UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — John Barlett grew up in a Penn State family. Now, the College of Education alumnus is watching that legacy continue with his own children.
“I never considered going to school anywhere but Penn State,” Barlett said. “I knew from growing up around here how special the University is, both as an institute of higher learning and as an atmosphere.”
Barlett graduated in 1992 with a bachelor of science degree in secondary education. In 1995, he commissioned as an officer in the United State Air Force. From 2004 to 2007, he taught Air Force ROTC at Penn State. He returned to the University in 2015, after retiring from the Air Force, and now serves as the human resources strategic partner for the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
Barlett and his wife, Jennifer, met in 1994, while she was an undergraduate student at University Park. Jennifer graduated in 1995 with a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, and the couple married in 1996. She now works as the graduate enrollment coordinator/records in the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Penn State. The couple’s two children are continuing the family’s Penn State tradition.
“We told our kids they could go anywhere they wanted, but both ultimately realized just how beneficial it is to have a Penn State degree,” John said.
Daughter Sadie Barlett earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts in 2026 and currently works in the Department of Anthropology and School of Labor and Employment Relations. Son Jeff Barlett, class of 2027, is majoring in cybersecurity analytics and operations in the College of IST and is a member of the Penn State Chapter of the Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society.
John’s earliest memory of Penn State goes back 50 years to a football game he attended with his dad.
“He was part of the First Aid ambulance crew, and I remember standing on the field near the north end of the stadium,” John said. “What I remember most about that game is how loudly my dad was cheering.”
It was many years later before he realized just how deep his family’s Penn State connections went:
- John’s great-grandfather on his father’s side, Clarence Yearick, worked at the Nittany Lion Inn in the 1940s and 1950s.
- John’s paternal grandmother, Charity Yearick Barlett, retired in 1974 as Penn State registration manager after 23 years of service.
- John’s maternal grandfather, William L. Maule, earned a bachelor of science degree in forestry in 1927.
- John’s maternal grandmother, Virginia A. Maule, retired in 1975 as the secretary for the dean of the College of Education. John has the chair she received for her 25-years of service milestone at Penn State.
- John’s father, Larry Barlett, earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1963 and a master of education in 1971. His cousins, Daniel Slegal and Robert Yearick, pursued their undergraduate degrees at the same time as Larry.
- John’s mother, Margaret Maule Barlett, worked at Ritenour Health Center as a phlebotomist from 1960 to 1961 and in the Registrar’s office in the Shields Building from 1987 to 1991.
- John’s sister, Stephanie Barlett Rainwater, graduated with a general arts and sciences degree in 1989.
“Much of what I’ve learned about my own family’s Penn State history was discovered many years after my grandparents and my father passed away,” John said. “I wish I could have talked to them about their experiences, but I’m grateful that I’m able to share what I’ve learned about them with my own family.”
He encouraged others to explore and appreciate their family’s unique connections to Penn State.
“Meeting my wife, watching my daughter graduate, my son being born at Mt. Nittany Medical Center, making life-long friends as a proud Sigma Phi Epsilon brother and attending home football games from 1981 to 1994 with my grandfather (except when I sat in the student section as an undergrad), all of these are fond memories,” he said. “And I’m quite happy to keep making new memories, especially with my family and their continued experiences with Penn State.”
Editor's note: One million Penn State degrees means there are one million unique Penn State stories. This is a sample of one of the many ways Penn Staters are using their degrees to change lives, elevate impact and make a difference.