Fostering Lions

Finally, Penn State has a program to assist former foster care youth to attend college [“Steadying Hands,” July/August 2026, p. 50]! Decades ago, I was one of those youths. Anxiety regarding finances affected my grades, course choices, and social life. I couldn’t get a student loan for two years, until I was advised to apply as a family of one. Working summers in a factory, Social Security from my deceased mother, a small scholarship, and a lot of help from my friends made graduation possible, and today I am a happily retired social worker who worked on behalf of foster children. I believe there are many who could blossom under the right circumstances. I hope this program can make that happen. 

Constance Young Jones ’69 Lib
Baltimore, Md.

Hintz at 25

What a pleasure it was to see the article in the May/June issue on the 25th anniversary of “The Hintz.” [“Happy Birthday to Hintz,” p. 38]. We had the honor of being hired by our alma mater in 1998 for a dream job—to design a home for (then) 140,000 people! Any architect will tell you that the best reward is seeing your work bring joy to generations, so this article was especially gratifying. But we couldn’t have done it alone. Thanks go to the hundreds who made this happen, from the contractors, consultants, and craftsmen to the spirited and unflagging engagement of the alumni association leadership, members, and staff, we all proved that great buildings come from great people working together to “Raise the Song.”

Thomas Purdy ’84 A&A
Philadelphia

Semiquincentennial Spirit

“Road Warriors” [Pulse, July/August 2026, p. 10] was a wonderful photo, a tribute to ROTC cadets of all stripes who are among the best hopes for America’s future. I was disappointed, however, not to find one patriotic word in the Penn Stater, although published and distributed during the celebration of our country’s remarkable 250th anniversary. As a land-grant college, Penn State is deeply rooted in our republic’s goal of providing accessible education in agriculture, science, and engineering for working-class Americans. Surely the Penn Stater could have helped us celebrate our nation’s remarkable milestone as a republic by publishing examples of alumni who had benefited from the university’s teachings and then went on to contribute to the success of this great land.

Charles H. Lutz ’67 Lib
Keowee Key, S.C.

More IM Medals

Here’s the medal we won for our intramural soccer championship in spring 1974 [Letters, July/August 2026, p. 8]. The team from Jordan Hall won it all! We were presented the medals after the game by former Penn State soccer coach Ken Hosterman. Still have the photos and the freshman “dink” I wore while playing goalkeeper. Great memories for our dorm and our team; one from Canada, one from Greece, one from Korea, and four Philly kids. WE ARE!

Mike Emery ’77 Bus
Noblesville, Ind.

I pulled out these four IM “medals” that are part of my brother John Bruno’s Penn State memorabilia. Three in a wood block case and one on its own. John was the punter on the 1986 national championship team. Sadly, he passed away from melanoma skin cancer in 1992 at 27. I’ve held on to them along with boxes of Penn State football memories—especially about the 1986 season. I reached out to one of John’s teammates and found out that John played on an IM basketball team with other football team members. I was not aware he played IM basketball! I am trying to track down if they won four years in a row or if anyone knows why John has four! Of course, the IM question is one of many over the years I wish I could ask John directly! We still think about him every day and will celebrate the 40th anniversary of that incredible 1986 season this fall.

Cheryl Bruno Gamber ’83 H&HD
Wellsville, Pa.

I played intramural coed softball with a group of East Halls residents and we won back-to-back championships. We were a close group of friends, many of us from New Castle, Pa., and had a great time during our two-year reign as champs!

Richard Arcuri ’84 Agr, ’86 MEd Edu
New Berlin, Wis.

Very proud to say that our dorm floor, Lackawanna House in Beam Hall in North Halls, won the fall 1971 IM football championship. We were blessed with many great athletes, including many of the members of the men’s basketball team. Both Bruce Frycklund and Herb Packer played football and basketball in high school, and we benefited by having these two great players on our dorm IM football team! Another notable Lackawanna House alum was none other than our team captain, Robert Poole, who is now CEO of S&A Homes of State College.

One other medal we captured was the spring ’71 North Halls After Dinner Twilight Basketball B League championship. Members of the men’s basketball team played on our A team against many members of Joe Paterno’s football teams, who lived in Holmes Hall right next door. Every night after dinner, hundreds of North Halls residents would encircle the basketball courts to watch these great players compete. Behind-the-head reverse dunks were commonplace. “Scrubs” like me and my roommate, lacrosse player George Totura, and track athlete Frank Stephens were relegated to the B team. The gold medal we won for our B league championship is pictured here. Great times and fond memories!

Greg Pierce ’74 Eng, ’76 MBA Bus
State College

Here’s the medal I received as a member of the 1974 dormitory flag football championship team from Mifflin Hall. We had several great athletes including Greg Vogel and Kevin Maronic from the baseball team, Tom Hahn from the volleyball team, Bill Zimpfer from the weightlifting team, my roommate Steve Wieder, and several others. Suffice it to say, I was a contributing member, but certainly not one of the best players!

David Kleppinger ’77 Lib
Hummelstown, Pa.

The intramural horseshoe medal in the May/June issue reminded me of the intramural award I received in 1980 for winning the 150-pound weight class in wrestling. I was representing first floor Geary Hall (Crawford House) in the dorm division. There were 32 guys in the bracket for my weight class. The handsome wood block still sits on my desk.

Jack Markey ’82 Agr
Seven Valleys, Pa.

 

Correction

In our July/August print edition, the feature “A Novel Target for Suppressing Neurodegenerative Diseases” [p. 41] incorrectly attributed the provider of a $100,000 research grant. Life Sciences Greenhouse Investments supported the work. We regret the error.