Living Out the Legacy of Alyson Lawendowski '93

By Dave Roncolato ’79, Director of Civic Engagement

While at Allegheny, Alyson majored in psychology and joined a sorority. She also was instrumental in launching Allegheny’s community service effort in the early 1990s, serving as a volunteer in a Meadville elementary school.

Although so many of Alyson’s college experiences were positive, Alyson also faced adversity — she battled cancer three of her four years at Allegheny. She died just one month after her graduation in 1993.

Following Alyson’s death, her parents found a way to honor their daughter. They created the Alyson Lawendowski Award for Community Service — an award given annually to a student who has been instrumental in advancing the College’s commitment to service.

Alyson left a poem posted on her bulletin board in the red house, now the Prayer and Meditation Retreat, when she left campus for the last time. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the award, the poem was re-hung in 2013 by Alyson’s twin brother and father in this same house, now the Meditation and Mindfulness house.

The poem offers words of advice for all student service leaders especially during this difficult time of the Global Pandemic:

The Lawendowski award is all about legacy — lasting impact on the student service movement at Allegheny College. Past recipients of this award created ACTS, Alleghenians Committed to Service, developed our Alternative Spring Break program, launched the national student Nothing but Nets campaign from Allegheny College, co-taught the Values Ethics and Social Action capstone course on homelessness, built a hoop house at the Akerman Farm, and served as construction chair for Allegheny’s Habitat for Humanity house while finishing her Senior Comp.

Alyson's Discovery of Allegheny

By Marilyn and Joe Lawendowski

It seemed as if our daughter’s college search was to be one of the briefest we had ever known! A few brochures, some phone calls, and then, that “ah-ha” moment — our family trip to Meadville to visit the campus!

That was the moment our daughter knew for sure that she had found her “home-away-from home!” The historic buildings, the lawns and pathways that invited us to explore where so many had walked before us. That beautiful day, with students, and professors, opening a new world to her life that would be there — of life-long friendships, devotion to education and self-discovery, of outreach and service to others in this beautiful college town.

The key poem that summarizes Alyson hangs in the Meditation and Mindfulness house on campus (her residence during her last year at Allegheny) and at our home, listing many key statements about her philosophy: "Think freely. Practice patience. Smile often. Savor special moments. Celebrate life."

Besides her involvement with community service programs in which she thrived under the guidance of the school and our special angels, Marilyn and I are thrilled with the success of a program that benefits both the community and the school.

Try to remember the following words from one of her favorite songs...

Rest your head. It's going to be alright when times get tough. You can fall back on us. Don't give up.

"Don't Give Up" — Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush