STRAIGHT TO HIS HEAD: Alumni who made their way to the Hintz Family Alumni Center on Homecoming weekend were greeted by a (much)larger-than-life likeness of the Symbol of Our Best.

True Blue

The friendship between two Alumni Council members took a meaningful turn when one needed a kidney transplant to survive. 

At the end of a 2023 Alumni Council meeting, Justin Stevens ’11 Bus casually mentioned to his fellow council members that he was thinking of planning a tailgate for the next home football game. 

From across the room, Jonathan Klingeman ’08 Com, ’08 Edu pointed at him. “Tailgating is literally my biggest passion,” says Klingeman, who also serves on the College of Education Alumni Society Board and is active in the Philadelphia Chapter of the Alumni Association. Klingeman and Stevens, who was president of the Southern Connecticut Chapter for six years, became fast friends, rooming together when traveling for Alumni Council’s executive board functions and visiting each other in Philly and Connecticut.

From the start, Klingeman (above, in blue jersey) knew that Stevens had been battling a genetic kidney disease since college. In a few years’ time, he watched as his friend’s needed dialysis stretched to eight hours every night. When Stevens was put on the kidney transplant list, Klingeman did what he could to spread the word in hopes that a donor would step up. “At some point it really hit me,” he says. “I can’t sit here and advocate and not at least find out whether I’m also a potential donor for him.”

Turns out, he was. Klingeman was among 25 people who went through the testing process to see if they’d be a match for Stevens. Ultimately, a former colleague of Stevens’ donated her kidney to him; Klingeman, who’d agreed to be a living donor for anyone in need, went through with the procedure anyway, donating one of his kidneys to an anonymous recipient in honor of Stevens—which gives Stevens a voucher in the National Kidney Registry to get bumped to the top of the transplant list, should he ever need it.  

“I can’t even put into words how appreciative I was,” Stevens says. “It’s such a selfless act.”

Both surgeries happened this past summer, and the friends visited each other afterward. Klingeman’s procedure was in the same Connecticut hospital where Stevens’ transplant had taken place just two weeks prior. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the room,” Stevens says of the emotional visit. 

Klingeman says his recovery was easy, and he hopes their story might inspire the power of the Penn State network in a new way. 
“We have the largest alumni association in the world,” he says. “Guaranteed there are other Penn Staters willing to be living kidney donors, and others needing their support.” 

Save the Date

Nov. 6: ROAR TOUR WASHINGTON

Rally with traveling Penn Staters in the Emerald City the night before the Washington game at Tom’s Watch Bar in Seattle Center, co-hosted by the Alumni Association’s Puget Sound Chapter. alumni.psu.edu/roartours

Nov. 27-28: ROAR TOUR MARYLAND

Roar with the Alumni Association before the Nittany Lions battle the Terrapins in late November: First, at the Welcome Party at DC Brau in Washington, D.C., from 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 27, and then at our Game Day Pep Rally, which starts three hours before kickoff at The Grand Ballroom at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union on campus in College Park, Md. Both events will feature the Nittany Lion, Penn State cheerleaders and the Pep Band, plus special guests, food, drinks, and plenty of family fun. Friday night’s event is co-hosted by the Metro Washington D.C. Chapter. Both are free to attend but require registration: alumni.psu.edu/roartours

From the Archives

Brothers in Hoop

Siblings Talor Battle ’11 H&HD and Taran Buie were featured in the September/October 2010 Penn Stater, just before Battle’s senior season and Buie’s freshman year with the Lions. That team reached the Big Ten tournament title game and lost a buzzer-beater to Temple in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament. Battle, the Lions’ all-time leading scorer, returned to the university as an assistant coach in 2025. Read the full story.

Chapters & Groups

Welcome to the Pride

Every summer, Penn State Alumni Association chapters across the country host student sendoff events that bring together alumni and Penn State families to support returning students and celebrate new Penn Staters as they begin their college journeys.

LOW COUNTRY
Members of the Low Country (S.C.) Chapter gathered at a local Ben & Jerry’s for a student sendoff ice cream social, celebrating the chapter’s newest local Nittany Lions.

UPPER CHESAPEAKE  
Students got a chance to hit the lanes and soak up the blue-and-white spirit during the Upper Chesapeake Chapter’s sendoff and scholarship celebration at Forest Hill Bowling Lanes.

SYRACUSE 
The Greater Syracuse Chapter celebrated its incoming students during its August sendoff party and marked a special milestone by awarding the chapter’s first scholarship to an incoming first-year student.

