Thursday, March 26, 2026
photos by Alexandra Butler, photographer/photo editor
Penn College’s annual Scholarship Luncheon convened on Sunday, providing an opportunity for scholarship supporters, recipients and their families to connect with one another.
More than 350 attended the event, during which student speaker Andrew Graham, returning to Penn College to answer his yearning for a career shift, expressed how scholarships have not only helped him financially but provided moral support, as well.
Gathering at Penn College’s annual Scholarship Luncheon are (from left): Lindsey G. Bohra, associate executive director of the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation; Newcombe Scholarship for Mature Students recipients Cameron J. Quinn, a welding & fabrication engineering technology student from Chesterfield, New Jersey, and Andrew J. Graham, a network administration & engineering technology student from Nicholson; Penn College President Michael J. Reed; and Gianna Durso-Finley, executive director of the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation.
Graham was initially drawn to Penn College for its automotive programs, and earned an associate degree in 2016 in automotive restoration technology. While working in the field, he encountered customers who worked in information technology and was compelled to pursue that interest. As he approaches graduation in May with a bachelor’s degree network administration & engineering technology, his dream is to use his IT skills with a company that supports the automotive sector.
“To most people it might feel like a stretch to tie those two worlds together, but they are much closer than you might imagine,” he explained. “The modules inside a car all must communicate with each other like a network of computers. The newest vehicles even use protocols and standards based on the systems computers have been using for years. The challenge of problem solving, the critical thinking skills required, and the sense of pride when an issue is resolved – or even the wonderment I feel when I see shear chaos before the problem solving begins – is energizing for me.”
His return to campus is making that dream possible, but, Graham told attendees: “All this does not come without a tremendous amount of work.”
More than 350 scholarship recipients and supporters fill Penn College's Field House.
“The balance was challenging and significant,” he continued, “working weekly office hours in College Relations (where he is a student assistant) and the weekly hours at numerous part-time jobs in the automotive industry to cover my expenses as best I can. Last I checked, I was floating between 40 and 50 hours a week before I factor in my classes.”
This time around in the classroom, he’s gained perspective.
“Back then, I thought I had to do everything entirely alone for it to mean anything,” he recalled. “As I have matured, I’m incredibly glad that I learned how to ask for help, realizing that asking for help is a sign of incredible strength and wisdom.”
He described the feeling of weights being lifted off his chest when he was awarded scholarships that would enable him to complete his degree when he thought he might not be able to.
“To know that someone else believes in me inspires me,” he said. “And while everyone’s journey is different, with their own choices and challenges, I am confident that every single one of us scholarship recipients is incredibly grateful for the help you have provided us. Words may not be enough to express the appreciation for the assistance you have given each and every one of us, but your support to us and to Penn College means more than you can ever fathom.”
Through the Penn College Foundation, Graham received four scholarships:
Gianna Durso-Finley, executive director for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, also spoke at the event. The organization’s namesake greatly valued higher education, and during her lifetime sent the children of several friends to college. In her will, she charged five trustees with the creation of a scholarship foundation. Since 1981, the foundation has provided scholarship funding to more than 120 institutions. For the past three years, Penn College has been among them, receiving $50,000 in Mature Student Scholarship funding in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Gianna Durso-Finley, executive director for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation, addresses Scholarship Luncheon attendees.
Durso-Finley said that the foundation has no alumni or trustee connection with Penn College but chose to partner with the college based on time spent on campus during an introductory visit in 2022, when foundation representatives toured labs in each of the college’s three academic schools, chatted with the president and a nontraditional-aged student, and met with Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and the Assessment, Research & Planning office.
The Newcombe Mature Scholarship is important to the foundation, Durso-Finley said, because it helps to support students whose college pathways are, like Graham’s, not perfectly straightforward.
Because of support from the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation and the many others who empower Penn College students through scholarship support, the college provides $2 million annual to more than 730 students.
“Your support is often the difference-maker,” college president Michael J. Reed told the scholarship supporters in attendance. “We routinely hear from various scholarship recipients – with extraordinary gratitude – that they would likely not be on our campus or able to experience the exceptional learning opportunities we offer if it was not for donors like you.”
The annual Scholarship Luncheon serves as an opportunity for donors, scholarship recipients and guests to see the impact scholarship support has on tomorrow’s workforce. Those interested in empowering Penn College’s “Tomorrow Makers” by establishing a scholarship fund or contributing to one are encouraged to visit the scholarships site or call College Relations at 570-320-8020.
Michael J. Reed, Penn College president, who thanked scholarship recipients for taking the time to connect with the donors who believe in their relentless work ethic, parents in attendance for influencing their children to shape a better tomorrow, and scholarship supporters for helping more students to attain the careers of their dreams.
Retired faculty member Kenneth C. Kuhns (left) capitalizes on a photo opportunity with Ken and Diana Kuhns Scholarship recipient Aidan C. Gonya (second from left), an electronics & computer engineering technology student from Allentown, and his parents, Mary and Jim.
Ed and Linda Alberts join Brianna I. Boroch, a polymer engineering technology student from Jersey Shore, who received the Alberts Family Scholarship. From left: Boroch’s mother Beth Dincher, Linda Alberts, Boroch and Ed Alberts.
Kimberly A. Ritter (left) with Kenny Ritter Scholarship recipient Tyler D. Henn, a diesel technology student from Collegeville, and his mom, Traci.
Ron and Tina Miller, whose scholarship benefits students from Clinton County, pause with Alex J. Coakley, a forest technology student from Lock Haven. Ron is an alumnus who retired from the college’s Information Technology Services department, and Tina, also an alum, is director of operations in the college’s Strategic Marketing & Communications Office.
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