Katie Contino is a freshman studying biology at Penn State University. Originally from Cary, North Carolina located right outside of Raleigh she chose Penn State for the great academics and because of her family’s attachment to the school. Katie has an older sister who is a senior at Penn State and both her parents are Penn State alumni. She is an avid sports fan supporting not only Penn State teams, but also Pittsburgh teams. Her two favorite sports to watch are football and hockey. Katie loves her golden retriever Scooby who she sadly does not see often because he still lives in North Carolina with her parents. Although Katie is a picky eater, she loves coffee and after working at Starbucks has become hooked on their delicious drinks. In high school Katie was a member of the golf team. Katie loves to travel and explore America’s national parks. In the dorm she is always sure to take good care of her plants and maintain a clean environment. Learn more about Katie in the interview below!
Why do you display stickers on your laptop?
I display stickers because they are fun. I like to be reminded of my favorite things throughout the day. I love watching the office, dogs, Pittsburgh sports and taking pictures. These are all things and activities that are displayed on my computer.
Which sticker do you get the most comments on?
I get the most comments on my golden retriever sticker, which is fun because I love to talk about my dog and love to hear about other people’s dogs.
What is your favorite sticker?
My favorite sticker is my Jeep and dog sticker because it incorporates two of my favorite things: Jeeps and dogs. My dad has always driven and loved working on his Jeep, and I hope in the future to own a Jeep. The dog on the sticker just makes it even more perfect for me.
Where do you get most of your stickers?
I found all my stickers from RedBubble.
What does the 409 sticker on your laptop signify?
Joe Paterno won 409 games for Penn State football.
Are you missing any stickers or what sticker would you buy next?
I would probably put on a How I Met Your Mother sticker because the show is very funny and I enjoy references to it.
I have a few stickers on my laptop, and I completely agree that this is a fun, but subtle way to share your interests with other people. Sometimes it can even be used as a conversation starter too, which is a cool way to find things I have in common with people. At first glance at this laptop, I assumed that the 409 sticker was simply an area code, as I’ve seen a lot of stickers that are 215 (the Philly area code) or 908 (central jersey aka my area code). Like Katie, my parents are both Penn State alum and avid sports supporters, my dad even has a “JP 409 Forever” tshirt, and I would have never realized the connection between that and this sticker without reading this post, which I think is really cool!:)
Such an interesting topic! I have seen so many types of stickers on water bottles and laptops around campus, so getting to see how some people put meaning behind them is very captivating. An idea for future posts could be questioning the readers if they can guess what stickers are on the interviewee’s laptop based on their background information. For example, when you said that Katie’s parents went to Penn State, I was certain there would be some PSU stickers on there!