Since arriving to London I have had two unplanned and one planned encounter with Penn State alumnus. Just before I arrived in August, Melissa put Ezra and I in touch with Kaitlyn Randol, a Penn State alum who was in the first PLA class. The three of us grabbed a pint earlier tonight and talked about Penn State, PLA, as well as her fascinating career in political consulting in Colorado, her travels through East Africa, and most recently her masters program in international development at LSE.
Last week, as I was eating lunch outside the library, someone stopped in front of me and said, “Hey, I know you from political science at Penn State.” We were both startled but after regaining our composure we realized we had both been attended a banquet for the political science department last spring. Justinian Yi is pursuing a masters degree in Public Administration at LSE.
The last encounter was even more unexpected. Two weekends ago, Ezra and I had the pleasure of attending a weekend retreat at Cumberland Lodge. The Lodge, which is located in Windsor Great Park, was built in 1650 by a captain who bought the land from Oliver Cromwell. The property did not stay out of royal hands for long, however. Following the restoration, King Charles II reclaimed the property and named it the official residence of the Ranger of the Great Park. Today the lodge is an educational charity focused on exploring connections between education, international affairs, law, media, and society. I apologize for the tangent, but I felt obligated to share my burgeoning passion for the monarchy.
Anyway, while we were there we had the pleasure of attending church at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, where the Queen goes every Sunday. On our walk back to the Lodge, I saw a man walking his dog with a Penn State hat and yelled something barely audible enough to communicate that I also went to Penn State. It was lovely.
Charles,
I am glad to hear that everything seems to be off to a good start in London! The reach of Penn State is something that I am also amazed by every time that I travel. The presence of Penn State students, fans, and alumni is expected in Pennsylvania, but the amount of “We Are!” chants and nodes of mutual Penn State acknowledgement that I have received even just in passing is special. I think it also highlights a certain amount of pride in Penn State in that so many are willing to continually identify with the university, especially in regards to using this mutual link to spark conversations with total strangers. That being said, I am sure that at some point either you or Ezra will be the Penn Stater in London that someone did not expect to encounter! Best of luck to you!
Charles,
First of all: You are in London…that is awesome! I hope you are having an amazing experience! Second of all: I totally agree. Penn State is everywhere. I am not sure if it is because we go to Penn State, so encounters with others who are also Penn staters, or even encounters with Penn State signs and stickers becomes more salient to us…or is it just that Penn State is actually everywhere. I think it is both, but also you met people in London so I guess they are everywhere! This is good though. it means we have a very large community all around the world:)