In my freshman year of high school, my basketball coach gave me a rubber bracelet with the acronym F.A.M.I.L.Y. printed in big, bold letters. He told my team that it stood for, “Forget about me, I love you.” The bracelet was meant to remind us to support one another, to put each other first, and to remember that we were a family.

When I decided to attend Penn State, I knew all I wanted was to find my people, my friends, my family. 

I could have finished my college career with only a degree in hand, and Penn State still would’ve been an important chapter of my life. However, I can say confidently that my college experience would not have become the best years of my life if it weren’t for those I met along the way.

If you know me, you know that I love bragging about the amazing people in my life. So, with my dying last breath as a member of Onward State, my senior column is an ode to my fellow Penn Staters, my best friends, my people, my family.

Shunk Hall

My freshman year, I was assigned to live in the Pollock dorms. The first night I moved in, I was alone as my roommate hadn’t arrived yet and someone knocked on my door. It was a random kid (who was later arrested at Penn State) asking me if I wanted to do drugs with him. I quickly declined, locked my door, and started questioning what I got myself into with this whole college thing.

I really struggled in my first semester. Penn State felt so big, yet so small, and unfamiliar. 

Then I met Ava Gelfand, Nina Lafratta, and Morgan Stepanski.

Just as I was getting ready to fill out a transfer application to Virginia Tech, I had an impromptu hangout with three girls who lived on my floor that changed my perspective on Penn State. Nina, Ava, and Morgan, you saved me. 

The four of us did everything together, including Chick-fil-A runs, movie nights, spikeball, and attending ZBT’s State Patty’s party where we met Nick Singleton (I thought I peaked that day). This will forever be remembered as our “COVID-23 scandal.” I’ll also never forget when the four of us went off-roading in the tailgate lots and I almost flipped my car. Not our smartest idea, but it depicts our freshman year perfectly: chaotic, fun, and definitely fearful.

Ava, Nina, and Morgan weren’t just my first true friends at Penn State. They were the reason I stayed long enough to find the rest of my family.

PRamily

Public Relations Family – or, as I know it, PRamily. 

I’ve been a part of the Public Relations committee since my freshman year, serving as a captain the past two years for THON. THON isn’t really big where I’m from, but as soon as I learned about it at Penn State, I knew I wanted to be involved. I was excited to be a part of something bigger than myself.

Over the past few years, and especially through my time serving as a captain, THON became the place where I experienced the most authentic version of the Penn State community. Through the organization, I met some of the best people on the planet. What makes the community so unique is that it’s filled with people from all different backgrounds, interests, and talents, all coming together for the same purpose: raising money for childhood cancer.

One of the most common questions asked within the THON community is “What’s your favorite THON memory?” Mine is being with friends when the total for both THON 2025 and THON 2026 was revealed. Standing in the BJC, surrounded by people I love, I felt so much pride. Not just pride in the total money raised, but also pride in my friends, their selflessness, and all of Penn State’s hard work.

A close second is being knuckles deep in a jumbo bowl of croutons during teardown this past year, having the giggles with my co-captains because we were delusional from sleep deprivation.

My friends within PR supported me and lifted me through some of the busiest, hardest, and most chaotic days of my life. From everyone I crossed paths with, I was reminded that leadership and community aren’t about titles or convenience; it’s about giving yourself to something bigger than you. 

So to Livi Yudt, Grace Rymdeika, Catie Baer, Abby Conrad, Vraj Patel, Ben Guenther, Maggie Chilcutt, Brian Meluskey, Hannah Guidotti, Bella Fernandes, and everyone else who was on PR with me over the years, you guys are the best. Thanks for being you and being a positive influence in my life.

Sigma

My girls.

I joined my sorority my freshman year in hopes of expanding my circle. Joining a sorority was never something I expected for myself, but man, am I glad I did.

Through Sigma, I met my best friends: Tara Mulholland, Bella May, Lana Burke, Hannah Workman, Eva Oberhuber, and Melanie Minnier. These girls are the relationships I always dreamed of having. We’re all different, but we just work. These are the people I can spend hours on end with, laugh the hardest with, cry with, and I know will be at/in my wedding.

