Paterno Fellow finds purpose through THON involvement and content creation

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sean Eden has found numerous ways to pursue his goals and grow personally during his time at Penn State, from his classes to the organizations he’s involved with to the content he creates.

The third-year student is majoring in sociology with minors in Spanish and deafness and hearing studies, a combination of interests he hopes will lead him to law school after graduation. He’s also a Schreyer Scholar and a Paterno Fellow, a program offered jointly by the College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College that tasks students with distinguishing themselves academically and in areas including ethics, service, leadership, excellence in communication and intercultural awareness.

“I originally started as a political science major but ended up taking a few sociology classes my first semester here and fell in love with the major,” said Eden, of Philadelphia. “I love getting to learn about people, their experiences and how they relate to society. I’m hoping to apply these skills through law in the future, maybe through immigration or disability law.”

Hoping to grow his skills, Eden joined the Penn State Sign Language Organization, where he currently serves as the chair for both homecoming and THON, the student-run philanthropic organization that raises awareness and funds for those impacted by childhood cancer. These roles, he said, have allowed him to develop in ways that will benefit him professionally and personally.

“As our homecoming chair, I’ve loved bringing creativity and bonding into our organization, as well as growing our relationships with the other organizations we’re paired with for the parade,” Eden said. “I love these opportunities to meet new people and spread deaf culture to the rest of the community. We are a smaller organization in terms of THON, so this year I’m really trying to push new fundraising efforts and making sure we’re getting as many people involved as possible.”

He also volunteers as a THON captain on the public relations committee for the Sign Language Organization. He said he has a strong passion for THON, explaining that the opportunity has allowed him to develop new skills and put them toward a cause he cares about.

“Being on public relations, it opens so many doors to events that I can attend to film and photograph,” Eden said. “During the THON football game, I was able to create content with the family of Shiloh Crimmel, who was the kickoff kid for the Penn State-Delaware game. I loved being able to spend time with the family and document such a magical experience on the field with them. Being a PR captain has given me so many opportunities to connect with Four Diamonds families at various Penn State events and portray their inspiring stories through digital media.”

Eden joined the public relations committee due to his love of content creation, a passion he has developed through his TikTok account, which currently has 500,000 followers. Since establishing the account, Eden has worked with several high-profile national food brands.

“I usually describe my content as ‘man on the street’ style,” Eden said. “Generally, I will feature other students in my videos where I attempt to document the traditional college experience. Because of this, I’m able to learn about the perspectives and opinions of so many different students across Penn State. Whether it's my ‘guessing strangers' names’ series or my series asking deeper questions to students, my virality is often determined by those who are featured in my TikToks.

“One of my favorite parts about being a creator is being able to connect with so many people through my videos, and network with other creators,” continued Eden, who said he lately has been experimenting with Instagram reels.

In addition to being a student volunteer and content creator, Eden takes his academics seriously through his status as a Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar. While he originally wasn't accepted into Schreyer out of high school, the Paterno Fellows Program gave him the opportunity to push himself and meet the requirements to get into the honors college.

“I wanted to join Schreyer and Paterno because of the academic opportunities they would offer me,” Eden said. “I’m able to work closely with faculty and peers in smaller classes that help me focus on critical thinking and leadership. I feel close to many honors professors because of their help developing a thesis topic and question.”

Eden said that many of the opportunities he has now would not have been possible without the support of the Paterno Fellows Program. From building connections to career development opportunities, the program has proven to be extremely beneficial to him.

“We do events that have allowed me to meet so many people,” Eden said. “We have Lunch with Honors events, and so many other networking opportunities to meet people. All of the other students in the program are super passionate and have allowed me to connect with my peers better.”

As far as Eden’s concerned, the support he’s received from the Paterno Fellows Program and the University as a whole has been the best part of his college experience thus far.

“It’s an incredibly tight-knit community,” Eden said. “I love how many opportunities there are to get involved, and I’ve met so many people that support each other. There are so many more opportunities opened up to me simply because I’m a Penn State student, and I’m super thankful for that.”