When Bob Moats steps up to the podium as the student commencement speaker at PennWest Edinboro on December 13, he won’t just be addressing his fellow graduates – he’ll be honoring a place he has long considered home.

Moats, a health and physical education major from Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, grew up just six miles from campus. Yet college at Edinboro opened a world far wider than the one he had always known.

“I’ve always thought of Edinboro as home to me,” he said. “But I remember stepping on campus, first day of school my freshman year of college. It was like a whole new world.”

His first class at Edinboro, intro to psychology, had more students in it than his entire graduating high school class. It was the beginning of a transformative college experience that would reshape his goals, his perspective and even his career path.

Moats began at PennWest Edinboro as a math education major. But everything shifted when he took a job at the campus recreation center.

“I started college as a math education major,” he said. “I started working at the rec center, found my passion and switched.”

That passion led him to health and physical education – an academic path that fit seamlessly with the joy he found in outdoor programs, recreation services and helping others discover new experiences. Through campus recreation, he went skydiving six times, whitewater rafting, and traveling on outdoor adventure trips that took him everywhere from the Carolinas to Kentucky to the American West.

“All the experiences I’ve had through campus recreation have just been phenomenal and amazing,” he said. “Campus recreation is my go-to.”

His dedication and leadership did not go unnoticed. Moats was nominated for the “Unsung Hero” award at the Club and Organizations Awards for his work in campus recreation and consistently earned a place on the Dean’s List throughout his academic career.

He expanded his involvement across campus, working with Campus Outdoor Recreation, the rock wall, the fitness center, intramurals and club sports. His service extended into Student Life as well, where he served as secretary of the Student Government Association for two years and supported programming initiatives through the University Programming Board.

With each new opportunity, his connection to Edinboro grew deeper.

“Boro is a magical place,” Moats said. “It’s home away from home. And it’s always somewhere you can come back to.”

Now, as he prepares to graduate, Moats reflects on the path ahead with the same optimism and enthusiasm that shaped his time on campus.

“I think I’m ready,” he said. “There’s always opportunities. I knew I loved recreation. I couldn’t imagine my life being any different than what it is now.”

He carries with him a philosophy shaped by experience, adventure and the community that helped him thrive.

“The saying goes, ‘If you love your job, you never work a day in your life.’ So you’ve got to do what you love,” Moats said. “It’s a wide-open world, and it is what we make it. So I’m ready for it.”

As commencement approaches, Moats looks forward to standing before the Class of 2025, representing not just his own journey, but the spirit of discovery and belonging that defines the PennWest Edinboro experience.