From a PennWest family in Brookville—just 20 minutes from Clarion—Delainey Barr set out to be different: try the city life. She enrolled at Duquesne, excited for the change, but the fit wasn’t right. “It was very hard to get involved,” she says. “Everyone was pretty clicky… there weren’t a lot of opportunities for student life.” Delainey thrives on connection—clubs, service, showing up—so she started looking for a campus where involvement is part of everyday life.

The transfer search wasn’t simple. Other schools stumbled on credit transfers and housing. “PennWest Clarion welcomed me with open arms,” she says—and made the switch simple. She worried about being “the new kid,” but the nerves vanished fast: “Everyone was excited there was a new person joining our community.” Classmates clicked immediately, and even people from her high school reached out.

Back home at Clarion, Delainey discovered her academic calling in Speech-Language Pathology—a field that lets her help children and adults find their voice. “There was a lot of discrimination and bullying of people with special needs in my area and it just broke my heart because the kids did not have the privilege to speak up for themselves” she says. “People blessed with a voice should be speaking up.” In the classroom and labs of Speech-Language Pathology, she’s building the practical skills and empathy the profession demands.

Belonging followed the yeses. She jumped into Tri Sigma, Club Smile, and NSSLHA, adding friends, mentors, and experience with every meeting and event. Her campus job closed the loop: she works in Admissions, guiding other transfers through the same steps—a full-circle moment alongside the team that helped her get here. “If you’re going to college just for a degree, that is great,” she says. “But me personally, I like to be involved. I like to meet different types of people.”

Her advice becomes a roadmap for transfers: “Say yes to new possibilities.” “Say yes to those little coffee dates. Say yes to going to a club meeting. Say yes to the sporting event,” she adds. “Going to PennWest is so much more than just getting a degree. It’s gaining experiences with people, clubs, organizations, internships… all of that builds your college experience.”

From a few questions and a few yeses came friends, mentors, and momentum—very much the Clarion way, and a quiet glimpse of what students discover across PennWest.