Ahead of his appearance at the Bryce Jordan Center as a co-host of “Dancing with the Stars: Live!,” Penn State alum and Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik spoke to a crowd of students on Thursday afternoon, in the HUB’s Heritage Hall, as part of Penn State’s Student Programming Association’s annual SPA Day.
“Pommel Horse Guy” discussed his time at Penn State, his journey with Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics, performing on the hit show, “Dancing with the Stars,” and overcoming obstacles with ADHD, strabismus, and coloboma.
In honor of Nedoroscik, SPA gave attendees black glasses to rock his famous Clark Kent look.
The conversation, moderated by men’s gymnastics head coach Randy Jepson, began with Nedoroscik walking the audience through his time at Penn State.
“It’s never easy being an engineer and a student-athlete,” Nedoroscik said. “There’s a whole lot that goes along with doing both things, a lot you have to juggle. But, ultimately, I paid the dues. I did my time. I spent every day studying, and the rest of the day doing gymnastics, and it worked out amazingly. I have absolutely no regrets.”
After securing two national titles as a Nittany Lion in his first two years on campus, Nedoroscik eventually won four U.S. national titles, the 2021 World Championship, and two FIG World Cup titles.
Flash forward to the 2024 Olympics, Nedoroscik helped the United States win its first men’s gymnastics team medal in 16 years in Paris and instantly became an internet sensation
“I just got an Olympic medal, and suddenly all these followers, messages, positivity, and it was so black and white compared to what I had when I first made that Olympic team. It was so positive, and everyone was falling in love with this men’s gymnastics team,” he said.
Before securing an individual bronze medal for the pommel horse, Nedoroscik was quickly offered a spot to compete in season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
“I really had no dance experience,” Nedoroscik shared. “The only dance experience I had was from THON in 2017. THON set me up for success many years in advance.”
From there, Nedoroscik and dance partner Rylee Arnold danced for three months and finished in fourth place. During that time, he was training for his performances over eight hours a day.
“It was a life-changing experience for me,” Nedoroscik said. “I danced more in 2024 than I did gymnastics… It really did just feel like I was training for the Olympics again.”
With his new fame and success, Nedoroscik wants to help grow the sport of gymnastics.
“For the last couple of decades here, we’ve seen a decline in the sport,” Nedoroscik shared. “One thing that I’d really love more than anything else to do on my platform is just see the sport grow. And one thing that I really do love about the sport is that when you buy in and you understand what’s going on, it is hard to not love it, especially with how great the community is.”
Toward the end of the lecture, Nedoroscik took a handful of questions from the audience, with one student asking how he deals with stress and nerves ahead of a competition.
“Ironically, my viral moment is exactly that,” Nedoroscik said. ” I tilt my head back, I close my eyes, and I tell myself positive things. ‘You deserve to be here. You put the work in. You’re going to do a good job.'”
Before the conversation concluded, Nedoroscik naturally led a “We Are” chant.
