DUBOIS – Penn State DuBois students who have received scholarships to help fund their education had the chance to personally thank many of the people who make those scholarships possible on Friday at the campus’ annual Scholarship Luncheon, held at the DuBois Country Club. Each year, donors and scholars alike are invited to the event to get to know one another over lunch. Donors get to see, first-hand, the kind of impact they’ve had in the lives of students, and the students have the chance to explain how critical the scholarships have been in their educational pursuits.
“Some students may not be able to be here if it were not for the donors in this room,” said Penn State DuBois Chancellor Melanie Hatch. “For many students, a scholarship can be the difference between earning a degree, and just having the dream of earning a degree. Donors, you have allowed Penn State DuBois to award over $380,000 in scholarships this year. With 90 percent of our students requiring some form of financial aid, it’s just wonderful to have that help.”
Students were happy to express their gratitude, as well. Senior HDFS student Melissa George of Sykesville addressed the room saying, “Without scholarships I don’t know if I would be able to complete my education. Scholarships helped me to achieve my goal of earning a Bachelor’s degree, and one day I would like to help someone else achieve their goals by giving back and helping others.”
Bill Wood, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Clearfield Bank & Trust Company spoke at the luncheon to share a donor’s perspective. Wood and Clearfield Bank & Trust recently established a scholarship at Penn State DuBois. He said, “As a locally owned and operated bank, we feel it’s part of our mission to give back to the communities we serve. We understand the importance of higher education. It provides graduates with opportunities that would not be available to them without a degree.”
Donors who realize the importance of scholarships as Wood does are valuable assets to communities everywhere, Hatch said. In closing the luncheon she again expressed her appreciation to those donors. She said, “We hope this lunch, in some small way, shows our gratitude for what you’ve done for our students and our campus.”