DuBOIS, Pa. — Thanks to a generous gift by Dave and Francie Spigelmyer of Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, five Penn State DuBois students have just become the first graduates of a two-year program aimed at increasing financial literacy and better preparing them for success during and after college.
Tory Anderson, of Curwensville; Amber Hainsey, of Clearfield; Samantha Miller, of Woodland; Tyler McDonald, of Morrisdale; and Brooke Simcox, of Curwensville, completed the ASPIRE program this year. The program aims to teach students about managing finances, spending responsibly and borrowing wisely. The goal is to help students to save money while attending college and to graduate with less debt. Students attended presentations by financial professionals, and completed projects on everything from student loan basics, to mortgages, to taxes and credit scores. Upon completion, the students received a $500 scholarship.
Dave and Francie Spigelmyer pledged $10,000 to fund the ASPIRE program, which will support the effort for years to come.
“This specialized program will help students transition into student life and will help track a student’s academic progress at Penn State,” Dave Spigelmyer said. "The ASPIRE program also serves to assess the student’s educational, social, cultural and personal needs while in college and will help develop life-long financial literacy skills as a student transitions from home-life to independent living. Francie and I, as well as our two children, are graduates of Penn State. Francie and I attended Penn State’s DuBois campus and believe our professional foundation was established at Penn State. We are proud to play a role in bringing ASPIRE to Penn State DuBois and we will always be Penn State Proud.”
Dave Spigelmyer serves as the president of the Pittsburgh-based Marcellus Shale Coalition. He graduated from Penn State in 1982, earning a degree in public service. He received the Penn State Alumni Fellow Award in 2014 and also was honored by the Penn State DuBois Alumni Society with the Outstanding Alumni Award in 2012.
Francie Spigelmyer graduated from Penn State in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in education. She additionally earned a master’s degree from the University of Buffalo, as well as a doctorate in instructional management and leadership from Robert Morris University. She currently works as an educational consultant, and she is a past vice president of academic affairs for Butler County Community College.
This gift will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by fueling discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.