5 facts about Emerson College: The school Nancy Wheeler attends in ‘Stranger Things’

If you’re an avid fan of “Stranger Things” and binge-watch the show religiously, you might’ve caught sight of one of the show’s characters sporting an Emerson College t-shirt during the season four premiere. The shirt reflects the school Nancy Wheeler attends. For many Emerson College students, this would’ve been a delightful surprise knowing that their college apparel was featured in a world-famous Netflix series. 

NOT NANCY WHEELER IN STRANGER THINGS 4 GETTING INTO EMERSON COLLEGE AND WEARING EMERSON MERCH 🧍🏻‍♀️🤠😭✋🏼 pic.twitter.com/AM07T9pDTX

— christine (@CchristinePark) May 27, 2022

The shirt worn by Wheeler in the show reflected Emerson College’s logo from the 1980s — the period in which the show is set. If you are unfamiliar with the series, Wheeler is portrayed as an aspiring journalist, while her boyfriend, Jonathan Byers, is a talented photographer.  

The question remains: why did the show’s writers pick Emerson College as the backdrop to highlight Wheeler’s journalistic pursuits? The answer to this isn’t quite surprising, especially when it’s based on the college’s academic reputation.

The college accepts enrolments from students abroad — which means you too can enrol in this world-class institution, particularly if you’re an aspiring journalist like Wheeler. 

Fun facts about Emerson College — the school Nancy Wheeler attends 

It has a world-class communication, liberal-arts and arts programme 

It’s no surprise why “Stranger Things” writers used Emerson College as its backdrop. The college is renowned for its communications, liberal-arts and arts programmes. Hence, Emerson College — with its popular majors in journalism and film — serves as the perfect setting to represent Wheeler’s ambitions. 

According to the college’s website, its alumni have gained carved successful careers in theatres, newsrooms, movie sets, comedy clubs and digital media platforms worldwide. 

Many of Emerson College’s alumni have also held leadership roles in various industries, including publishing, advertising, entertainment, public relations and academia.  

The Emerson shirt worn by Nancy Wheeler is being sold for a good cause 

Here’s a fun fact about a student from the college: according to reports, Reagen Allen, a 20-year-old student and an aspiring designer — saw an opportunity to put her design and entrepreneurial skills to the test. What began as her recreating and selling the shirt worn by Wheeler in the “Stranger Things” episode eventually gained more momentum and attention than she had anticipated.

While she had originally printed out 50 copies of the shirt using Adobe Illustrator (of which the design work only took 20 minutes), she had sold more than 1,000 shirts within a span of one day. 

A native of San Antonio, Texas which is close to where the Uvalde shootings happened recently, Allen is donating all of the profits that she has raked in – surpassing 11,000 US dollars to the Texas Elementary School Shooting Victims Fund.

Dear @EmersonCollege , as an alumni and major @Stranger_Things fan, I’m going to need access to this sweatshirt immediately. Help a girl out #OBSESSED pic.twitter.com/cRbsEsAk9K

— Dina Sartore-Bodo (@DeeBodes22) May 27, 2022

A castle in the Netherlands serves as their European campus

You read that right. Emerson College prides itself on maintaining and preserving Kasteel well, a restored 14th-century moated medieval castle in the Netherlands, notes its website. 

The castle’s backdrop includes pastures with grazing horses and cows, as well as tree-lined bike paths. It is home to some 90 students who attend this campus for three months each fall and spring term, as well as for summer programmes. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Kasteel Well (@kasteel_well)

Many celebrities have attended Emerson College 

Many celebrities and big names in the entertainment industry have attended Emerson College. Its one-of-a-kind communications and arts programmes prepare its graduates for successful careers in the entertainment industry, whether in front or behind the camera. 

Among the long list of celebrities who have graced Emerson’s campus include talk-show host Jay Leno, Hollywood actress Jennifer Coolidge and Kevin Bright, who produced the American sitcom “Friends”, which went on to win 62 Primetime Emmy Awards. 

One of Emerson College’s most popular alumni includes famed talk show host, Jay Leno. Source: Shannon Finney/Getty Images/AFP

Emerson College has an intramural Quidditch league 

Emerson College brought a real-life version of the game based on the “Harry Potter” book series. In the fictional series, Quidditch is a wizarding sport played by two teams of seven players each, who fly around on brooms. 

The Quidditch league played in real life, however, takes all the magical elements out of it. At Emerson College, Quidditch is played on foot and each player is required to hold a wooden or plastic pole between their legs instead.