if they drop a class, or they go below full-time, that could impact their athletic eligibility as well."

When the time to sign letters of intent came, the recruits had an exceptional record of experience in their respective sports. Another attractive feature of the New Kensington campus is its small classroom sizes and astonishing facilities, both athletically and scholastically.

"For me, I've always been super interested in Penn State as a school in general," said volleyball recruit Heidi Moser "Just having the opportunity to further my athletic and academic career here, I think it's the perfect fit."

Similar sentiments were made by other sports such as softball, whose team retained a number of great athletes to the program. "The aspect of them being willing to work with my education and as an athlete to be focused on the education piece but also to be guaranteed a spot to play," said recruit Nia Guess. "It felt like home as my father did build me a batting cage and it reminded me of the one I have at home so it was kind of easy to say yes because it already felt like home."

The volleyball team also made out very well with a considerable amount of promising athletes. "They actually reached out to me," said softball recruit Delaney Sierka "And everybody was so friendly and I really like the campus and it's not too far from my house. I still get to be around my family and still get to be around my friends."

Speaking on the athletic spaces on campus, the recruits were extremely pleased. "It was prettier than other schools that I have toured," added Sierka "I am excited to get the feel for things before I go to a larger school."

The Athletic Department generally holds its Open House twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. 

Written by Matt Heavner, PSNK Athletics Communications Intern