Administration

Penn State alumnus gives back with $225,000 in scholarship support

University Park, Pa. -- The oldest of five and the first in his family to go to college, Ken Fasola paid for his education at Penn State by stocking supermarket shelves and picking up other part-time jobs. He enrolled at Penn State Altoona, then transferred to the University Park campus, majoring in health planning and administration, and joining a fraternity.

"At Penn State, I didn't have a lot of spare time -- I was one of those kids who, thanks to student loans and part-time jobs, was able to pay my way," said Fasola, who graduated in 1981 from the University's College of Health and Human Development.

With that in mind, Fasola and his wife, Tenley, have created two scholarships to benefit students enrolled in both the Schreyer Honors College and the College of Health and Human Development.

He doesn't regret working his way through college, said Fasola, now a vice president with Humana, one of the nation's largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies. He does regret missing out on the full range of experiences that accompany an education at an institution like Penn State.

"My parents made a great number of sacrifices over the years for us kids and the lessons I learned through them shaped who I am today," he said. "At the time I graduated from high school, however, they just couldn't afford to send me to college. So I worked around my classes and over the weekends. Thankfully, I'm now in a position where I can provide opportunities and an education to individuals of similar circumstances so that they can take full advantage of what Penn State has to offer."

The Fasola Family Honors Scholarship in the College of Health and Human Development, endowed with a $125,000 gift, provides financial aid to a Schreyer Scholar studying health policy and administration. The first two recipients were selected last fall.

Additionally, Ken and Tenley created the Fasola Family Trustee Scholarship in the Schreyer Honors College with a $100,000 gift. This scholarship provides financial aid to a Schreyer scholar who is preferably enrolled in the College of Health and Human Development.

Emily Lloyd, a biobehavioral health junior, is one of three Schreyer Scholars receiving a Fasola Family Trustee Scholarship for the 2009-10 academic year, and she said that the support has opened up several opportunities that may not have been affordable before.

"Without the scholarship, I'd have to turn to working another job," she said. "Instead, I've been able to focus on my studies and the goals I've set for myself."

Lloyd had been working on campus at the Nittany Lion Inn. It was a good job, but it wasn't one that aligned with her academic goals. Thanks to the Fasola Scholarship support, Lloyd has been able to focus on her paid teaching assistantship in the biology department. In addition, she was accepted into the University Health Services clinic volunteer program, an unpaid position that has her excited about exploring a nursing career.

The scholarship also is allowing her to participate as a morale captain for THON, Penn State's student-run dance marathon, which supports pediatric cancer research.

Fasola said that providing scholarship support for a student enrolled in the Schreyer Honors College was appealing because of the ways in which the honors program elevates Penn State's stature as a premier public university.

"There are a lot of great things that the University has going for it that people just don't know about," he said. "When I learned about the Honors College, I thought it made a great statement and created an enormous opportunity for Penn State to position itself as a wonderful alternative for some of the brightest young minds in the country."

Lloyd hopes to be in the same position as the Fasolas -- to give back someday.

"If you can give back to somebody else, especially younger people to help them reach their goals -- that makes you successful in life," she said. "Hopefully, I'll reach that level of success so that I can do the same for someone else. I would love to be able to do that."

 

Last Updated January 10, 2014

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