On the Hook

The Jesse Arnelle Initiative was established to introduce fly-fishing to underrepresented students.

closeup of hands tying a fly fishing lure courtesy George Daniels

 

The Jesse Arnelle Initiative provides a fly-fishing introduction to students who likely never had the chance to tie a fly or step into a pair of waders before they arrived in Happy Valley. “Most people, if they’re engaged in fly-fishing, it’s because they had a parent or some other family member who exposed them, and that’s a relatively narrow group,” kinesiology department head John Bartholomew says. “University Park attracts students from all over the world, and most of them do not have either a personal connection to fly-fishing, or to an environment where they can pursue that.”

 

collage of four photos of students fly fishing courtesy George Daniels

 

The Initiative is named for the late Jesse Arnelle ’55 Lib, ’62 JD Law, the two-sport standout and eventual Board of Trustees chair who developed a passion for fly-fishing later in life. Bartholomew says the goal of the course—a five-week introductory program led by students from the Advanced Fly-Fishing class—is to “help expose students in a way that builds skills and knowledge that will serve them for a lifetime.”