This summer, selected students at Penn State’s Altoona and York campuses will have the opportunity to get a head start on their first or second years of college by taking summer classes through the Pathway to Success: Summer Start (PaSSS) pilot program. Now in its second year, the program supports students with unmet financial need by providing a scholarship, $400 book stipend, mentoring, social activities and on-campus employment.
The PaSSS program at select Penn State campuses provides students with tools and resources to increase the likelihood that they will graduate and earn their Penn State degree on time, potentially saving thousands of dollars in tuition and fees.
The PaSSS program is a summer program designed to help students get off to a great start in college and to graduate in four years. For information, visit http://summerstart.psu.edu
Tesi Washington, Brett Kimsel, Brad Ruhl, Gino Sanchez and Brittany Joseph, left to right, spend time studying on the campus lawn at Penn State Schuylkill, taking a break from their summer 2015 PaSSS classes. The group of freshman all formed close friendships as they spent their six weeks going to classes, participating in on and off-campus activities, and working in campus administrative departments.
The 2015 Schuylkill PaSSS students pose for a group selfie photo at the campus Nittany Lion Shrine. The students developed close friendships during the six-week session, not only in class, but in student-life activities like a trip to the beach, hiking, Knoebels Amusement Resort, campus scavenger hunts, and just spending time together around campus.
Mitchell Hornberger and Marisa Rios, 2015 Schuylkill PaSSS students, tend to the new campus community garden that was established as part of the campus sustainability program, Envision, Plan, Implement, Change, Sustain (EPICS).
