UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When the Penn State Homecoming parade begins on Friday evening (Sept. 27), alumni and friends all over the world will be able to watch the tradition-rich event thanks to a livestream produced by students from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
Coverage of the parade can be found at homecoming.psu.edu/live/ beginning at 5:45 p.m.
Those students, members of COMM 383: Advanced Multimedia Production, have been focused on preparing for the parade since the first day of fall classes. Although Homecoming falls a bit earlier in the semester than usual, the students believe they’re ready — thanks in large part to Bill Hallman, the assistant teaching professor who leads the class.
“He’s had a plan for every day of class leading up to this,” said Nick Volpe, a senior majoring in telecommunications and media industries from Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
Volpe has directed student television shows before, but nothing on the scale of the parade.
“We have a good group, and we’re ready to make it happen,” he said. “It’s exciting to see it all come together, and I’m excited to see our hosts in action.”
Producer Kaylara Rajkumar, a senior telecommunications and media industries major from Hackensack, New Jersey, spent last summer completing an internship supporting a concert tour produced by Monami Entertainment. That experience has complemented her classwork to produce the parade, and she has embraced the opportunities Penn State provides.
“It’s exciting to be able to do something like this,” Rajkumar said. “There was so much to do that we didn’t have our first full run through until two days ago, but I feel like we’re prepared. There’s some pressure, because you know people are watching, and something could always go wrong, but I think we’re ready to handle that, if necessary.”
Bellisario College students have been producing the livestream of the Homecoming parade for nearly two decades. The Office of Physical Plant, the Office of Telecommunications and Networking Services, WPSU, and the Homecoming committee collaborate with the communications students to make the livestream possible.
This year the stream will be hosted by senior Dylan Price and sophomore Jack Rachinsky. The overall production team includes about a dozen and a half students. Their coverage of the parade will originate from a broadcast location along Bigler Road near the Bank of America Career Services Building.
The 2024 Homecoming theme is “In Every Roar, Tradition Soars.” Alumna Martha King, a three-time national champion and multi-title world champion lumberjill, is the grand marshal.