Ryan Long, a senior administration of justice major, is the first-four-year student in the ASPIRE program. Long will graduate in May 2016 and receive a $1,000 award to help pay down debt.
Freshmen can receive $1,000 when they graduate
Common hour, Monday - Friday, Sept. 14-18, Café 780
UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington students interested in earning a $1,000 scholarship upon graduation can sign up for the ASPIRE (A Scholarship Program Inspiring Responsible Economics) initiative during the open enrollment period, Monday through Friday, Sept. 14-18, in Café 780 at common hour.
ASPIRE is a scholarship program that is the antithesis of the traditional awarding of scholarships. Instead of earning a scholarship to help pay for tuition after enrolling at the campus, recipients receive a scholarship to help pay down debt after graduation from the campus.
“The focus of the program is to learn about finances, spending responsibly and borrowing wisely,” said Jennifer Marino, assistant director for financial aid and ASPIRE coordinator. “Our goal is to help students to save money while attending college and to graduate with less debt.”
Aspiring ASPIRE candidates can enroll from noon to 1:00 p.m., Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 1:45 to 3:15, Tuesday and Thursday. At all other times, interested students can sign-up in the Financial Aid office.
ASPIRE
Established in 2012, ASPIRE is a support system to educate students on the importance of making healthy financial decisions. Students in the program have the opportunity to learn from financial professionals during campus workshops that are held twice during each semester and to get advice from Marino throughout the year. The workshops are designed to help students make informed decisions about their finances while they are attending school and after graduation.
Believed to be the first of its kind at any Penn State campus, ASPIRE is a collaborative effort by four campus units – Chancellor’s, Admissions and Financial Aid offices, and the campus Advisory Board. The program was conceived by Snider and Joe Defilippi, a member of the advisory board.
Students are encouraged to adjust their personal spending habits, particularly when it comes to using student loan funding or credit cards. The initial workshop demonstrates how credit interest can greatly increase the cost of a product. The program strives to produce educated consumers who make correct spending decisions.
Other workshop topics include budgeting money while in school, the importance of saving, dangers of debt, explanation of interest rates and loan repayment strategies. In addition, ASPIRE members receive individualized instruction. Undergraduates who complete the program and earn a degree from the campus are awarded $1,000 for a bachelor’s degree or $500 for an associate degree.
“The scholarship is meant to assist students when they leave the campus as Penn State alumni,” Marino said. “We encourage them to use the funds to begin repaying educational loans.”
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Penn State New Kensington's first ASPIRE graduate Amy Kudranski receives
her diploma from Chancellor Kevin Snider at the 2014 commencement ceremonies.
The inaugural ASPIRE class was formed in the fall 2012 semester. Amy Kudranski, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2014, was the first ASPIRE program member to graduate. She received $500 for her two-year participation.
“ASPIRE has certainly been beneficial to me,” Kudranski said. “It has taught me to be more aware of my finances as a college student.”
Ryan Long, a senior administration of justice major, is in his fourth year of the program. He expects to be the first $1,000 recipient in May when he graduates with a bachelor’s degree.
“The program has helped me understand how money actually works,” Long said, “I have changed a little bit in the ways I spend and save money.”
The program is open to students in the campus’ eight four-year programs -- Administration of Justice, Business, Communications, Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, Information Sciences and Technology, Nursing, and Psychology (BA and BS) -- and five two-year programs -- Biomedical Engineering Technology, Business, Information Sciences and Technology, Letters, Arts and Sciences, and Radiological Sciences). Enrollment begins in the fall. For more information, contact Marino at 724-334-6046 or jam884@psu.edu
For more about ASPIRE, visit http://nk.psu.edu/Admissions/FinancialAid/44807.htm