Name: Danielle Long
Year: Sophomore
Major: Elementary Education
Learn more about what Danielle Long does as Clown Nose Club president to brighten strangers’ days. As members of the Clown Nose Club, they stress it is important to always remember that people matter.
HC: Why did you join Clown Nose Club?
Danielle: During the first couple weeks of my freshman year, I was eager to get involved at Penn State in anyway that I could. I attended the Involvement Fair in the fall, and no other club there compared to the Clown Nose Club. Why? It was 100 percent the people. I had never met such friendly, sincere, and genuine people in my life. I was immediately drawn to their positivity, and ever since the first meeting I was hooked. It is extremely refreshing to spend time with incredible and caring people, all with the common ground that people matter.
HC: What is the mission of the Clown Nose Club? What do you hope to achieve as the President of CNC?
Danielle: The philosophy of the Clown Nose Club is simple: people matter. We believe that every person is beautifully unique in his or her own way. We love to intentionally and genuinely interact with people on a daily basis, and we have a ton of fun while doing it. We are defying social norms and instilling personal conversation with others. Our mission is to challenge ourselves and others to take positive social risks.
I am wildly passionate about this idea. As president of CNC, I hope to spread our philosophy around campus, and ultimately, to other university campuses as well. Personal and positive interaction with others is not just something we talk about at our meetings or during our projects, it is a way of life. We are friendly and open, constantly wanting to take that extra step to genuinely interact with the people around us.
HC: As a member of CNC, what experiences, good or bad, are memorable to you?
Danielle: One of my absolute favorite projects that I did with the Clown Nose Club was on Valentine’s Day, 2011. We bought some flowers and lollipops, and hit up the HUB that night to give them to people we saw sitting alone. It was such a rewarding feeling for someone to be shocked that someone took the time out of their night to let them know that they are important in this world. The people we gave the flowers to were so thankful. This was a small project with only a few people, but it made such an impact on those people’s nights. I will never forget it.
HC: What is a “positive social risk challenge?”
Danielle: You know that awkward, uncomfortable moment when you see the same person in the elevator every morning, and the silence never fails? Ever try introducing yourself? This is a positive social risk…getting out of your comfort zone to personally connect with people. Positive social risk opportunities present themselves everyday, it is just a matter of seeing them. Perhaps you might want to try taking out your iPod while walking to class and replace it with smiling. Maybe you will thank the janitor of your building for working so hard every day, or hold the door open for a crowd of people walking into the Thomas building behind you, or ask the person serving your food in the dining hall how they are doing. The key to positive social risk taking is not being afraid to be yourself while interacting positively and personally with others.
HC: Why should someone join Clown Nose Club?
Danielle: CNC is chock full of members that are enthusiastic and love people. Our door is always open, and new members are so exciting. We would love to meet you. It is not our main goal to recruit the most people we can for this club. It is on the smaller side, which is lovely, because we all get to know each other really well. Rather, we focus more on spreading the awareness of our philosophy. If we can get all of Penn State to be taking positive social risks with each other as a typical social norm, we would have done our job. It is about introducing this new and unique way of thinking, while always being you.