Every December, Penn State releases a short video to sum up the year and send a take-home message to viewers. This year was President Bendapudi’s first ~cinematic debut,~ and in years past, former President Eric Barron has painted a picture of the Penn State community at large and had cameos in “Home Alone” parodies.

Penn State emailed the video to students Thursday night and wrote, “To our wonderful students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends, thank you for being our favorite part of Penn State.”

In this year’s two-minute video, Bendapudi emphasized that students are her favorite Penn State thing.

The reel began in the Arboretum and highlighted activities to do there, including horticulture, birdwatching, reading, bug catching, playing the piccolo, and yoga.

Then, the video panned to other individuals sharing their favorite things to do by using the hashtag #favPSU.

To nobody’s surprise, Bendapudi was filmed at the Berkey Creamery raving about “her wonderful students,” including two student employees.

Scenes of the university paraded on the screen, including the student section, women’s soccer winning the Big Ten championship, commencement, sledding, and more. Other folks shared that their favorite things at Penn State are the school spirit, the passion people have for the university, monkey business ice cream, and the people.

Eberly College of Science Dean Tracy Langkilde’s answer was “the community,” and 2023 Hospitality Director Mikey Olenick said “THON.”

“We want to hear from you,” the lead actors said. “What are some of your favorite things to do around Penn State? Be safe, and enjoy your break. We Are!”