The People of Penn State
On each episode of The People of Penn State, you’ll hear Penn Staters talking about what they are passionate about, and you can feel the pride and the power of the Penn State network.
You can find the podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice. You can also check out the video version on YouTube. Subscribe and give us a rating on whatever platform you use. Ratings and reviews help others find these great stories. WE ARE!
Episodes
82 episodes since 2021
The Football Letter Podcast: Miles Dieffenbach / Long Island Chapter
The Football Letter Podcast is back from the bye week with a new episode!First (0:51), we talk with Long Island Chapter Board Member Lucille Mankowich to get an overview of the chapter and how it unites Penn Staters on game days ...
September 16, 2024
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54:56
The Football Letter Podcast: Arizona Cardinals Linebacker Jesse Luketa ’20 and Metro Washington, D.C. Chapter President, Emily Matyas ’17
This week on The Football Letter Podcast, we're joined by letterman and Arizona Cardinals linebacker Jesse Luketa '20 to preview his third season in the NFL. We also talked with Jesse about his nonprofit organization, the 40 Reasons Foun...
September 03, 2024
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44:09
Episode 66 — Nittany Lion Inn Renovations With Gary Brandeis '88
Gary Brandeis '88 is the Founder and CEO of Scholar Hotels LLC. Gary started his real estate career in 1990 and has been the principal partner in four real estate investment funds, investing over $350 million in all property types and in...
August 29, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 66
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42:57
The Football Letter Podcast: Letterman Lydell Sargeant / Broadcast Journalist Destiny Sanchez
A new Penn State Football season means it's also time for a new season of The Football Letter Podcast! 🏈We kick things off with Broadcast Journalist Destiny Sanchez '24 (0:50) to talk about her passion for sharing compelling and ...
August 26, 2024
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1:03:02
Episode 65 — Resilience Through Adversity With Tom Morris '03
Join us on this inspiring episode of The People of Penn State as we talk with Tom Morris ('03, Kinesiology), the Assistant Athletic Director For High Performance at Penn State. Renowned for his expertise in optimizing athl...
August 22, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 65
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57:29
Episode 64 — Two-Time Olympic Wrestler Kerry McCoy '97
The 2024 Paris Olympics are well underway and on today's episode of The People of Penn State we talked with two-time Olympian and Olympic coach, Kerry McCoy '97! Kerry competed at the Olympic Games of Atalanta 1996 and Sydney 2000....
July 30, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 64
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53:10
Episode 63 — Experiences Of Being A Penn State Cheerleader With Alumni Taylor And Danielle Sekelsky
Alumni Taylor and Danielle Sekelsky are among the more impressive Penn State duos around!Taylor (2015, Smeal College of Business) and Danielle (2023, Smeal College of Business) were both varsity cheerleaders during their time at Penn St...
July 08, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 63
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53:36
Episode 62 — Writing About American Civil War History With Professor Jonathan W. White '01
Today's episode of The People of Penn State is for all of you history buffs out there as we're joined by accomplished American Civil War author and professor, Jonathan W. White!Jonathan is professor of American Studies at Christopher Ne...
June 24, 2024
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37:20
Episode 61 — Outer Space National Security With Lockheed Martin's Maria Demaree '90
To infinity and beyond! 🚀🌌Alumna Maria Demaree '90 has been a part of Lockheed Martin for over 30 years and is currently the Vice President and General Manager of the National Security Space line of business at Lockheed Martin Space. Ma...
May 20, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 61
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32:28
Episode 60 — Swimming Across The English Channel With Jeannie Zappe '87
Fancy a swim? How about a swim across the entire English Channel? 🤯🏊On today's podcast, we chat with Jeannie Zappe '87, Speaker and Coach at Eternal Optimist LLC, and open water distance swimmer! Jeannie's personal feats include...
May 07, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 60
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46:02
Episode 59 — Serving In The U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps With Lieutenant Colonel Robert Michaels
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Michaels '02, '05 Dickinson Law, has served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps since January 2006. During his time as an Army lawyer, he has served in military units all over the world. In...
April 22, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 59
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43:34
Episode 58 — Autism and Neurodiversity Advocacy With Sarah Kernion '06
Misconceptions of autism and the frequency in which people are excluded, threaten access to the vital information, resources and support autistic people and their families need.Sarah Kernion '06, a distinguished global speaker and neuro...
