How many people go to Quinnipiac College? According to Google, there are about 6,800 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students. Penn State has about 40,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduates.

I was one of the Penn State undergraduates in 1977.

I have never been to see Quinnipiac College. However, there is a connection between Quinnipiac and me. 

The first time I ran into someone with Quinnipiac was in 2007. I worked in Munich, Germany. It was summer. I went to Starbucks one day and found someone in line speaking American English. I asked them where they were. The woman said, “We are from Connecticut. We are here with Quinnipiac College athletes to play Field Hockey games.”

I told her that my friend is the Field Hockey coach at Penn State.

She said, “Char Morett? Everyone knows Char”.

“Yes, I went to school with Char at Penn State, and she is a good friend.”

She said, “I am the assistant coach, and I went to Penn State and played Field Hockey there. My head coach, Becca Main, also went to Penn State.” I walked to the fountain where they were connecting before going to the next place and met Becca there.

If I had waited 10 seconds later at Starbucks, I wouldn’t make the connection.

In December, I went to Char’s birthday party at Penn State. Becca was there too.

The second time I ran into Quinnipiac was in 2021. It was just after the stroke and returning to Philadelphia. I met my new speech therapist. Her name was Alexa, and in speaking with her, she told me that she went to Quinnipiac College. 

Then last summer, I went to see the 100 Years of Field Hockey event in Philadelphia. I ran into Becca Main and told her about Alexa, my speech therapist with Aphasia, who went to Quinnipiac.

The third time I saw Quinnipiac was last week. I went to go to the Penn State football game. I was early, so I went to find a tailgate. He wasn’t there, so I headed back to see the game. I saw a group of young women leading through the parking spot. They looked like athletes with uniforms and backpacks and walked toward the soccer stadium. I looked closely to see where they were. They had sweatsuits that said “Quinnipiac.” I had to laugh. When I went home, I saw Quinnipiac soccer playing against Penn State on Sunday for the NCAA.

I connected because I went to the tailgate.

Besides large schools like Penn State, there are only a few connections with small colleges besides Quinnipiac.

I will see if it continues.