Penn State students meet Clinton
By Bill Campbell

"Unbelievable. A once in a lifetime experience. The highlight of my life."

That’s how Penn State students Kristen Venderpool and Dana Stanko described their meeting with President Bill Clinton following his talk at the annual meeting of the National Governors’ Association meeting here today.

Vanderpool and Stanko are serving as volunteer hostesses and credential checkers at the four-day conference. Both are members of Penn State’s Lion Ambassadors, an organization of outstanding students who work with the Alumni Association to showcase the University.

"We got in to hear his talk, but I didn’t expect to get close to him," said Vanderpool, a junior from Bloomsburg who is majoring in journalism. "When I got to shake his hand, there was so much energy, my legs were shaking.

"He made eye contact when he talked to us. There’s no question it was a once in a lifetime experience. The president really enjoys meeting people. "He’s very good at what he does."

Stanko, a Pittsburgh area resident who graduated in May, complimented the president on wearing a blue tie and white shirt, the colors of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

"He said that not many people know that he’s a Penn State fan," she said. "He then talked about how much he enjoys coming to this area and he thanked us for hosting him. Almost simultaneously, Kristen and I blurted out, ‘it’s a wonderful place.’"

President Clinton last visited Penn State on May 10, 1996, when he delivered The Graduate School commencement address at The Bryce Jordan Center.

Following his speech to the governors at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, the president spent more than a half hour greeting the governors, guests, members of the media and many of the volunteers who are helping to host the conference. Among those greeting the president were Penn State President Graham B. Spanier, Coach Joe Paterno, and Hollywood director Rob Reiner, who earlier in the day addressed the governors’ spouses on the issue of early childhood development and intervention.

Stanko got a double thrill in that, during the president’s talk, she was seated next to a representative of a Washington, D.C. firm dealing in environmental policy.

"I plan to attend the University of Pittsburgh Law School and concentrate on environmental law," she said. "Meeting someone already in the field and getting her business card was a real bonus for me. It truly has been a very exciting day."

Vanderpool, a junior journalism major, also got a heads-up on her future career by meeting David Gergen, Clinton’s former communications director.

"That was very exciting," she said. "But nothing topped my meeting with the president. It was unbelievable."