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Chloe Innis interview

Learning from athletics

For Chloe Inniss, playing sports at Penn State Wilkes-Barre has been key to helping her learn time management skills and meet others on campus. She is a member of the basketball and volleyball teams and said she has learned lessons from athletics as well as academics.
By: Goldie Van Horn
Member of basketball, volleyball teams shares value of playing sports during college

For Chloe Inniss, playing sports at Penn State Wilkes-Barre has been key to helping her learn time management skills and meet others on campus.

Inniss, a sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering, already knew the value of athletics, since she had been involved in sports before arriving at college. She ran cross country and track all four years of high school at Wyoming Valley West and also played basketball from third to ninth grades.

She became part of the volleyball team during her first semester at Penn State Wilkes-Barre when some of the team members asked her to join.

“I wanted to do something for fun and also be able to get involved and meet new people. That was pretty much the goal,” said Inniss, who plays as a middle blocker and hitter.

After her first volleyball season ended, she joined the basketball team, playing as a forward.

“Playing sports is definitely challenging and a new experience. It’s really fun being able to meet new people,” she said. “With as stressful as college can be, my goal is to have fun playing sports. It also helps me practice managing my time, which is where the challenge comes in. It’s teaching me how to be disciplined and keep focused, but also not to take everything to heart and not to be so hard on myself.”

Inniss balances her athletics with club activities on campus and a part-time job at Wegmans. She serves as finance chair for Penn State Wilkes-Barre’s THON committee, and she is also treasurer of the Lion Ambassadors, where she gives campus tours to potential students and their families.

“Giving tours as a Lion Ambassador has helped with my presentation skills and helped me be more confident in speaking,” Inniss said. “Being involved in these activities helps me manage my time and develop my communication skills. Overall, I’m not extremely social or very good at communication, but the more I do it, the better I can be. Practicing these skills helps build my confidence.”

She plans to head to University Park this fall to complete her degree as part of Penn State’s 2+2 Plan.

“Being able to go to Penn State Wilkes-Barre turned out to be a really great fit for me,” Inniss said. “I liked that I could stay close to home for my first two years. I don’t think I was ready yet to leave for University Park when I started college.”

After completing her bachelor’s degree, she intends to pursue a master’s degree and then possibly a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. Inniss said she would love to work at an aerospace company one day.

“Working for NASA has been my top goal for a long time. Boeing would also be cool,” she said. “It really does fascinate me not only thinking about rocket ships but also aircraft and what the military uses for protection.”

Inniss hopes to see other students enjoy their college experience and learn more about what intrigues them.

“It’s very important that you explore your interests and have fun doing it. College really does fly by,” Inniss said. “But make sure you aren’t overwhelmed doing so and that you don’t do too much.”