Feb. 15, 2008

In the spring semester of Jesse Arnelle’s junior year of high school, he received an athletic scholarship offer to play football at Brown University in Providence, R.I.  He was being recruited by then head coach Charles A. (Rip) Engle and his assistant coach Joe Paterno.  Arnelle was thrilled by the opportunity to play collegiate football and obtain an Ivy League education. 

Everything appeared to be in order for Arnelle to attend Brown until one day during his senior year Arnelle received a phone call from Engle and Paterno telling him not to make a final decision about school until he visited Penn State.  Both Engle and Paterno had accepted coaching positions with the Nittany Lions football program and one of their first orders of business was to bring Arnelle along with them.  So during spring break of his senior year, Arnelle drove to University Park, Pa., and had what he described as a “wow” moment.

“I’ve only had three wow moments in my life and this was one of them”, Arnelle said. “It was everything I had hoped for.  I knew right away that this was the place for me. This is where I wanted to be.  The athletes and coaches I met on my visit were great.  They made me feel right at home.”

Also during this trip, Arnelle was given some gym clothes and sneakers to shoot hoops in Rec Hall.  After a few minutes of shooting around, a man had challenged Arnelle to a game of one-on-one.  This man turned out to be John Egli, the assistant basketball coach.  Egli was immediately impressed with Arnelle and asked him to play basketball for PSU.  Not one to turn down an opportunity, Arnelle agreed to play.

Standing at 6 feet 5 inches, Arnelle was the tallest player on the team, and turned into the best.  At the conclusion of his first season, Arnelle had averaged nearly 19 points and 10 rebounds, piloting the Nittany Lions to a 20-6 overall record and an NCAA Tournament berth, improving upon a 14-9 standing the previous year.

In his third season in 1954, Arnelle lead his squad all the way to the NCAA Final Four, an accomplishment that has never been duplicated in PSU history.  This legendary team eventually lost to LaSalle in the semifinals, 69-54, but did go on to win the third place game over Southern California, 70-61. 

Arnelle finished his Penn State basketball career as the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 2,138 points and 1,238 caroms.  He earned first-team All-American honors in 1954, second-team honors in 1955, and third team in 1952.  Arnelle was also named to the 1954 NCAA All-Tournament team as well as East Regional MVP.

On the football side, Arnelle did not quite reach the level of success he garnered in basketball. However he was on the All-America honorable-mention team in 1955.  He also held the team record for most receptions in a season which stood for over 10 years.

“I had the most enjoyable time a student-athlete could have had,” Arnelle said.  “I love Penn State and could never do enough to repay back what it gave me.  They provided me with an opportunity to find the courage and intellect within myself and start the maturing process”

As busy as Arnelle was in being a two-sport athlete, he always found time for his academics and campus involvement.  In 1955, he became Penn State’s first black student body president.

“I knew I wanted to be a lawyer so I shot for the top of the heap in everything I did,” Arnelle said.  “I took 18 credit hours every semester so I had absolutely no time to waste”

Arnelle’s hard working mentality was ingrained into him at a young age.  Throughout his childhood his family grew up in government housing with very little money.  During high school, Arnelle delivered papers every morning while being a three-sport athlete and was heavily involved with student government.  On the weekends, he would even help his mother clean a nearby beauty parlor for some extra income.  It was those experiences that taught Arnelle to relish every opportunity.

“It all depends on where you come from,” he said.  “In those days I wouldn’t even consider wasting any time.  With practice, my studies and student government I put in 16-hour work days.  When someone has an opportunity like that you have to run with it as fast as you can, do as much as you can and grow in a direction that will make you a better person.”

For Arnelle that direction was law.  In 1969, after spending some time in professional basketball, the Air Force and the Peace Corps, Arnelle took his Dickinson Law School degree to San Francisco, where he was able to stay with a friend while he prepared for the California bar exam. 

Once Arnelle had his license to practice law, he worked as a trial lawyer in the public defenders office.  He spearheaded 21 jury trials in two years and then had the ambition to become a sole practitioner.  Once his firm began to prosper, Arnelle decided to join forces with William Hastie to form the office of Arnelle & Hastie. By 1987, Black Enterprise magazine had named the firm one of the top 12 black law firms in the country.  Ten years after this achievement, Arnelle retired as senior partner from the firm. 

“If being a lawyer has taught me one thing, it has taught me how to view people,” Arnelle said.  “It’s all about people in this world, and how you they interact.  I have met some extraordinary people in my lifetime, a lot of which I met at Penn State.” 

Arnelle feels he owes his university more than he could ever give.  It is safe to say that Arnelle has given more back to his alma mater than it could ever ask for.   Since 1969 he has been serving on the Board of Trustees and held the position of president for two years.  Arnelle is a lifetime member of the Alumni Association, a member of the President’s club, a former president and co-founder of the Penn State Renaissance Fund, a member of  the Campaign Steering Committee and Penn State’s National Development Council. 

For his hard work, Arnelle has received numerous awards and recognitions.  One of his most cherished accolades is the Lion’s Paw Award, which was presented to him in June of 2000.  This laurel honors those who have contributed notable services to the university and are given to distinguished alumni, an honor which Arnelle rightfully deserves.

“I am proud of all that I have accomplished,” he said.  “But with all my highlights came low points also and you need these moments in life.  They help you grow and mature as a person.  Whenever I give advice, I tell people ‘Don’t blink’.  When you are presented with a challenge, face it head on and work through it, don’t step down.  This is something I have always tried to do, because if you can persevere and handle adversity then you have nothing to worry about.”