UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Paige Myers, a fourth-year student majoring in health policy and administration and minoring in diversity and inclusion, is currently serving as executive director for Penn State Homecoming 2024.
Myers’ connection to homecoming started early in her Penn State experience. Myers, who came to Penn State from another institution in the spring of her first year of college, initially found herself intimidated by the size of Penn State and wanted to find a way to make friends and put herself out there. While attending the University’s spring involvement fair, she came across the homecoming table.
“I was homecoming queen at my high school in Elizabeth, so homecoming celebrations felt like a safe place for me to begin my journey at Penn State and get involved,” Myers said. “I ultimately decided to apply to be a court relations captain, and the rest is history.”
Myers served as a student court captain on the court relations committee during homecoming 2022 and as the court relations director for homecoming 2023. After wrapping up homecoming 2023, Myers reflected on her journey with the organization and how much it meant to her. She wanted to continue her involvement with Penn State Homecoming and decided to apply for the role of executive director.
As executive director, Myers’ primary role is overseeing the executive committee, made up of two officers and 13 directors, each of whom lead a different subcommittee. She has learned to think of the 13 committees as a whole rather than as separate entities and guide the directors to work together effectively.
“As a director, it can be easy to fall into an individualistic mindset,” Myers said. “When you are only responsible for one aspect of Homecoming, you want to work at your own pace. As executive director, I am responsible for ensuring every committee’s pace fits together to stay on track for our overall timeline. It’s a team effort.”
Myers said her role as executive director has taught her a lot about herself, and helped prepare her for her future career. Myers is an aspiring healthcare administrator, and she credited her role as executive director of Penn State Homecoming’s Executive Committee for helping her make strides developing valuable leadership skills.
“As executive director, I have learned to make decisions concisely, solve problems effectively and manage conflict,” Myers said. “I have also learned the importance of being a constant supporter to those you lead. One of my greatest joys in this role has been watching the Homecoming Executive Committee learn and grow alongside one another to effectively lead their captains and committee members to success.”
In addition to continuing to build on her leadership skills, Myers said one of the most rewarding aspects of serving as Homecoming executive director has been realizing she can do things that intimidate her.
“My entire life I have been extremely shy. When I got this role, I quickly realized it would require me to work on developing comfort with public speaking,” Myers said. “Since then, I have spoken at THON 2024 and the 2024 Be a Part From the Start pep rally. My nerves subsided when I realized my purpose in this role is so much bigger than my fears. I’m grateful it has pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow and better myself for the future.”
Myers said she hopes Penn State Homecoming 2024 honors the century of tradition of the organization and creates an environment for current students, returning alumni and community members to celebrate their time at and experiences with Penn State.
Penn State Homecoming 2024 will take place Sept. 22-28. Visit the Penn State Homecoming website to learn more about Homecoming Week events.