Chancellor Charles Patrick and Haley Miller at Spring 2022 Commencement

Penn State Fayette student earns criminal justice degree in three years

Haley MIller participated in accelerated learning opportunities offered by the Pathways to Success Summer Start program

Haley Miller, from Masontown, Pennsylvania, has graduated early after completing a bachelor of science in criminal justice in just three years from Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Miller participated in accelerated learning opportunities offered by the Pathways to Success Summer Start program (PaSSS).

The PaSSS program, now in its ninth year of operation across the Penn State system, invites eligible incoming first-year students to complete 6 credits during the summer before their first semester. Participants receive a scholarship of up to $1,500, a book stipend of $400, guaranteed on-campus employment and peer mentorship throughout the academic year.

Students who successfully complete the first year may enroll in 12 additional credits during the following summer with a scholarship of up to $3,000. Returning PaSSS students serve as student-mentors to the incoming class.

“The PASSS program has helped me build friendships and learn organizational skills, and it familiarized me with all the opportunities this campus had to offer me. This essentially made integrating into college a lot easier and a lot less stressful,” said Miller. “There have been many faculty, and staff who have helped shape me into the successful student I am.”

Miller is a first-generation college graduate, part of the 50% of Penn State Fayette’s student population for whom the transition from high school to a university setting can be challenging.

The PASSS program has helped me build friendships and learn organizational skills, and it familiarized me with all the opportunities this campus had to offer me. This essentially made integrating into college a lot easier and a lot less stressful.

—Haley Miller , Penn State class of 2022

While at Fayette, Miller completed a work-study in the Admissions Office and served as president of Lion Ambassadors, vice president of Phi Sigma Phi, captain of the women’s cross country and track and field teams, and member of the New Student Orientation Team and Student Government Association. She was named 2021 Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year, USCAA National All-American, and 2022 Criminal Justice Student of the Year.

In 2021, Miller and fellow student Casey Falcon completed an undergraduate research project titled “Penn State Fayette Athletics: Covid-19’s Influence on Student Athletes and the SAGE Program,” which received first place in the Spring Learning Fair and was recognized with an Excellence in Information Literacy from the University Libraries.

“Working with Haley was like watching a butterfly come out of the cocoon,” said Sherry Scully, administrative support assistant in the Admissions Office. “She has grown and matured into an amazing young woman.”

Miller, an alumna of Albert Gallatin High School, also received a minor in psychology. She has accepted a job as a probation officer and hopes to pursue a graduate degree.

For more information about the PaSSS program at Penn State Fayette, visit the program website.