The list is out! Every person that graduates from Penn State leaves with a wealth of knowledge, but some alumni go on to do, well, “distinguished” things. Eight alums received the award this year. Eligibility for the award though is fairly vague:

All persons who have been regular full-time students in a degree-granting program at Penn State, whether or not they have graduated, are eligible. Students in correspondence courses, noncredit courses, or informal extension instruction courses are not eligible, nor are current members of the Board of Trustees, current members of the University staff, or current members of the executive board of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Winners of the award this year include:

Todd Blackledge (1983) played football at State, taking the Nittany Lions to the National Championship in 1982, winning it all. He had a short stint in the NFL, playing for Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Todd now works for ESPN as a football commentator. He graduated from the College of Communications in Speech Communication. Blackledge currently resides in Canton, Ohio.

Jigme Yoser Thinley (1976) is the Prime Minister of Bhutan, the small mountainous country that abuts China. The country had been ruled by a monarchy for centuries until March 2008 when it held its first democratic elections. Thinley was elected to office from the Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party. He earned his masters in Public Administration, becoming the first Bhutanese person to attend Penn State University.

The whole list can be found here.