UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Stefen Wisniewski, a 2010 graduate of the Penn State College of Education with a degree in secondary education, will be the commencement speaker for the College of Education’s spring 2022 commencement ceremony at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 8, in Pegula Ice Arena on the University Park campus.
Wisniewski was an offensive lineman in the National Football League for 10 seasons, playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders after being drafted 48th overall in 2011. He played in three Super Bowls, winning two — LII and LIV with Philadelphia and Kansas City, respectively.
Before being drafted into the NFL, Wisniewski played football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He was a part of the 2008 Big Ten Championship team that played in the 2009 Rose Bowl, and the 2009 Capital One Bowl winning team. He was a first team AFCA all-American 2010, and an ESPN Academic All-American in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
During his senior football season at Penn State, Wisniewski simultaneously taught English at State College Area High School through the full-year Professional Development School program, and he was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, also known as the “Academic Heisman.”
While he has not taught formally in a classroom since graduating, Wisniewski said he uses what he learned while studying education often when he teaches the sport of football at camps and practices, and when he teaches the Bible during sermons and Bible studies. Now retired from the NFL, Wisniewski is pursuing a master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; he plans to begin a career in Christian pastoral ministry.