Dan Ketler, Lion’s Eye Staff Editor, dmk5614@psu.edu

With graduation rapidly approaching on our beloved Penn State Brandywine campus, it is a perfect time to reflect on memories of the graduating class and to also point out notable students who made an impact here for themselves and for others around them. One Brandywine student who proved himself exceptionally worthy of being highlighted, not just for his extremely good grades and ongoing work ethic, but for his interesting story of how he attended Penn State alongside two out of three of his children. This man is none other than Mr. Stephen Braconnier.

Braconnier is a father of three: Stephen Jr., Megan and Allison Braconnier. It was during Stephen Jr.’s senior year at University Park when Braconnier decided to go back to school to obtain his degree in psychology. Interestingly enough, for personal reasons, he kept it to himself that he was attending classes regularly at Brandywine.

“I didn’t tell a single person until I completed my first semester. That was a tough secret to keep!” Braconnier stated.

In May of 2013, Braconnier’s son graduated from main campus while his daughter Megan was in her sophomore year at the University of Notre Dame. The youngest of his three children, Allie, was still in high school at the Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Bryn Mawr. Allie was trying to make up her mind about which college to attend and she chose to follow in her older brother’s footsteps and enroll at Penn State University Park. Braconnier could not have been any more pleased with his family. “I recall being so proud of Stephen’s accomplishment, Allie’s decision and my personal success in my first semester. After the summer semester, my family officially had a Penn State bloodline!” Braconnier shared.

Currently, Braconnier’s daughter is finishing up her second year at main campus while Braconnier himself is getting closer to graduating. He and his daughter keep in touch quite frequently by texting and calling.
“We are both competitive, so we can’t wait to compare GPAs at the end of each semester. I currently hold a slight edge by only decimal places.” Braconnier proudly admitted.

Since he attends college full-time and works two jobs, it is difficult for Braconnier to make the trip up to University Park to visit Allie and to experience all the fun things that main campus has to offer. He hopes to be able to visit Allie in the fall as things will be winding down for him since he will be an official Penn State University graduate.

Stephen Braconnier, will join his son as the second Penn State graduate in their family. His daughter Megan will graduate this May from Notre Dame and Allie plans to graduate from University Park in 2017. What a remarkable journey it has been for the Braconnier family.