Modesto Fiume, president of Opportunity House, will be the keynote speaker at the Penn State Berks spring commencement ceremony on at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 4. Weather permitting, the ceremony will be held outdoors on the soccer field (behind the Beaver Community Center). In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved into the Beaver Community Center. A new class of more than 150 Penn State Berks students will participate in the ceremony, receiving their baccalaureate and associate degrees. Nearly 250 students will have earned their degrees from Penn State Berks this May.
Fiume has served as president of Opportunity House since October 1994. Opportunity House provides an array of services to homeless and low-income individuals and families. These services include an emergency shelter, which provides temporary housing and supportive services to homeless men, women and children daily; a supportive housing program that provides transitional and permanent housing to former shelter residents; the Second Street Learning and Technology Center, which provides quality, affordable, child care to more than 200 children living in the City of Reading; and the Children’s Alliance Center, which provides services to help children and their families cope with the impact of sexual abuse.
Prior to joining Opportunity House, Fiume was employed in various capacities working with at-risk youth, ex-offenders and the mentally ill. Fiume earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from New Jersey City University and a master’s degree in public administration from Rutgers University.
He currently serves as chair of the Berks Coalition to End Homelessness and as treasurer of Friend, Inc., a nonprofit organization serving at-risk individuals and families in the greater Kutztown area.