蒂娜亨尼西, the senior assistant vice president for principal gifts in the Penn State Office of University Development, and her husband were the first in their families to attend college. They are supporting first generation students at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 with the 亨尼西 Family Fund, which underwrites programming to keep the cohort on the path toward earning their degrees.
阿宾顿,爸爸. -当蒂娜·亨尼西, who graduated in 1993 was applying to Penn State, 她和她爸爸, 邮政工人, spent hours contemplating the big questions and the small ones, 我们怎么支付大学学费? And just as important, how do you choose your courses and make friends?
亨尼西, the senior assistant vice president for principal gifts in the Penn State Office of University Development, was a first-generation college student who started her Penn State career at the 阿宾顿校区, and she and her family were navigating an entirely new world.
“当我回想起来的时候, my college experience was different from many other students because my family didn’t know how to maneuver through these processes. Our lack of understanding really impacted the decisions we were making,”她说。.
As they were unpacking their shared experiences as first-generation students and how to support them, 亨尼西 and her husband realized the best fit for them was to establish the 亨尼西 Family Fund at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校, which underwrites programming that can keep this cohort of students on the path to earning their degrees.
"以我目前在宾州州立大学的职位, I think about the lack of social capital to support first- generation students, and we know we need to support first generation students with intentionality. Specific programming is so important to help them acclimate, prepare them to be successful and create the community they need,”她说。.
Aneesah史密斯, the director of the 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 Student of Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (孝子女士), keeps 亨尼西 apprised of SODEI’s work with first-generation students, which includes a successful faculty and staff mentoring program.
“The 亨尼西 Family Fund has been extremely helpful with our programming initiatives for first-generation students,史密斯说. "These students especially crave community and connection. 我们通过 我是第一个, 文化活动之旅, and an annual celebration to highlight their successes and encourage them to reflect on how they overcame obstacles."
For 亨尼西, investing in first-generation students at 阿宾顿 allows her to pay it forward.
“Through the 亨尼西 Family Fund, we are connecting first-generation students to each other and resources and helping them have the full and transformative college experience. This is a way for me to have a broad impact, and I love what I see happening,”她说。.
Gifts like the 亨尼西 Family Fund advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. 通过慈善事业, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, 病人, and communities across the Commonwealth and around the world. 欲知详情，请浏览 提高.事业单位.edu.
关于宾大阿宾顿
宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有3个以上,100名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 25 majors, 速成硕士学位, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉学院, NCAA Division III athletics and more.
