UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State World Campus invites the University community to an event on Sept. 24 to celebrate its milestone of helping more than 40,000 people earn their Penn State degrees online.
The hybrid event, "A Homecoming Celebration of 40,000 Penn State Stories," will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 in the Outreach Building at Innovation Park. It is part of World Campus' Homecoming week festivities, and the World Campus Homecoming float will be on site for photos.
The event will be streamed live via Zoom for those who are attending online. Registration is required.
The celebration culminates a yearlong series, “40K Alumni,” that spotlights the success stories of graduates from across the globe. It also comes as Penn State is celebrating a separate historic moment, awarding its one-millionth degree this summer.
The graduates who completed their degrees online have used their Penn State education in countless ways. For some, the degree was a launchpad to advance their career or begin a new endeavor or further their education. Some are trailblazers — the first in their families to earn a college degree, paving the way for others to follow them. Some finished their degrees while working full-time or serving in the military. Others earned their degree while working for Penn State, showing commitment to further their education and improve the learning experience of today’s students.
The program will include remarks from World Campus leadership. Three alumni featured in the “40K Alumni” series will serve as guest speakers. Breakout sessions for networking will take place online. Light refreshments will be served for in-person attendees.
Here are the alumni who will speak during the event:
- Hamza Khan, who earned his master's in the psychology of leadership, will talk about learning to make a decision and commit to it rather than chasing the perfect one.
- Cait Donovan, who earned a bachelor’s in biobehavioral health, turned a single course from World Campus into the launching pad for a book she's releasing this fall.
- Rob Nelson, who earned a master’s degree in lifelong learning and adult education through an Army fellowship in El Paso, Texas, spent nearly three decades at nine colleges before finding a program that fit — a road that eventually led him to a doctorate at Vanderbilt and a fellowship at MIT.
The event is part of the Penn State World Campus "Roar Where You Are" series, hosted by the Penn State Alumni Association's World Campus Alumni Society, the World Campus chapter of the Blue & White Society, and the World Campus Homecoming Committee.
Register for the “A Homecoming Celebration of 40,000 Penn State Stories” event online.