When Kaitlyn Duffy sat down in 162 Willard for her weekly NURS 225 course, she had no idea that she was about to be serenaded in front of her entire class.
For the 23rd straight year, The Dreamers of Phi Mu Alpha at Penn State took requests for singing Valentines as part of their annual fundraiser, in which Duffy, unknowingly, took part.
Duffy, who emerged from class with a rose in hand, said that The Dreamers’ acapella performance of “Earth Angel” was a valentine sent from her boyfriend, Paul Hehn (sophomore-finance).
“I didn’t know it was coming at all, which is weird because my boyfriend can’t keep a secret,” Duffy (sophomore-nursing) said. “I was embarrassed, but felt really special at the same time.”
Hehn said that, as he was thinking about a good Valentine’s Day gift for Duffy, he remembered the singing Valentines from last year and looked up the fraternity that performed them to make his request.
“They had a list of songs to choose from, and I picked ‘Earth Angel,’ ” Hehn said. “Then I gave them a list of times that she was available, and they chose whatever worked best for them.”
At the end of their song for Duffy, The Dreamers’ lead vocalist Brian Bender (sophomore-aerospace engineering) then turned to the professor of the 125-person class, saying they also had a Valentine for him.
“It’s from Kristen Stewart,” he said. “You know, from ‘Twilight.’ ”
The professor of nursing, Dean Dieter, said that although the disruption was completely unexpected, he had no problem with some diversion throughout the three-hour lecture.
“I’m all for having little fun things like that since we have the extra time,” he said.
Vocalist Brian Bender said that all six members of The Dreamers were brothers in Phi Mu Alpha.
He said that this year’s singing Valentines began on Tuesday with a love ballad for local celebrity Mike “The Mailman” Herr.
The Dreamers will also be hitting more lecture halls all over campus throughout today for the holiday itself.
