Fourth-year student Isabella Granada is no stranger to adversity and resilience. Her Penn State journey has been marked by taking advantage of every opportunity she gets, even when it doesn’t always seem like the easiest path. Granada uses these experiences to deepen her understanding of the world around her, and that is a skill that not many possess.
As a first-generation college student and first-generation American, Granada’s entrance into the Penn State community was marked by both excitement and uncertainty. School was always something that was important to Granada. She always knew that she wanted to further her education after high school. Granada’s parents, who previously emigrated from Colombia to the United States, supported and encouraged her throughout this process. However, as a first-generation college student, Granada’s college search did not come without its set of challenges. Granada was interested in a few different colleges, with Penn State and Clemson being two of her top choices.
“I got my financial aid package [back] from both, and there was just no money offered for me,” says Granada. Despite financial constraints, Granada’s tenacity led her to explore avenues for additional support. Granada recalls her mother saying to her, “Why don’t you just ask for more money? What’s the worst they’re going to say?”
So, Granada did just that. She put herself out there and simply asked.
Granada wrote a letter to Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications’ Dean Marie Hardin and explained her situation. She asked if Penn State had funds available, but she was anxious as she didn’t know where this conversation would lead. Later that day, after Granada sent the email, she heard back from Hardin who connected her with Gary Abdullah, the assistant dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the College of Communications.
This led her to ultimately secure the Bunton-Waller Scholarship — which covered Granada’s full tuition price. In addition, Granada received the Bellisario Fellows Scholarship, a scholarship that covered the costs of her room and board on campus.
Granada’s passion for public relations and sports began when she was still in high school. During her senior year of high school, she became a football fanatic. She went to a high school that had themes for every football game. To encourage her classmates and high school to wear that game’s theme, Granada started making graphics telling everyone what the theme of the week was. She would post the graphics on her Instagram story and send it to the senior class to share as well. Before she knew it, everyone would be posting Granada’s graphics and dressing in the theme for the week.
“I started to see the power of social media in that way, and also the power of sports and how that brings people together and is such a unique shared experience.”
Isabella Granada
This passion eventually led Granada to pursue an undergraduate degree in public relations with minors in sports studies and digital media trends and analytics (DMTA), along with a Sports Journalism Certificate from The Curley Center.
Once Granada stepped onto campus, her involvement in extracurricular activities became vibrant.
Granada is a member of the social media department for CommAgency, Penn State’s student-run creative agency. Her time at CommAgency led her to even more opportunities that she proactively took advantage of. Initiated through a connection in CommAgency, Granada found herself collaborating on a start-up with Mike Karns, a 2011 Penn State alumnus and founder and CEO of Marathon Digital. From there, Karns and Granada worked together to create College Town Culture, a lifestyle and clothing brand at Penn State.
Aside from being in CommAgency and the co-founder of College Town Culture, Granada is involved in many other ventures at Penn State. She is also a social media intern for Penn State Athletics and involved in The Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM) and THON — where she contributes to the fight against childhood cancer, a cause close to her heart.
As a Latina, Granada found her community last semester through the Penn State Hollywood Program.
“I was living with those three other girls, and for the first time ever I felt like I had a community of people who looked like me and had similar experiences as me. We could talk about things that I just couldn’t relate to with my other friends.”
Isabella Granada
“It’s just made me tap into this version of myself that I feel like has always existed.” Now, Granada embraces her Colombian heritage even more.
Granada appreciates the abundance of multicultural organizations within Penn State, but she emphasizes how Penn State students truly shape them into what they are. “It’s something that is unique to our students. It’s something that they really, truly embrace,” she says. “They really put their best efforts into making these organizations and these clubs the best quality that they can be.”
Granada’s advice for Penn State students is something that she lives by herself. She urges multicultural students not to let their identity be the only thing that defines them.
“We aren’t defined by being Colombian, or being Puerto Rican or being a multicultural student. As much as we take pride in our culture and who we are… those are not the things that define us. We are so much more than that. That is just one piece of our identity that we’re choosing to bring to the forefront… Don’t let the way you identify yourself put you in a box.”
Isabella Granada
Granada encourages students in the DEI community to take advantage of the many resources and organizations that are available here at Penn State.
Granada’s story is marked by a path of learning, resilience and adaptation. She had to learn to fight for herself. Many of her experiences began because she asked questions. Be curious and ask questions. Seek answers, connect with others around you and explore opportunities that may be beyond your comfort zone at times. Take advantage of every moment and every opportunity you’re given. Even the ones you have to fight for. Because as Granada puts it, “The worst question is the one that you don’t ask.”
