PHOTO: Hope Fund recipient Jennifer Weasner ’23 MBA ’24 created a crewneck sweatshirt inspired by landmarks and symbols across campus to support the Hope Fund.
The Hope Fund has supported those in need since the COVID pandemic.
By Jon Fassnacht
With winter semester approaching, Aldriany Payano-Padilla ’25 was distraught.
“I didn’t have the resources to pay for my winter classes, and it felt like my academic journey might come to a halt,” the digital media marketing major said.
But she found hope in the Hope Fund, which assists Alvernia students and families in financial need and allows the university to address student hardships.
“Thanks to the support of the Hope Fund, I was able to enroll in my classes and stay on track toward completing my degree,” Payano-Padilla said. “This experience reminded me of the generosity and community spirit that makes Alvernia so special.”
Developed as a financial support program during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hope Fund supports students by:
• Providing funds for books, testing costs, accommodations and more.
• Providing groceries and meals through Clare’s
Cupboard pantries and grab n’ gos at Alvernia’s locations.
• Providing students and families emergency aid in times of crisis.
“Our students are our lifeblood; without them, there is no Alvernia,” said Thomas Minick ’98 MBA ’10, vice president of academic and government affairs. “And we believe that we should not only support them academically but also personally to help produce well-rounded graduates. Hardships should not stand in the way of a student receiving an education.”
Student success is an important pillar of Partners in Progress, the public phase of Alvernia’s largest comprehensive fundraising campaign. And the Hope Fund is crucial funding priority of the campaign.
Jennifer Weasner ’23 MBA ’24 had a truncated experience at Alvernia after transferring during her junior year. But she made the most of it, serving as a Fellow of Marketing at the O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship, where she designed a dozen logos for clients, including the one gracing the jars of O’Pake Honey, harvested from the beehives on the John R. Post Center at Reading CollegeTowne rooftop.
“Without the scholarship opportunities I was given, I don’t think I would have been able to attend Alvernia,” the digital media marketing major said. “As a first-generation college student, college was a new territory for my whole family. By working with Montgomery County Community College and Alvernia, I was able to seamlessly transfer and gain more knowledge about the financial aid opportunities that are available. If you told me at 18 that I would be graduating with my MBA, I would not have believed you, but it was because of the Alvernia community that this degree has become my reality.”
Weasner has already used the skills she developed at Alvernia to give back to the institution, creating a crewneck sweatshirt inspired by landmarks and symbols across campus to support the Hope Fund.
More examples of Hope in action:
• Karley Merkey ’28 was involved in a car crash in June. Initially estimated to take two weeks, the car repairs stretched to over four months. Due to the significant rental-car fees, Merkey struggled to make ends meet at the beginning of the fall semester. She discussed
her predicament with a financial advisor, who utilized the fund to pay Merkey’s deductible after her car was returned.
• “The Hope Fund has given me the comfort to feel safe and secure from the issues I’ve faced in my personal life due to being transgender,” said Arizaidith Hernandez-Hernandez ’28, a mechanical engineering major. “I’ll feel forever thankful for the help aided to me. Things are now more stable, and I’m happier than ever.”
If you are a student in need, or a faculty, staff or community member looking to help a student, email SOLAR@alvernia.edu with your request for Hope Fund support, or to volunteer to make a gift. You can also visit our SOLAR webpage.
