Lion Ambassadors

Got pride? Penn State Pride, that is!

If so, you might want to consider joining the Penn State Beaver Lion Ambassadors. This cocurricular organization will allow you to sharpen your public speaking skills, meet new friends, and of course, show off your Penn State pride...all while earning course credit!

For more information about becoming a Lion Ambassador, contact Dan Pinchot, director of enrollment, at 724-773-3806.

Meet a Lion Ambassador

Nick Pelino

Nick Pelino’s father attended Penn State Beaver. Every time the Ohio native and his family visited his grandmother’s Beaver County home, they passed the campus’ regal stone pillars. So when Pelino decided to visit the campus for the first time after his sophomore year in high school, he was fairly certain it was going to feel like home. Then he met his tour guide, Lion Ambassador Alissa Ketterer, who made that homey feeling official.

Sure, she highlighted the hot spots – the Wellness Center, the Bistro, the fact that you can earn a big-time degree and have your professors know your name – but the factor that really got Pelino; Ketterer was warm. She shared her own experiences and insights. By the time the tour ended, Pelino felt as if he’d made his first college friend.

Now, it’s Pelino who gets to offer that feeling to prospective students. Shortly after joining the Beaver campus, Pelino signed up to be a Lion Ambassador and give tours to students and their parents.

It was one of the best decisions he’s made as a college student.

Lion Ambassadors take a one-credit class where they learn small-group communication, perform team-building exercises and digest all of the pertinent campus facts and figures. They make themselves available for tours twice a week and attend accepted student dinners.

“You get to learn a lot about the campus and to build relationships with the people you give tours to,” Pelino said. “Plus, it’s cool that you’re the first face that students see coming in.”

And because he’s that first friendly face, Pelino makes sure to tell his own Penn State story. It’s a reassuring one.

Pelino began college with a plan to study biology and become an anesthesiologist. But he soon realized he needed a major that allowed for more creativity. So he’s a business management and marketing major now, and he plans to stay at Beaver all four years. And that, Pelino tells prospective students, is a big benefit.

“Faculty and staff really get to know you here,” Pelino said. “They know your major, they know your study techniques, and they know the type of person you are.”