-: Being at Penn State was one of the first moments
of getting mixed in with
so many different lived experiences,
and so many different kind of paths that people were on,
and finding those commonalities,
even in the nexus of those things.
So, in some ways I feel like it was
kind of the beginning of me understanding
kind of what diversity means, right?
Like, I think that like statistically,
you can look at Penn State
and say that compared to many universities,
it's not as diverse,
but as a person who comes from a background
that tends to be under-represented,
I think that like my ability to see the cross-sections
with other cultures that are different than my own
really started to come into being
when I was here in college.
And then I think the other part of it is
is being, you know, untethered to like, your home,
where you have your parents hovering over you all the time,
and learning what it means to grow new relationships,
like by yourself, not one where you're kind of,
it's dictated by the school that you go to
and it's the kids you're around all the time,
or the neighborhood you live in
and it's the kids that you're around all the time,
but it's like, again, a different kind of melting pot
of people, and finding who you are
and who they are, and how you develop
these very strong connections between them.
There's still quite a few people
who I went to college with that I still talk to
and even work with on my business on a regular basis, so.