Bailey Hayes and Jonathan Kelly are among the 88 percent of students at Penn State Wilkes-Barre who have received financial assistance to help them pursue a degree. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons
April 29, 2025
By Goldie Van Horn
DALLAS, Pa. — When making a college decision, financial assistance is an important component for students and their families. Penn State is committed to making a college education affordable and accessible to everyone. To aid in that goal, the University provides financial assistance to many eligible students, and at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 88 percent of students receive some form of it, including scholarships.
“Financial assistance provides access to education that students otherwise may not have, and that’s really important when students are selecting a school. They often choose Penn State — and specifically a Commonwealth Campus like Penn State Wilkes-Barre — for the availability of scholarships,” said Desiree Voitek, director of campus development. “It gives students peace of mind to be able to study and not have to work excessively to pay tuition. They can focus on their studies and have the time to participate in extracurricular activities.”
For the 2024-25 academic year, Penn State Wilkes-Barre awarded 224 scholarships totaling nearly $1 million. Donors have supported many of those scholarships, with 59 donor-created scholarships offered at the campus.
Voitek said the availability of financial aid is especially important for many students who choose Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
“We have a high population of first-generation students and others who have greater need,” she said. “We want to provide that access and affordability to them as part of our mission.”
Bailey Hayes is a first-generation student who has received scholarships to help finance her education. The daughter of small-business owners, she said it was because she received scholarships that she was able to pursue her degree in criminal justice, which she will complete in May.
“I have a very vivid memory of my dad telling me when I was growing up that college might not be possible for me because our family would not be able to afford it,” she said. “I started making sure I was getting straight A’s and working hard at athletics.”
Hayes first attended Luzerne County Community College, where she earned an associate degree in criminal justice. She thought that would be the last stop for her education, but a faculty member encouraged her to reach out to Rebecca Sarver, assistant teaching professor of criminal justice and coordinator of the criminal justice program at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
“Since I come from a lower-middle-class family, I initially wasn’t going to go for a four-year degree,” Hayes said. “But I was encouraged to give it a shot, and it ended up working out beautifully for me. Penn State Wilkes-Barre was close to home and very affordable. Professors Sarver and [Jeremy] Olson [assistant professor of criminal justice] were so welcoming and inviting to the major. And now I’m graduating college with a minimal amount of debt.”
She estimated that financial assistance has covered about half of her tuition each semester and said she has received a minimum of two scholarships each academic year.
Attending a campus where so many other students receive financial assistance has made Hayes feel supported and able to relate to her peers, she said.
“Knowing so many other people get support too makes me realize this is normal and it’s OK to accept help,” she said. “It makes me so happy that there are other people out there in all kinds of situations who still chose to go to college and pursue education. I like knowing I’m not the only one who is overcoming hurdles.”
Some scholarships are targeted to students with demonstrated financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Some are merit-based, often on grade-point average (GPA) as designated by a donor. Others are program-based for students in certain majors or activities. Student-athletes and veterans are some examples of students eligible for program-based awards unique to Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
“Our Office of Financial Aid works on each student’s financial aid package on a case-by-case basis,” Voitek said. “We award as many students as we can the scholarship funds that we have available to try to make it as affordable as possible.”
Jonathan Kelly, a fourth-year student majoring in rehabilitation and human services, received the 1st Lt. Jeffrey F. DePrimo Military Award from Penn State Wilkes-Barre and also has been able to use Chapter 31 benefits as a disabled military veteran. He previously earned a degree in business from Penn State Wilkes-Barre before enlisting in the military. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps until he was permanently medically disabled with back and knee injuries. During Kelly’s military service, he was deployed to Iraq three times. On his last tour, he was injured and sent home.
Since his situation made it difficult for him to get a job, he acknowledged that he needed help to be able to complete his degree and move into a new field.
“My back injuries have gotten substantially worse, and I have had to have multiple surgeries. I was laid off because of that and could not find work,” Kelly said. “I had to be honest about my injuries and disability and did not get a call back from most places. I went through a rough patch in my life, losing quite a bit financially and going through a bout of depression. I had to give up my home and start over. It took the VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] to help get me back on an even keel. They helped me get my life back on track and helped get me to Penn State Wilkes-Barre.”
Through his scholarship and Chapter 31 benefits, his tuition, books and other expenses have been completely covered.
Jacqueline Warnick-Piatt, alumni relations and stewardship officer, said she hears from many students like Hayes and Kelly who are “beyond grateful” for the assistance they have received.
“They say they are not sure they could have made it without financial support and now they don’t have to work a full-time job in order to go to school,” she said. “We host our annual scholarship and awards dinner, and for those who cannot attend, we offer meet-and-greets over Zoom with attendees and donors to connect them, so our scholarship recipients can share their gratitude.”
Hayes said, “Every time I’ve met a donor, I explain to them how their gift really encourages me to keep going and how I’m grateful there are people out there who want to support people like me. It means more than anyone will ever understand that someone recognizes the effort I’ve been putting in for years.”
Voitek said, “Sometimes we hear that students can’t wait to pay it forward themselves. I think our students really celebrate and acknowledge the philanthropy they have received.”
Kelly said the help he received inspires him to help others, and he chose his major because he wanted to help other veterans like himself.
“I wanted to come to Penn State Wilkes-Barre because they had my major and I was already familiar with the campus,” he said. “I’d like to work with disabled veterans such as myself and this was the best avenue to do that.”
He said he has a five-year plan and a 10-year plan. In five years, he hopes to work at a VA hospital in vocational rehabilitation, occupational therapy or substance abuse counseling. In 10 years, he wants to start his own nonprofit organization “by veterans, for veterans” with a program that would offer rescue animals and assistance for veterans needing mental health, substance abuse and therapy assistance.
Hayes said she has wanted to work in law enforcement since she was 4 years old and hopes to contribute to scholarship funds later in her career. She wants to work for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and eventually investigate human trafficking.
Both Hayes and Kelly expressed their relief at being able to focus on their studies, rather than a financial situation.
“The financial assistance aspect has been so important for me,” Kelly said. “I wouldn’t be able to get this education without it.”
Hayes said, “I already live in my own house and pay my own bills and my own insurance. I have been able to use whatever I earned from working toward those bills and use my scholarship money to pay my tuition. And because of my scholarships, I have been able to save money from working to start my life after graduation. I have also been able to have more time to go home and see my family.”
Voitek said many of the benefactors who have made gifts or endowed campus scholarship funds were once in a similar place as the student recipients.
“I often hear from our donors that they want to pay it forward,” she said. “Many of them received their start in life with the help of a Penn State education. They also hope these scholarships give students the inspiration and support to continue in their education so they can start a new trajectory for themselves and their families. Education is a strong path forward. Our benefactors want to see students succeed and have the confidence to do so with the help of a scholarship.”
This year’s Scholarship and Awards Dinner was held at The Greens at Irem Clubhouse on Thursday, March 27, bringing together donors and student recipients.
Penn State Wilkes-Barre has additional resources to help meet student needs, including a student emergency fund. Another internship fund has been specifically designated for rehabilitation and human services students to provide a stipend for books, housing, gas, food, meals and other expenses.
Other assistance includes a lending closet through the Struthers Family Career Services Center, where students can receive professional attire, and a campus food pantry stocked with a variety of items.
“At Penn State Wilkes-Barre, we take a well-rounded approach,” Voitek said. “Scholarships combined with all these other resources demonstrate that we are thinking about our students’ entire scope of needs.”
Gifts to scholarships advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
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