INSID E: MEET THE EDUC ATION DEPA RTMENT 'S NE W LEA DER. S E E A3 THEYELLOWJACKET.ORG
FEBRUARY 4, 2016 | VOL. 93 NO. 11 | EST. 1924
@WUYELLOWJACKET
PHEAA funds arrive after extended delay Waynesburg to University gets How much PHEAA money do celebrate 25 years reimbursed WU students get? after fronting of Bonner Scholars 524 grant money By KIMMI BASTON Executive Editor
After a several month delay in passing a higher education budget for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf unveiled a budget in December that significantly decreases funding given to state higher education assistance. According to Pennsylvania’s recently released budget report at budget.pa.gov, the amount of money allocated for providing grants to college students has decreased by more than 11 percent from the last fiscal year. Those grants are dis-
UNDERGRADUATES
(1/3 STUDENT BODY) receiving PHEAA grants this year
$3,600
given, on average, to WU grant recipients.
$1.9 MILLION
fronted by WU to make up for missing PHEAA money bursed by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). PHEAA, according to its website, aims to financially assist eligible Pennsylvanians who are attending college. They do so with a variety of fi-
nancial aid options, including the State Grant Division, scholarships, work-study and loan forgiveness. Undergraduate college students in Pennsylvania may apply for a state grant, and they usually receive no-
tice of their award amount before a new school year begins. However, because of the state government’s budget impasse and subsequent delay, notices for the 20152016 school year were sent to awardees before allocations were finalized. According to Matthew Stokan, director of financial aid at Waynesburg University, it is only because of PHEAA’s generosity that students will actually receive the amount they were promised. PHEAA is a loan servicer for the federal government, a significant task in the financial aid world. “That’s a pretty big deal because there’s only five full time servicers throughout the country,” said Stokan. “Because of that contract they have with the federal
PHEAA >> A2
In the choice between college and military, both win WU students balance ROTC training and college classes By LUISA SINGLETARY For the Yellow Jacket
For select college students, their duty lies not only in academic or social obligations but also in their duty to serve in the United States military. Whether they are students earning a degree while participating in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) or are military veterans working toward a new future, these students’ experiences differ from their classmates. ROTC is a collection of military officer training programs that are tailored for college students. Students in ROTC attend courses and programming in addition to their college classes. In the summers, cadets attend additional training activities in Fort Knox, Ky. “People ask me all the time, ‘oh, so you went to boot camp.’ No, my four years in college is
Photo courtesy of Charles Cook
(From left) Waynesburg students Charles Cook, Aaron Palmer and Matt Rinaudo work with Lieutenant Sam Lombardo at WVU's ROTC program. my boot camp because I have to learn everything and apply everything within the four years here,” said Aaron Palmer, a senior sports management major and member of Army ROTC. Palmer’s decision to participate in ROTC stemmed largely from his family. Talented at football, many suggested he set his sights on the NFL; however, Palmer wanted not only a more meaningful career, but also one that would allow him to “carry
on the family tradition” of military service spanning the Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and Army. “I like helping people, in my own special kind of way, and the way I see that is serving in the military,” he said. “It’s what I’ve been around my whole life, and it’s really the only thing I’ve ever known.” Though the military is very important in Palmer’s family, it didn’t trump the necessity of a college degree. Palmer knew the expectation from his fa-
ther—the first in his family to go to college and an ROTC graduate himself—would be to go to school: something that allowed Palmer to pursue all of his passions. “I have the opportunity to do football – play something I love – and do something I love in the Army and college, so why not take advantage of that, especially if it’s sitting right in front of me?” For senior biology (preROTC >> A4
By KIMMI BASTON Executive Editor
