By Sarah Matarella and Jon Fassnacht
In 2021, still dealing with the lingering tentacles of the COVID-19 pandemic, a dozen students in Alvernia’s Class of 2025 took a chance on Alvernia University’s brand-new engineering programs.
Four years later, the members of the first graduating class of the John R. Post School of Engineering were among 560 students celebrated during commencement at Santander Arena in downtown Reading, Pennsylvania. The event featured a speech from the Honorable Cherelle L. Parker, the 100th mayor of Philadelphia and the first woman elected to the post. Parker, who was presented with an honorary degree of humane letters at the ceremony, reflected on the experiences that shaped her, including being a first-generation college student, an Ivy League graduate and a single mother. She inspired the graduates by sharing anecdotes she learned in her own studies that became integral to her success.
“Four letters: G-R-I-T. Grit is more powerful than socioeconomic status,” Parker said. “I know that you all are gritty because as we counted it back, many of you became students here in order to be sitting in these seats during the worst black swan event that we could have never predicted in our nation, and that was in the middle of COVID. ... So I don’t care if you were a traditional student, I don’t care if you were online, you decided
that you would focus your time and attention on pursuing academic excellence, and that demonstrates grit. As long as you work hard and you’re willing to learn, I don’t care what your socioeconomic status is, you deserve to have a seat at the table and be in the room if you are willing to earn it.”
Leap of Faith
Alvernia has always been a part of Faith Bentz’s life. Her parents – David Bentz ’94 and Elizabeth Bentz, OTD ’95, former chair of the school’s Occupational Therapy program — met on campus. Still, enrolling in the school’s nascent engineering program was a leap of faith for Faith.
“I was not entirely sure what to expect my first year,” Bentz said. “When I joined the program, there were no hired full-time engineering faculty. It was odd to sign up for classes with the professor listed as TBD."
But despite the program’s new-car smell, Bentz trusted Alvernia to create reputable and worthwhile offerings. It paid off.
“The small class size created an overall sense of community within the program,” the mechanical engineering major said. “There were many late nights spent together at the library.”
Peter Rye, chief strategy officer at Reading-based plastics manufacturer Brentwood Industries Inc., helped bring the engineering program to Alvernia and is now reaping the benefits. Rye, who served as Brentwood’s president and CEO for 14 years, was a member of Alvernia’s Engineering Advisory Board, a group of local community leaders and manufacturers that identified regional workforce needs while providing guidance and support to the university’s programs.
“Ultimately, adding the engineering component to Alvernia’s offerings broadens the economic impact of the university to our community,” said Rye, whose company helped to fund the labs in which the students learned. “As the faculty and enrollment expand, the research opportunities will become a bigger opportunity for students and sponsoring businesses.”
Along with boosting Bentz’s educational experience, the school’s focus on experiential learning and partnerships landed her an internship and job. Community partners were brought in to share their engineering experiences and give the students projects to design, allowing them to apply academics to a real-world setting.
“Our Engineering Advisory Board helps shape a curriculum that gives students the technical and interpersonal skills employers demand so they graduate ready to succeed from day one,” said Joseph Mahoney, Ph.D., director of John R. Post School of Engineering.
Bentz interned with Brentwood in its cooling tower lab during her senior year. Following her walk across the stage at commencement, she began working at the company full time as a product development engineer.
“This is exactly the outcome we hoped for by launching engineering,” Rye said.
Other jobs lined up by the inaugural class include positions at East Penn Manufacturing Co. and Carpenter Technology Corp. in Berks County, Rehau North America in Virginia and Stryker Corp. in New Jersey.
“As the guinea pigs, we got to add our input and legacy into this program,” she said. “It is such an honor to be a part of this group and get to say that the 12 of us are the first of many Alvernia engineers.”
