A father-son alumni connection is what first drew Walter Ninotti from Massachusetts to Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Now in his second year, Ninotti is happy about the choice he made to attend the campus for his first two years.
By: Goldie Van Horn
Student comes from Massachusetts to Penn State Wilkes-Barre to attend his father’s alma mater
A father-son alumni connection is what first drew Walter Ninotti from Massachusetts to Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Now in his second year, Ninotti is happy about the choice he made to attend the campus for his first two years.
He is from Westfield, Massachusetts, and is following in his father’s footsteps by using the 2+2 Plan to start his college education at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. The plan will allow Ninotti to complete his first two years of study at Penn State Wilkes-Barre before he transitions to University Park, just as his father, Fred Ninotti, did in the 1970s to earn his bachelor’s degree in statistics.
“I chose Penn State Wilkes-Barre for two reasons,” Ninotti said. “One was that my father was an alumnus and the other was that I could play baseball here. I’ve played baseball for the majority of my life and really wanted to play in college.”
“My parents were very excited I was coming here,” he continued. “One of my father’s huge hobbies is baseball and his main priority was making sure my brother and I got to our baseball games. He’s always been very passionate about it.”
The Ninotti family stopped to visit Penn State Wilkes-Barre a few times on their way to football games at University Park.
“I loved the campus and its size and thought it would be a really great way to start my college experience,” Ninotti said. “Having hundreds of students in my classes when I’m only 18 years old would be a lot for me. At Penn State Wilkes-Barre, being a student with a name and a face, rather than just a name on a spreadsheet, means a lot to me. I want to go to University Park but didn’t want to go right away. By the time I’m a junior, I think I will feel really planted in Penn State and ready to go.”
He plans to major in ecology with a minor in statistics to combine a few of his interests.
“I care about the Earth’s ecosystems and everything that lives in them,” Ninotti explained. “I decided to choose a bachelor of science degree program because I thought it would give me a chance to find a good job. I want to be a scientist of some sort and involved in either lab work or fieldwork, including recording data and noting organisms and pollution.”
He has had the opportunity to study in laboratories already at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, taking three consecutive lab classes, two of them with Assistant Teaching Professor of Chemistry Adriana Dinescu.
“It’s been wonderful to have Walter in my chemistry courses,” Dinescu said. “He has shown an incredible motivation to excel and grow academically while maintaining a busy schedule and an upbeat demeanor. I find it impressive that, regardless of the task, Walter is ready to accept the challenge with a smile on his face, do the best he can, learn new things and commit to the experience. His positive, can-do attitude is infectious, and I am very excited to see his progress over this new academic year.”
Outside of class, Ninotti enjoys going to the gym and is employed as a resident assistant at Nittany Commons. When home in Massachusetts, he works at a grocery store as a service clerk and bakery clerk. He also works as an umpire at youth baseball games.
