Trevor Brandt, ’15 PFP, History and Political Science, addressed the Paterno Fellows graduating class and guests with this speech at the ceremony on May 9 on the Sparks Lawn. (View photos of the ceremony and reception.)

Hi everybody, my name’s Trevor Brandt, and I’m graduating as a Paterno Fellow with majors in History and Political Science and minors in German and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies.

So I remember a few weeks ago I was sitting at home checking my emails. I refresh the page and see a message from Dr. Wanner, Director of the Paterno Fellows. The subject line read: “Graduation Speech?” My initial reaction was something along the lines of “Oh God, no! Why me?!” My next reaction was “OK—so how exactly can I get out of this thing?” Sure, what an enormous honor! But at the same time, wow—I’ve never given a speech to so many people before! It was ironic, though, because the more I thought about making and giving this speech, the more I realized that the Paterno Fellows Program has actually prepared me for a situation exactly like this one.

So let me back up a bit. You see, students emerge from their undergrad years with entirely different sets of experiences and skills. Students of math and sciences learn to understand the physical processes which govern the way the world works. Education majors learn about how to inspire and, most impressively, how to get little kids to focus. The list goes on and on, and usually majors are linked fairly easily with a tangible set of skills which can be used later in life. But the Liberal Arts—we always seem to be the strange College in this regard. What exactly binds together all of our majors and skill sets? What’s our common and unifying theme? At Penn State, I’ve learned plenty about history and languages, but what does this have to do with students in labor studies, philosophy, or sociology? As I thought about our wildly diverse fields within the humanities and social sciences, I came to realize that the skills and traits which bind us all together are exactly the same as the goals of the Paterno Fellows Program.

We all know the specific aims of the Paterno Fellows, of course, having gone through the hoops to complete our requirements. Courses in ethics and rhetoric, a study abroad or internship experience, research or creative projects, inculcation of global awareness, two areas of expertise, and experience in community service or leadership. I’m sure you are all familiar with what we actually do as Paterno Fellows. But how does the Paterno Fellows Program make us better Liberal Arts students? It’s great that I can study history, which is something that I truly love. Choosing to study history at Penn State has given me the opportunity to write a thesis on the evolution of the Roman identity in the medieval Byzantine Empire. It’s also given me the chance to intern at a museum and to work as a teaching assistant in a multitude of classes and even as a research assistant for a visiting professor.

Studying through the Paterno Fellows Program, though, has allowed me to go far beyond a standard degree in history or political science. Being a Paterno Fellow has given me the invaluable opportunity to explore the depths of a true Liberal Arts education by tapping into questions of what it really means to be a free person and a citizen of our world. It’s also given me the tools to work and communicate in a rapidly changing global environment. Instead of limiting myself to taking the standard general education courses and an array of classes through the History and Political Science Departments, I’ve been inspired to study for a semester in Athens, Greece, and to take a variety of challenging classes that I wouldn’t normally take. A class sophomore year in classical ethics, for example, taught me to re-examine my own assumptions about the meaning of justice, and I began to learn the value of clearly and convincingly questioning authority through my LA 101H rhetoric class freshman year. The Paterno Fellows Program has driven me to seek out a leadership position in Penn State’s Classics Club and to engage in weekly volunteer work at the local Centre County Historical Society, both of which have helped to satisfy my leadership and service requirement and to give back to the State College community by helping to preserve its history. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, and I understand now that through this Program, we reach far beyond the bounds of our majors and the Honors College to explore what it really means to tap into the deeper themes of an education in the Liberal Arts—understanding the subtle nuances of an argument, learning to befriend people of different cultures or beliefs, and finally beginning to see and appreciate the immense freedoms that come with recognizing and asking some of the deepest questions in life. After all, that’s what “liberal arts” really means—the artes liberales, or the arts of being a free person and working to free ourselves from some of society’s shackles and many of the otherwise unchallenged biases which inevitably come from living in the 21st century.

So, to bring it back, there I was reading Dr. Wanner’s email, trying to think of how I could get out of giving this speech. “Alright,” I thought to myself. “If I’ve learned anything at Penn State, it’s that true courage means facing all those challenges that I’m afraid of. It’s a huge honor to prepare this speech, and I’ll definitely be standing there on graduation day giving it my all.” I also quickly realized that I was completely capable of standing up here in front of all of you and giving this speech because the Paterno Fellows Program, as I mentioned, encourages students to seek leadership positions and to take courses in rhetoric and civic life, both of which are helping me right now. I realize what I’m capable of, proud and excited to talk about a program that has helped shape me into a better student and, I hope, a better person. What better irony than the fact that the very Program I’m talking about today has been so instrumental in helping me to write and deliver this speech?

Of course, the skills and ways of thinking which I’ve begun to learn through the Paterno Fellows Program are just the beginning. Education is so much more than just a financial investment—it is an investment in our very selves and spirits. Life should be a constant battle to better and to perfect ourselves, and a solid education in the Liberal Arts with the help of the Paterno Fellows Program has provided us with an even bigger investment than we could have possibly imagined when we began our journey at Penn State. Wherever we go in life, we’ve been given the tools needed to build arguments, conduct research, and get along with people different than ourselves. But we’ve also gained less tangible, but no less important, skills—the ability to ask important questions and to re-examine our seemingly fixed beliefs about the world that we live in. All of these opportunities, skills, and tools have prepared us to succeed in the coming years both professionally and personally—whether in a job, grad school, or anywhere else the world decides to lead us. Thanks to our Liberal Arts educations and the role of the Paterno Fellows Program in challenging us to better ourselves, we are prepared for whatever comes next.