Alumna devoted to service named first executive director of glass museum in Pittsburgh suburbs

Ask Janine Surmick '07 how she came to attend Alvernia University and you may want to have some tissues ready – for her, that is.

Surmick admits Alvernia was not at the top of the list of colleges and universities she considered when dreaming of where she’d end up after graduating from Exeter Township Senior High School in Berks County.

“I’d tell people all the time: ‘I do not want to be taught by nuns. My mother is Jewish. I don’t want to be in Berks County. Get me out,'" she said. "And it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

So how did she come to choose Alvernia? Part of it was funding, she admits. A lot of it was that she met Associate Professor of English Marybeth DeMeo at her first interview.

“She’s the whole reason I went to Alvernia and chose it,” Surmick recalls through tears while driving home from her day job as the new – and first – executive director of the Duncan & Miller Glass Museum in Washington, Pa. “She’s someone who, to this day, 20 years later, makes you cry in a car because of who they were for me."

Surmick surmises that Alvernia taught her how to do something for someone else who’s never going to know about it. She grew up in a family environment that taught her we are here to lend a helping hand, to be of service. Alvernia’s experiential learning and volunteer opportunities were an extension of that.

“Alvernia shaped who I am as a leader," she said. "I truly believe in a liberal arts education grounded in service."

Her list of accomplishments as an Alvernia student certainly underscores that fact. She was a member of the Sigma Tau Delta’s Kappa Pi Chapter, and represented Alvernia as the Associate Regent for the honor society. She served in leadership roles with the chapter, Theatre Club, Philosophy Club (which she co-founded) and the Student Government Association.

Academically, she received the English Award, Philosophy Award, shared the Humanities Award and received the Social Justice Award, which hangs in her office today, proudly proclaiming Surmick as a Franciscan Peacemaker. She was also a tutor throughout her college career.

Theatre was a surprise love she discovered at Alvernia. A participant in Alvernia’s inaugural theatre production, Surmick later performed in every fall and spring show from 2003 to 2007; she eventually proclaimed theatre a minor.

Service is a lifelong mission for Surmick. Simply put: She’s busy. She serves as a Trustee on the Pennsylvania District Board of Kiwanis International, is on the board of the Western Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, recently joined Daughters of the American Revolution, and she’s a mom to daughter Violet, 4, who she says has been serving since she was in the womb. She will be joining the children’s chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution and enjoys helping mom with age-appropriate efforts like trunk-or-treats and in handing out books to other children to encourage early literacy.

Though geography makes it a bit harder for Surmick to be involved with Alvernia now, she prioritizes giving back financially to causes near and dear to her as she’s able.

“I was a student on academic support," she said. "I received grants and financial aid. I weathered things that were not easy, and that’s why, among other things, I give to the Hope Fund. It’s all about being a catalyst to provide hope for somebody else.”