Story Telling
Growing Up While Black
Tatianna Dragon is kind, energetic, and outgoing with a giving kind heart that can brighten anyone’s day. While growing up black in a white family Tatianna Dragon was not able to experience her own culture, the black culture. Missing a key part of her identity has left Tati feeling like she does not belong in the white community that she grew up in.
Tatianna Dragon is a twenty-one-year old Delaware county Pennsylvania native. Tatianna attended West Chester University with the intention of majoring in music therapy. However, Tatiana had to take a semester off to have surgery after battling issues with her ovaries for years. During our conversation, Tatianna disclosed that she had a tumor that she had to have removed from her ovaries. After finding out that she needed the surgery Tatianna realized that she needed time to recover and that would not allow her to dedicate the necessary time to school, so she took the Fall 2020 semester off to focus on recovering. Since her surgery, Tatianna has fully recovered and has now begun working.
Tatianna explained how she has not yet returned to school but has plans to once she figures out what she wants to change her major to. She is considering going back for cosmetology, criminology, or possibly African studies. Tatianna plans to return and change her major to something more meaningful for her. After losing her mentor and high school band director, making music a career lost its meaning for her, she said. So she now wishes to keep music as a hobby and focus her career on other interests.
Tatianna was adopted at the age of three months and was raised by her mother and father Dennis and Lois Dragon. During our conversations, Tatianna talked of how she grew up as the youngest of six and said she enjoyed being a part of a big family.
Tati also told of how her parents strived to give her everything she wanted and needed. They supported her in her passions for music and dance, always enjoying her talents in the performing arts. She has enjoyed numerous family holiday traditions and family vacations with her family. During the holidays Tatianna told of how she loved waking up to help cook the holiday meal. During our conversation, Tatianna also told of how she was able to enjoy her favorite vacation when her parents took her on a surprise trip to Disney World. Tatianna also enjoyed multiple camping trips with her family where she enjoyed fishing, boating, and campfires with her family.
Tati says that just like any other family they experience ups and downs. But there are mostly ups for Tati and she loves her family dearly. But while growing up missing a key part of her identity, Tati was left with a feeling of not belonging in the white or black community. This feeling of not belonging has made it hard to make connections with friends, she said.
Her white friends are supportive but when talking about racial matters there is a disconnect simply because they do not have that experience to be able to connect with her and truly understand where she is coming from.
When trying to find black friends there is also a disconnect because she does not have much experience being around black people and it is not always easy for her to know how to connect with them.
In the future, Tatianna hopes to return to school and take some African study classes. Through the classes, she hopes to learn the key parts of the culture that she was not able to experience while growing up. She hopes to be able to take these lessons and apply them to her life to be able to better connect with people from her own culture.
A First Time Mom
Zaneya Shaw is a twenty two year old former Penn State student from Johnstown, PA. During her time at Penn State Zaneya attended Penn State Harrisburg then went on to the University Park campus before switching to online school at Penn State world campus. During her time at Penn State Zaneya intended to major in communications with an entrepreneurship minor. Zaneya one day hopes to work in magazine writing as a fashion writer and to have her own fashion blog. During her junior year, Zaneya gave birth to her little baby girl Zariah. Zaneya describes how it was not easy at first adjusting to being a new mom. She describes it as a learning experience. Zaneya says things became much easier once she was able to get help and advice from her mom on how to properly care for her daughter. She describes Zariah to be full of personality, sass and is a girl who knows what she wants. Zaneya enjoys playing with her daughter and hopes to instill in her valuable lessons as she continues to grow. After leaving University Park Zaneya switched to online school to Penn State’s World campus and moved back home where she currently lives. At home, she lives with her mother, brother, and her daughter. After a year of online school Zaneya had to leave school for personal reasons but has plans on returning when she can. In the meantime Zaneya is currently working at Ross Dress for Less and is enjoying life with her friends and family.
How Things Have Changed
Annemarie Mountz is Penn State's BlueBand's official photographer. Being an alumnus of Penn State, Anne Marie knows and loves Penn State very well. During her time at Penn State, Anne Marie majored in communications. After graduation, she spent some time working in the sports, news and features departments at the Centre Daily Times newspaper in State College, Pa. She also has worked in radio, and as a newspaper staff photographer in New Jersey. AnneMarie became Penn State Blue Band's photographer after talking to Penn State Blue Band director, Gregory Drane. As the Blue Band photographer Mountz is responsible for taking a variety of shots of the Blue Band in action for the blue band members and their families. During our interview, Annemarie quoted one of her favorite photographers, Joe McNally. "Our pictures are our footprints they capture where we've been." Annemarie told me that that is her favorite part about photography, she loves to capture where we've been.