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OPEN DOORS: Foundations for Success

Visionary supporters are helping undergraduates to thrive at Penn State and beyond.

THE OVERLY SCHOLARS PROGRAM

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Students at Penn State Harrisburg’s Globe Fountain

“We simply would not be where we are today without a solid education,” says Donna Overly about the paths that have taken her and her husband, Steven Overly, from their hometown of Hanover, Pennsylvania, to lives of professional success, international travel, and now leadership philanthropy, through their estate commitment to create the Overly Scholars Program.

Their $7.3 million gift will endow full in-state tuition scholarships for high-achieving students in both the Schreyer Honors College and at Penn State Harrisburg, where Steven earned a master of public administration degree. He went on to two law degrees and a career in leadership roles for companies including General Electric, Lockheed Martin, American Casino & Entertainment Properties, and Textron. Donna’s first career was as a nurse, primarily in critical care. In 2005, she received her bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of Texas at Austin. Today, she is both a painter and a published novelist.

The couple has never forgotten their Pennsylvania roots and the challenges they faced in paying for their own educations. First preference for the Penn State Harrisburg program will be given to students from Adams and York Counties, where Steven and Donna were raised, while first preference for the Schreyer Honors College scholarships will be given to students from Westmoreland County, where Steven’s father and aunts and uncles grew up before going to Penn State themselves. Steven and Donna hope that through the in-state tuition scholarships, Overly Scholars will be able to take full advantage of opportunities like leadership development, international study, and service learning.

“We know that the cost of a college education can prevent students from reaching their personal potential,” says Steven Overly. “We want to remove that barrier for students so they can focus on their academic achievement first and foremost, and then to give them some extra experiences that will build their character and help them to become engaged citizens and leaders.”

SHEETZ SUPPORT FOR PENN STATE ALTOONA

Student volunteers at Ivyside Eats

The next time you stop at a Sheetz when hunger hits, imagine not being able to afford the food you need. Through a new commitment this year to Penn State Altoona’s Ivyside Eats, Steve and Nancy Sheetz are channeling the success of their family’s celebrated chain into support for students at their hometown campus. The $500,000 gift will help the organization to meet the growing food insecurity crisis among students, especially those impacted by pandemic-related job losses and other concerns. Last academic year alone, more than 400 students received support from the Ivyside Eats food pantry.

The couple also committed $500,000 to create the first emergency assistance fund at the campus and $1.7 million to endow scholarships for the Sheetz Fellows, a leadership program based in Penn State Altoona’s Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence. Steve Sheetz says, “No Penn State Altoona student should go hungry or face financial hardship alone, and every Penn State Altoona student should have the opportunity to fulfill their potential for leadership. We all benefit when young people in our region earn their degrees and find their own ways to give back.”

Nan and I are grateful for all that this region and Penn State have done to support our success, and we are glad to help today’s and tomorrow’s students achieve their own ambitions and build careers, businesses, and lives in the Altoona area.

—Steve Sheetz

LOOKING AHEAD

There are many ways that alumni and friends can address the food and housing security crisis among Penn State students. A task force appointed by President Barron has identified priorities that include:

—Support for food pantries and programs at campuses across the Commonwealth

—Centralized emergency funds to ensure that aid goes to those with the most urgent needs

—The LiveOn Student Success Grant Program, which reduces the burden of on-campus housing costs

To learn more about how you can help, contact Sue Harris, director of development for Student Affairs, at sueharris@psu.edu.

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