My most prominent memory with them occurred during my sophomore year. We went out together and it was hands down the best day of my college experience. We danced, we sang, I held Hannah on my shoulders, and Tara and I did chest bumps. It was silly fun. Being around these girls gives me the sensation that I can exhale. They are my safe place.

Tara, Bella, Lana, Hannah, Eva, Melanie, and our extended Sigma family, some of my best college memories are with you guys. I want nothing more than to see your success in life because you all deserve the world. To my lovely ladies, thanks for being you. Please never change. Doggie’s daylong soon?

Onward State

My nickname is Yadz to many. I’ve been called Yadz since I was in elementary school, but it was never something that I explicitly told people to call me. After I joined Onward State my freshman year, someone on staff umpromptedly called me Yadz, and it stuck, naturally. Hearing that nickname that was oh so familiar to me at a time when I truly needed to feel like I belonged, I knew I had found my place at Penn State. 

I was a part of Onward State’s football beat for the past three years, and if you read the road trip recaps from this year’s football season, you know that Oscar Orellana, Cooper Cazares, Collin Ward, Ericka Apolskis, and I traveled to multiple Big Ten schools together. What you didn’t see was the games we played during long car rides, the feeling of accomplishment we shared after walking out of Beaver Stadium one last time together, the inside jokes, the places we explored, giving myself a concussion, and Ericka falling asleep on me at night. Thank you football beat for giving me the semester of a lifetime and being a part of my dreams coming true.

Beyond all the articles, photos, laughs, and tomfoolery, I watched Mikey DeAngelis, Ally Eaton, Keeley Lamm, CJ Gill, Jack Anderson-Jussen, and so many others, not only lead by example but lead with kindness and passion. From my younger folks, Hannah Guidotti, Emily Bonavita, and Melanie Thalhimer, I was reminded that maturity is not defined by age. You girls are wise beyond your years and it shows in your character. From Ella Wehmeyer, Tia Kaschauer, and every OS staffer, I saw firsthand that grittiness goes a long way.

While I’ll forever be in debt to the blog for providing me the opportunity to achieve my dream of photographing college football, amongst other sports, I also can’t thank Onward State enough for giving me some of my best friends. 

Thank you, blog, for the memories, the experiences, the opportunities, and most importantly, the people.

The Yadzinski’s & Czelusniak’s

For those who don’t know, I’m an only child. Although a lot of people think I have a brother, which I take as the biggest compliment. I think it comes from how I was raised. My family and I have always been a team, especially my parents and I. We’ve seen each other through it all, especially during the holiday seasons. I’ve witnessed multiple fires, broken collar bones, someone who shall remain nameless being tazzed, my 11-year-old cousin getting an athlete scooter as a gift, drunken jokes, out-of-pocket white elephant gifts, and so much more. Chaotic, right?

My family helped me learn how to find comfort in the chaos just from the environment we have together. Finding comfort in the chaos fostered my outgoing personality, love for conversing, and embracing everyone with open arms. My family is the reason I love people so much and gave me the mindset that friends are family. So, to my family, thank you for shaping me into the person I am today. 

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for continuing to be my role models, best friends, and inspiration. You’ve seen me at my best, my worst, and everything in between. You guys are the team that taught me the importance of maintaining relationships, making new ones, handling conflict with grace and kindness, and so much more. 

To my grandfather, thank you for helping provide the means for me to attend a wonderful university, for being a constant in my life, and for being the glue to our family. 

To all of the Yadzinski’s and the Czelusniak’s, I would not be where I am today without you guys. Thank you for becoming honorary Penn Staters, putting on the best tailgates, taking shots with my friends, showing up when I need you always, and raising me to become the person I am today. 

I love you all.

Closing Time

I could continue to share countless memories and thank everyone I’ve ever crossed paths with because they’ve made a greater impact on me than they’ll ever know, but then you’d be reading a 700-page novel.

So, folks, if you take anything away from this, forget about me; I love you.

Disclaimer: Don’t ACTUALLY forget about me. I’d like to think that I made my mark on this place. 

Cheers to all my fellow alums and those still enjoying some of the best years of their lives. Penn State, I love you. 

Yadz out.