Oh, Hello: Three New Writers Commit to Black Shoe Diaries

We are very pleased to announce the addition of three new members to the Black Shoe Diaries staff- Eli Moreta-Feliz, (aka misdreavus79), Noel Purcell and Mary Clarke. While these new commitments may not necessarily impact Penn State's success on the field, they will certainly go a long way to help make Black Shoe Diaries even better.

Get to know more about the new additions, who you will become much more familiar with in the near future. Welcome, Eli, Noel and Mary!

Eli Moreta-Feliz

Like Nick, I didn't have a connection to Penn State until I came to the school. I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, and came to the US in 1995. I spoke no English, and was more familiar with baseball (duh) than I was with football. I lived in New York City for a few years before moving to Pennsylvania, where I finished high school and ended up at Penn State. In fact, I chose Penn State because they were the first ones to accept me (then again, my other choices were Pitt and Temple, so...).

I started in the middle of the Dark Years, so my level of interest in the football team wasn't vey high. However, everything change on that fateful night. The night we announced we were back to the whole nation. I remember driving home after having beaten Ohio State, and spending a full hour trying to get there. The streets were packed, fans were banging on my car, screams were heard every time I honked at them, and the atmosphere was like no other. It was the best "way longer than it should have been" ride of my life. That fateful nigth changed my view of Penn State as a university, an athletic department, and overall entity I now own as part of my identity.

A few other things about me: I'm a web developer; I'm the first college graduate in my family; I was a member of the Internet club in high school; I know the names of all 721 Pokémon (hence my old username); I was electrocuted when I was a kid; I almost drowned twice; I was bitten by a tarantula and had to be rushed to the hospital to get an anti-venom shot; and I got run over by a car and had to miss half a year of school.

Noel Purcell

What's up Fam? For those whose already know me, I'm so very, very sorry. For those who don't know me, I'm Noel Purcell. I just graduated from PSU with a Supply Chain & Information Systems degree, and am taking a gap year before I head off to law school. I was the features editor over at Onward State last year, and worked there for two years. I covered Penn State basketball and soccer very heavily, as well as baseball and football. I'm originally from Northport, New York (north shore of Long Island). and I'm moving into Manhattan soon, so I'll be spending plenty of football Saturdays paying $8 for a Yuengling. I grew up a Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Manchester City fan, so adding Penn State basketball to the mix was a natural progression in a life of mediocrity and disappointment.

My Penn State story consists of me applying as a sort of throwaway thought because of the school's #brand, then falling in love with the school on my accepted students tour. It was the greatest decision I've ever made (which, knowing my decision making is admittedly not a high bar). I'm now an alumnus brother of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity, and was a part of Movin On, UPUA, The Black Sheep, and obviously and perhaps most relevantly, OS. So if you ever get bored of sports and wanna talk governance and resumes, I'm your man. No takers? Nobody? Alright fine.

I've never been much of a commenter here, but I've been reading BSD for years and have always loved it. Now joining the list of OS alumni who have joined BSD. Blame Bill. Anyway, I'm thrilled to get the chance to keep writing about Shep Garner threes with 15 seconds left in the shot clock, John Donovan screen passes on third-and-six, and why Connor Maloney can be the most dangerous forward in America. You can expect the same second-rate style, stale, overbearing humor, and inflated sense of self-worth I've always sought to provide whenever I write. I'm looking forward to getting to know the commentariat and my colleagues, and probably getting in plenty of arguments down below posts. I apologize in advance.

Mary Clarke

Hello, Black Shoe Diaries! My name’s Mary Clarke and I’ll be joining your motley crew as a part of SB Nation’s newest Digital Media Development Program! I’m extremely familiar with not only your site, and the amazing staff that run it, but Penn State as well as an almost two month graduate.

There was never any doubt that I would be a Penn Stater. My dad is an alumn, so I had Penn State memorabilia and clothes from practically the day I was born. I have fond memories of watching JoePa pace across the Beaver Stadium sidelines on my old television and I’ll never forget staying up late to watch Neshaminy classmate Kevin Kelly kick the winning field goal in the 2006 Orange Bowl. Oh yeah, and I’m a graduate of the same high school our wonderful coach James Franklin came from. #PSUnrivaled #107kStrong

I was a student at one of the saddest and strangest times in Penn State history. I saw the rise and fall of the NCAA sanctions within the span of my school career, and the rise and fall of a coach I never expected to lose during my time at Penn State. Still, that didn’t stop me from majoring in journalism, graduating this past May, and having the best time of my life while doing it.

You might know me from Victory Bell Rings, where I covered both of the varsity hockey squads and was under the tutelage of one Matt de Bear for almost a year. (Hi Matt, nice to be working with you again!) I’ve also done a lot of work with SB Nation College Hockey, where I again covered the Nittany Lions hockey team over the most recent season. I’m now a staff writer and a Metropolitan Division editor with Along the Boards, another hockey website (sensing a theme here?). I’ve also written for Broad Street Hockey, SB Nation’s Philadelphia Flyers site, and I completed an internship with CSNPhilly last summer working for their website.

I’ve been a big supporter of BSD as a fan and an aspiring journalist for a few years now, so joining the team is a huge honor. Outside of Philadelphia and Penn State #sprots and the love of ironic hashtags, I’m a geek down to my bones, a firm believer in the oxford comma, and a big fan of bad puns, among other things. I hope to continue the tradition of unique, quality writing that comes along with BSD and that I’m as entertaining and insightful as the other amazing writers on this site!

Follow me on Twitter @marycclarke for a good time.