A Welcome from Chancellor Menah Pratt, JD, Ph.D.
Welcome to Penn State, welcome to our campus and welcome to a new academic year.
To our students: I am so pleased you have chosen to further your education here. Whether you are arriving for your first semester or returning for another year, this is a place filled with possibility, discovery, and opportunity. I also appreciate your families and loved ones who have supported you to get to this stage and your decision to attend Penn State.
While my college years are behind me, I'm also beginning a new journey here, alongside you, as this is my first year as regional chancellor for Penn State's Scranton, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre campuses.
As your new chancellor, I am also learning my way around a new campus, getting to know the people who make this institution special, discovering the many programs and opportunities that are available to our students, and learning more about the region and the communities we live in and call our neighbors and partners.
It reminds me what it feels like to be a first-year student: the excitement -- and yes, sometimes nervousness -- of a new beginning; the questions that come with entering unfamiliar territory; and the realization that learning doesn't only happen in the classroom, but through the connections we make and the experiences we share here as well.
I hope that while you're here, you take advantage of as many opportunities available to you as possible. Ask questions. Explore. Try something unfamiliar. Get to know your professors, classmates, advisors, and the people who make this campus your home. And perhaps, most importantly, do not be afraid of not having all the answers. After all, learning is part of the journey and why we're all here.
My parents were first-generation students. My mother was the first in her family to complete college, and my father was an international student who came to America from Sierra Leone to get his education. I know how education changes lives and opens doors of opportunity. I’m glad each of you are walking through this door.
As I learned from my parents, and from my own educational journey, pursuing a college degree takes determination, persistence, commitment and hard work – and there will be many challenges along the way. However, along the way, you will gain the knowledge and the tools you need to not only make a better place in the world for yourself, but to make your world a better place.
That is why I am so honored to serve as your chancellor.
I look forward to learning alongside you, meeting you, hearing your stories, celebrating your accomplishments, and understanding the dreams that brought you here and your hopes for the future. I also look forward to working with our faculty, staff, families, and community partners to ensure that each and every student has the support and opportunities they need to thrive.
You have chosen to come to a campus located in a region that has a history of being part of a coal mining community. Coal mining is such a powerful metaphor for higher education. Succeeding in higher education is similar, in some way, to succeeding as a coal miner. As a coal miner, you have to be willing to go into the mines every day. In college, you have to go into the classroom every day. As a miner, you are part of a team; you never go into the mine alone. In college, you have classmates, and you are all working together for the same goal. As a miner, you have to stay calm under pressure, and you have to be willing to work hard. It is the same in college. You have chosen a path where these historical qualities define us: persistence, commitment, and teamwork. I look forward to being on this team and this journey with you.
Like miners, we are on a journey of discovery. There is so much to discover here, and I am excited to discover it with you.
Genuinely,
Menah Pratt, JD, Ph.D.