Penn State goes live at Lincoln Center

Penn State goes live at Lincoln Center

New York, N.Y. -- An air of anticipation and excitement permeated the room last night (March 31) as prospective Penn State students and their parents awaited the start of a special evening in New York. The event they attended was more than the typical Penn State admissions program; this night, they also were special guests at a sold-out performance by Penn State students in the Musical Theatre Program and the Essence of Joy Choir at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

One of the students attending the admissions program, Jeff Gartman, already has accepted admission to Penn State University Park to study in the School of Information Sciences and Technology starting this fall. Gartman is a senior at Collegiate School, a small independent boys' high school in New York.

"Most of the kids in my school go to Harvard, Princeton or Yale when they graduate, but I wanted Penn State," Gartman said.

His dad, a 1963 alumnus from the Reading area, brought his family to Pennsylvania for vacation the summer before Gartman started ninth grade.

"We stopped at Penn State, and went on the tour," Gartman said. "Something just clicked, and I absolutely loved it." He came back to Penn State University Park in August for the Spend a Summer Day at Penn State program.

Gartman said that although he already had seen the admissions program, he came to the event because of the performance.

"Seeing them perform will give me a good idea of what Penn State students can do," he said.

After the admissions presentation, the prospective students and their parents joined hundreds of Penn State alumni from the New York area at a pre-show reception.

"An event like this makes you appreciate that Penn State clearly is becoming a first-tier university in this country," said Lou Martarano, a 1976 Penn State graduate. "This shows that the stature of the University in the nation, not only in the sciences and engineering, but also in the arts, is rising. Penn State is hitting on all cylinders and doing everything right."

Paige Nagle, honorary alumnae and wife of Art Nagle, chair of the National Council on Penn State Philanthropy, agreed. "Bringing out all these people to see this and having this venue is fantastic." Having alumni see this type of quality program helps such programs grow, Nagle said. She said that not that long ago, Penn State's Musical Theatre Program was just getting off the ground. "Just a few major donations from alumni helped to build the program, and now it's a premier program," she said.

Martarano said he appreciated the program for its ability to have alumni reconnect with the University and with each other.

"When New York City alumni meet each other, they get a sense of just how well alumni are doing here," he said. "It also gives alumni a sense of how the University is advancing and moving forward."

More than 750 alumni attended the event, and many more would have liked to have been there.

"We have the largest dues-paying Alumni Association in the nation, and they're very active," said Roger Williams, executive director of the Alumni Association. "By involving some of them in this event, we're giving them the opportunity to share their Penn State experience with fellow New Yorkers. It also helps us to stay connected with them."

Staying connected to alumni is key for a university such as Penn State.

"Alumni are the lifeblood of our University," said Rodney Kirsch, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations. "Their word-of-mouth endorsements help get lots of potential students interested in learning more about us. Many of them are generous with their time and their money, as well, which is increasingly important in the current budget situation. I can't stress enough how much we appreciate all that our alumni do for Penn State."

Last night's event came about after a successful visit by Penn State to the Apollo Theatre a few years ago. According to Ed Escalet, director of minority admissions and community affairs, Penn State President Graham B. Spanier attended that event, and spoke with a number of high school guidance counselors and students.

"The president came out of that event with a vision," Escalet said. "Although the admissions presentations are very successful, he thought it would be even more beneficial to bring alumni and prospective students together to allow the prospective students to hear first-hand from alumni what it's like to be a Penn Stater. The best way to do this was to build it around an entertainment event."

Sponsored in part by AT&T Wireless, the action-packed musical program was attended by 1,100 enthusiastic potential students and their families, as well as alumni who live and work in the greater New York area.

The night was meaningful to the students who performed, as well.

"This was an amazing privilege," said Whitney Sheridan, a sophomore musical theatre student. "When I enrolled at Penn State I never imagined I'd be performing at Lincoln Center in my sophomore year. It's an incredible experience."

Sophomore Emily Peterson agreed.

"Our director said that so many greats have performed in Alice Tully Hall, and each one has left a piece of their soul. It's good to have left our mark here as well," she said.

Essence of Joy choir member Derek Switzer, a junior studying math education, also will remember the night for a long time.

"I got chills up there," he said. "It was great."

By all accounts, the event was a resounding success, thanks to the collaboration among staff from Admissions, Development and the Alumni Association, as well as faculty and students from the Musical Theatre Program and the School of Music. These units worked together to coordinate the various aspects of the day, ensuring a smooth flow of events and a top-notch performance last night.

"Based on the success of this event, it's reasonable to conclude that we could fill an even larger venue if we did this again next year," Spanier said.

For pictures from Lincoln Center, visit http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2004_04_01_lincolncenter