Mr. and Mrs. Bonner both came from impoverished homes. For the first few decades of their lives, they had next to nothing. Both of them worked extremely hard to rise from the depths, and they did rise magnificently, eventually becoming millionaires. As soon as they had wealth, they sought to give it away. In a video on the Bonner Foundation’s website, Mrs. Bonner said her husband was happiest when he was helping others. That is the basis for the Bonners’ legacy: a desire to make possible the improvement of others’ lives through the work of those with servant hearts. In 2015, the Bonner Foundation celebrated 25 years of sustaining that legacy through the Bonner Scholars Program. Though Mr. and Mrs. Bonner died in 1993 and 2002, respectively, their foundation has continued providing financial aid to first-generation, low-income and under-represented college students who are committed to serving throughout their college career. One of the first higher education institutions to be a part of the program was Waynesburg University, who began awarding the scholarship in 1992. In 2017, the university will celebrate its 25th anniversary of involvement with the Bonner Scholars Program. Adrienne Tharp, coordinator of the Bonner Program at Waynesburg University, said the celebration of the momentous anniversary will be an exciting time for all involved. “It’s so exciting, especially since the Bonner Foundation just celebrated its 25th [anniversary]. That was such a fun time to hear stories about how the program started and the vision from Mr. and Mrs. Bonner,” said Tharp. “It’s just such a fantastic program that is providing really great opportunities for students. Its great
that Waynesburg is a part of that history and that legacy and that we’re able to provide opportunities for students to go to college and to be civically engaged in the community and be so involved.” Brought to Waynesburg by then-President Timothy Thyreen, the university Bonner Scholars Program provides a scholarship to roughly 15 students each year. According to Tharp, Bonner students are heavily involved in the community, completing at least 140 hours of service each semester and two summers of service that total 280 hours each. They also work on issue-based projects which Tharp said immensely benefits the Greene County area. “What’s really neat about it is it’s a national program,” she said. “So it’s not just here in Waynesburg; there are other schools across the country that have this. I think it gives a lot of value to what our students are doing in the community, and I know our community benefits greatly from having students that are so committed to service.” Tharp also affirms that Bonner Scholars’ dedication to serving is expanded to their varied social and campus groups, so the program helps to fulfill Waynesburg’s mission of service throughout the student body. Tharp hopes to involve the entire campus, in addition to Bonner alumni, in the approaching celebration. “I know service is in our DNA, but I think that having the Bonner Program really affirms that and shows that this university’s committed to serving, especially here in Greene County,” said Tharp. “It’s just exciting that the Program has had such a long-standing relationship.” The Waynesburg 25th anniversary celebration will take place on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. Plans for the event are in the early stages, though meetings will begin this month.
Maintenance works overtime to prepare parking spots, lots By JACOB MEYER Sports Editor
Winter Storm Jonas may have piled up 18 inches of snow in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region, but the storm was not enough to cancel class at Waynesburg University Monday, Jan. 25.
According to Terry Sattler, director of facilities planning and management at Waynesburg University, his maintenance staff worked the entire weekend to ensure classes could be held Monday morning. “Since the snow started falling Friday afternoon, we
were trying to maintain campus, because that’s the best way for us to get it is to stay on top of it. I had guys here from early Friday morning to late Sunday afternoon,” Sattler said. “I think it says a lot about the team that we have over here at facility services. I didn’t have to beg and plead
for guys to stay here and work. It was a team effort.” Part of that team was Thralls Contracting in Waynesburg, as they assisted the maintenance staff in snow removal. “We needed to have the parking available, but there was so much snow that we
couldn’t pile it up anymore,” Sattler said. “The piled up snow was taking up parking spaces. So, Sunday night and Monday night they loaded up dump trucks to take the snow and dumped it out behind the Thayer parking lot, as they also took some snow off campus for us.”
Mike Humiston, director of the department of public safety, said public safety assisted in several different ways. “From a security standpoint, we assisted digging people out,” Humiston said. “We helped people with batPARKING >> A3
AFTER WAYNESBURG, GRAD FINDS A HOME NEARBY
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: JEN BROWN
Shawn Wood graduated from Waynesburg with a degree in Psychology, but eventually discovered a passion for law enforcement. Now, he's a patrolman for Waynesburg Borough.
After delivering a testimony at Upper Room, one student discovered that the most important person to be honest with is herself.
See B1
BASKETBALL VICTORY On Saturday, Junior Christian Koroly put the Jackets ahead of Grove City with a late three; Waynesburg went on to win by five points. See C1
See B2
INSIDE
WU'S GOT TALENT Get a sneak peak of which Waynesburg students will be showcasing their varied talents on the GPAC stage this Friday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m.
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