April 08, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 58
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52:43
Episode 57 — How To Improve Workplace Culture With Rebecca Friese '93
From Fortune 500 giants to burgeoning startups, Rebecca Friese '93 navigates outdated practices in the workplace, fostering the capacity for impactful cultural changes. Rebecca is a seasoned change management leader dedicated to t...
March 21, 2024
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41:29
Episode 56 — Performing On Broadway With Jasmine Forsberg '21
Jasmine Forsberg '21 is an emerging star of Broadway...and she's a Penn Stater! Forsberg is currently performing in the hit Broadway musical "Six" after touring the country for over a yea...
March 07, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 56
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45:41
Episode 55 — Documenting Life At Penn State In Photos With Pat Little '77
From early days with the Daily Collegian to time spent with the Centre Daily Times and the Associated Press, photographer Pat Little '77 has chronicled life at Penn State for fifty years. Some of Pat's most famous phot...
February 29, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 55
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47:03
Episode 54 — Mental Health Awareness For Female Athletes With Erin Strout '97
Alumni Association Paul Clifford '20g is joined by journalist Erin Strout '97 for an engaging conversation on her career — including covering health, fitness, and Olympic sports — mental health awareness for female athletes, the state of media ...
February 22, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 54
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43:40
Episode 53 — Growing Company Human Resources With Anessa Fike '07
Anessa Fike, otherwise known as the "Queen of Fractional HR," is the CEO and Founder of Fike+Co, a multi-million-dollar consulting firm that specializes in interim or fractional people, human resources, and talent executive leadership with comp...
February 15, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 53
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33:59
Episode 52 — Memories Of Playing For Penn State Women's Basketball With Lisa Lambert '89
We have a Lady Lions basketball legend on today's episode of The People of Penn State, as we're joined by Lisa Lambert '89! Lisa's successes as a student at Penn State — and as a team captain for the Lady Lions in the late 1980s — have ...
February 07, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 52
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34:25
Episode 51 — Portland Thorns And U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Star, Sam Coffey '20
Today on The People of Penn State, we chat with professional soccer player Sam Coffey! Sam is a midfielder for the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League and the United States Women's National Team. Sam is a two-time NWSL...
January 18, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 51
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49:05
Episode 50 — Videography For The New York Rangers With Antonella Crescimbeni '17
Every day's commute to work is a "pinch me moment" for alumna Antonella Crescimbeni '17. Her office is the "World's Most Famous Arena," Madison Square Garden, home of the NBA's New York Knicks and NHL's New York Rangers, the latter of w...
January 11, 2024
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Season 3
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Episode 50
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29:05
The Football Letter Podcast: Peach Bowl Special
We're feeling peachy! With Penn State Football heading to Atlanta to take on Ole Miss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, we're bringing you a special postseason episode of The Football Letter Podcast!On the program, we're joined by 83rd Pres...
December 18, 2023
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1:02:02
Episode 49 — A Career In Art And Design With Brian Kappel '98
Since his time growing up in the Finger Lakes in New York, alumnus Brian Kappel (1998 - Visual Arts) has long had a passion for Penn State. This second generation Nittany Lion took a very different path which provided a one of a kind experience...
December 14, 2023
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Season 3
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Episode 49
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39:31
The Football Letter Podcast Special: Penn State All-Sports Museum / AAAOs
Welcome to this week's episode of The Football Letter Podcast as we close out the regular season with another great episode. First (0:56), we talk with Director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum, Lew Lazarow, about the museum's ...
November 20, 2023
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44:08
Episode 48 — Experiences Competing On The Amazing Race With Joe Moskowitz '10
The popular adventure reality television show, "The Amazing Race," is now in its 35th season...and one of the contestants is a Penn Stater! Alumnus Joe Moskowitz and his fiancé, Ian, started competing on the show in June of this year. J...
November 16, 2023
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Season 2
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Episode 48
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42:08
The Football Letter Podcast Special: Hawaii Chapter President Angela White
Aloha, Penn Staters, and welcome to the newest episode of The Football Letter Podcast! In this episode, we're joined by our Hawaii Chapter President Angela White to hear her Penn State story and discuss how the chapter aims to ke...
November 14, 2023
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26:09