On Oct. 7, I attended the eighth annual Scholarship Donor Dinner at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. This event was an opportunity to hear from and thank the donors who help make it possible for me and my fellow students to attend a great college.
Both my classmates and the café were dressed up for the dinner — far from our casual daytime appearance. I knew a few people who did not want to miss class to attend, but the Community Center café was still packed with students and their families.
As we sat at white linen-covered tables topped with floral centerpieces, looking formal in our dresses and suits, I realized just how alike we are. All of us are students at the same University, with a common purpose of pursing higher education, and we have received scholarships as an award for the diligence we put forth in our studies.
More than 90 percent of my classmates qualify for financial aid. Fortunately, Penn State Fayette has a number of well-funded endowments that provide many students here with academic scholarships. This year, 270 individuals benefited from more than $600,000 in private academic scholarships.
One student at the dinner spoke on behalf of the scholarship recipients. Haley Brothers explained how the financial assistance has helped her.
“Growing up with a single mom,” said Brothers, “money was not something we had laying around our house. The Blue and White Commonwealth Scholarship allows me not only to further and better my education, but also to experience all of the opportunities that are offered at a Big Ten college.”
Like Brothers, I feel the importance of my scholarship. To me, a scholarship feels like a reward for hard work, and it provides encouragement to continue because someone, whom you may not know personally, wants you to succeed. On this special night, we got to know our benefactors.
I sat at a table with Terry McMillen, who spoke as the representative of the donors. He told us how highly he values education and hard work. I also got to learn a bit about him and why he believes so strongly in supporting engineering students.
“The donor dinner is a great event to bring donors and recipients together and add real life to the donor’s gift,” said McMillen. “It is very encouraging for donors to hear the success stories from the recipients and to know that their gift is making real change in the lives of students and their families. The recipients seem to appreciate the opportunity to express what the scholarship means to them.”
The Scholarship Donor Dinner may mean more to me than to some others. Without my Blue and White Commonwealth Scholarship, I would not be able to attend Penn State Fayette. I feel very fortunate to be studying at a college where generous individuals in the local community believe so strongly in education.