ORANGE COUNTY
Hosted by Chapter Vice President Michele Trasport ’79 Bus, the Orange County (Calif.) Chapter’s annual sendoff featured Penn State traditions, alumni advice, games, and gifts for a dozen local students.

CHESTER
Twenty-one incoming students, along with their families, got a warm welcome into the Penn State community from Chester County Chapter volunteers at their sendoff event.

For more sendoff pictures, visit alumni.psu.edu/2026/08/31/2026-student-sendoffs

Support PSAA

PENN STATE ELMS COLLECTION
First planted in the late 1890s, American elm trees shaded generations of students … until disease and storm damage began their slow disappearance. Thanks to a unique collaboration between the Penn State Alumni Association and the Office of the Physical Plant, the aged wood is now reclaimed to create beautiful pieces of Penn State history for alumni and friends to have in their homes.

Items from the Penn State Elms Collection make unique and meaningful gifts for any Penn Stater on your holiday shopping list. When you purchase an heirloom-quality item from the collection, a portion is donated toward planting trees at University Park. So, not only are you giving a second life to the majestic elms that once stood on campus, but you’re helping to ensure that future Penn Staters can make memories on a campus as picturesque as it was in your day. Visit pennstateelmscollection.com to purchase your piece of Penn State history.

Exceptional Service

The Alumni Association presented its 2026 Volunteer Awards in August at a ceremony during the Alumni Leadership Conference. Six individuals and 16 affiliate groups were honored for giving back to their communities and supporting current and future Penn State students.

Joan M. McLane Recent Alumni Award 
Shane White ’18 Bus has held leadership roles with the Philadelphia Chapter and Abington Alumni Society. 

K. David Weidner Diversity Award
Justin Stevens ’11 Bus has been a leader with the Southern Connecticut Chapter and served on Alumni Council. 

Kay and Ernie Salvino Volunteer of the Year Award 
Lori Bowers Uhazie ’82 Com has volunteered with numerous Penn State organizations, including the Alumni Blue Band Association. 

Martin R. Cepeda Jr. Award for Alumni Career Advancement and Development  
Robyn L. Radomski ’75 Com has led the Daily Collegian Alumni Interest Group, helping to establish a sustaining fund to support student journalists. 

Philip Philip Mitchell Alumni Service Award
Lois Thompson ’91 H&HD, ’19 MS Nur has served on Alumni Council and volunteered with the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing Alumni Society, community health initiatives, and alumni engagement efforts across Pennsylvania. 

Mark and Carol Poblete Award for Alumni Leadership Development 
Brian “Norm” McAllister ’96 Agr has been a longtime leader in the Penn State Stockmen’s Club Alumni Interest Group. 

Engagement With Young Alumni Award
Penn State Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Alumni Interest Group connected alumni with recent graduates, current students, and midshipmen through networking events and mentorship opportunities. 

Fellowship and Networking Award
Schreyer Honors College Alumni Society led a book club and leadership discussion series that fostered conversations and connections among alumni, students, and college leaders. 

Fundraising Award
Annapolis Chapter and Central Maryland Chapter partnered on a THON fundraiser that raised nearly $2,500 for Four Diamonds. 

Joint Activity Award 
College of Health and Human Development Kinesiology APG, Human Development and Family Studies APG, Nutrition APG, Biobehavioral Health APG, Communication Sciences and Disorders APG, and Professional Golf Management APG collaborated on an “Alumni in the Classroom” initiative, connecting alumni and students through networking, mentoring, and fundraising opportunities. 

Ned Brokloff Award for Alumni Association Affiliate Group Innovation  
College of Engineering Alumni Society launched its Commonwealth Campus Initiative to introduce engineering students to alumni resources, professional connections, and opportunities. 

Outstanding Service Project Award  
Central Iowa Chapter and Schuylkill County Chapter partnered to create more than 80 activity-filled boxes for hospitalized children through The Jared Box Project. 

Professional Development Award  
College of Arts and Architecture Graphic Design Alumni Group led a mentoring program that matches alumni mentors with graphic design students. 

Scholarship Development Award
Greater Jacksonville Chapter raised $54,000 in one year for an endowed scholarship to support future Penn Staters from northeast Florida. 

Tracy and Rick Riegel Pinnacle Event Excellence Award
College of Arts and Architecture School of Theatre APG produced the annual STAGES Festival to connect students with alumni and theatre professionals.