Holy cow, folks! Onward State can drive!

Happy birthday to the blog, which was founded 16 years ago on Sunday. In 2008, three freshmen in 43 Simmons Hall put their heads together and built what would become Penn State’s most-followed student-run news service.

They published “Rumor Mill,” a 29-word post suggesting that Girl Talk would appear at Penn State, on November 17. That rumor turned out to be true, and the rest is history.

Since then, Onward State has published more than 41,000 posts and garnered more than 340,000 thousand followers across our platforms on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Onward State, comprised of several hundred Penn State students over the years, has shared the Penn State story with our readers, one of our greatest honors.

At our core, our goal has stayed the same: to generate honest conversation in the hopes of enriching the Penn State community and experience. We’ve provided commentary that is fair, authentic, and sometimes humorous; analysis that is critical and irreverent; and news that is relevant and accurate.

Sure, we’ve made our fair share of mistakes over the years. If you’ve ever taken COMM 260W, we’re certain you’ve heard about those mistakes. However, we’re proud of the work we’ve done over the last 16 years to better the Penn State community.

We were the first outlet to tell you that Penn State would hire Neeli Bendapudi and Eric Barron, its current president and her predecessor. We’ve also called out those presidents and their predecessors when they’ve deserved it, even if it’s only through making you chuckle.

We’ve covered THON as it’s broken fundraising record after fundraising record For The Kids. We’re honored to tell the stories of those positively impacted by THON as we do the line dance in the media row of the Bryce Jordan Center. Of course, we’re always willing to provide an opposing point of view.

We’ve followed Penn State football far and wide, including trips to Pasadena, Atlanta, Tampa, and, worst of all, Ohio. In fact, as this post is published, our football writers and photographers are somewhere in Indiana making their way back from Purdue.

We’re looking forward to doing all of that and more for the rest of this year and the years that come ahead. Here’s to the Drunk, Sober, Highs, 10 Questions, Power Rankings, and more.

Before the celebration ends, let’s take a look at some of our best work of the past year.

To celebrate our 16th birthday, here are 16 of our best posts from the past year. You should have to read them.

An Ode To The Big Ten Commercial

Onward State Makes A Christmas Song: The 12 Days Of Blogmas

THON 2024 Raises $16,955,683.63 For The Kids

A Cathedral Is Useless If You Never Hold Mass: Penn State Basketball Should Permanently Return To Rec Hall

Penn State Wrestling Breaks National Championship Team Score Record

[Photo Story] Luke Combs Lights Up 80,000-Person Beaver Stadium Crowd

Rating Hot Dogs At Every Penn State Athletics Venue

Drunk, Sober, High: Solar Eclipse

Report: Jury Rules In Favor Of Fired Penn State Football Doctor Scott Lynch

Penn State Board Of Trustees Approves $700 Million Beaver Stadium Renovations

Social Media Goes Wild Over Penn Stater ‘Pommel Horse Guy’

Two Former Penn State Frat Brothers Plead Guilty In Tim Piazza Death

News & Notes From Neeli Bendapudi’s Live Stream & Conversation With Student Media

Penn State Debuts New Nittany Lion Costume

Donald Trump To Campaign At Bryce Jordan Center October 26

For the blog, always. Thank you.