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Pride of
Th e
Penn State Hazleton
By Kevin J. Salaway Director of Development and University Relations
Throughout the year, I visit with Penn State Hazleton alumni across the country, learning about their interests and experiences and what it means to be a Penn Stater.
boutique consultancies, one of which was acquired by E&Y. Glenn, his wife and their two children, Joan and Alex, live in Stroudsburg.
Chloe Monyah Abraczinskas ’08 came to Penn State with a burning interest from a very early age in aerospace and at one time dreamed of becoming an astronaut. She now works at the NASA headquarters in Houston as a technical specialist. Chloe most remembers from the campus Molly Wertheimer for her speech and writing classes, among others in the engineering and sciences. Chloe talked about the importance of the Women in Engineering Program Orientation (WEPO) program at Penn State and how valuable it was for her and her classmates.
Beverly Rimm Kresge ’58 attended Penn State with her sister Sandra Rimm Haining ’61. Beverly was a chemistry major and upon graduation, she went to work at Hercules in Allentown and eventually to Binghamton at Agfa Ansco, the photography company that predated Kodak. Beverly left Ansco and went to work for IBM in 1979 and stayed there until retirement.
Daniel Cocco ’08 and I met at his offices at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he is serving as a consultant in the HR Services division. He has been at PwC for about four years and loves the work. Upon graduation from Penn State, Dan went to work for Columbia University in a development position and stayed there for about five years. He also earned his master’s degree in business at Columbia. Dan was a recent candidate for the Penn State Board of Trustees.
Sandy was also a chemistry major. After college, she went to work at IBM in Endicott, N.Y. Sandy worked a few years at IBM before she left to raise her children and be a full-time homemaker. Her husband is a retired IBM engineer. Sandra has a daughter who is a SUNY Binghamton graduate.
Linda Corra ’67 began her career at IBM as a programmer in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., location immediately upon graduating from Penn State. Some 30 years later, she retired as a director of marketing and sales. Linda now spends time managing her properties and an antique shop in Decatur, Ga. She remembered the Hazleton community and also commented on the importance of the Hazleton campus to the community and her gratitude for the opportunity to start her education there. Michael Donegan Jr. ’99 comes from a Penn State family, as his father, uncles and several siblings are all Penn Staters. Michael is employed as an insurance agent for Farmers Century 21 Insurance Agency and is pursuing his graduate degree online at Asher University. Michael is a member of the local Binghamton Alumni Chapter and he remembered Judy O’Donnell at the campus and classmate William Yurasko ’99, who was president of the Organization for Town Independent Student (OTIS). William Ebken ’73a is owner and manager of the Frame Factory and Gallery, an art and framing business in State College. Bill’s wife is an instructor in the Penn State Nursing program and has been there many years. They have two daughters, Sandra and Alex, both Penn State alumnae. Glenn Hafler ’96 is a consultant with Ernst and Young, specializing in business modeling and finance. He has been at E&Y about six years. Upon graduation, Glenn went to work for Anderson Consulting and then a few
Kathryn Kelsey ’77 and I met over a cup of coffee in Austin, Texas. She has a son and daughter, both grown. Her son is a graduate of UT Austin and holds a business-related position. Her daughter just started her studies at UT Austin. Kathryn’s last position was with RSI, where she sold wire harnesses. I met Michael Kirkpatrick ’02 at his offices at CannonDesign, where he is a senior associate in electrical engineering. His work involves designing lighting systems for the buildings that Cannon designs. He grew up in upstate New York and came to the campus seeking a smaller entry point to a big university. His wife is a CPA working in a real estate development arena for Joe Torre, the former coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. Shannon Kolensky ’08 works at UT Austin, supporting NASA projects. During her studies at Penn State, she did a co-op at NASA and worked on a number of experiments and projects supporting the shuttle project. She told me that as a result of the co-op, she witnessed a number of shuttle landings at Edwards Air Force Base and the piggyback ride back to Florida. Diane Lantz ’83 is the regional director at the Corning Regional Economic Development and Energy Corp. She came to the campus from Towanda from a Penn State family seeking a smaller college experience. Diane remembered Nick Skimbo, her accounting and finance instructor, and Tom Caccese. She also remembered classmates Joe Broschak ’82 and Michelle Kresge. Diane and her husband have two children, a son who is a fellow at Penn State in criminal justice and a daughter who is at St. Bonaventure considering veterinary medicine.