38th Annual Greater Scranton Penn State Chapter Dinner Announces Male and Female Academic-Athletic Award Recipients
Since 1986, The Greater Scranton Penn State Chapter honors two athletes from the Penn State Worthington Scranton Campus who have contributed both athletically and academically earning over a 3.0 GPA. The award in its 30th year this year, will be given out at the annual Greater Scranton Penn State Chapter Dinner on May 18, 2016 featuring guest speaker Joe Moorhead, Offensive Coordinator at Penn State University.
This year's female Academic-Athletic Award recipient is Ashley Fuentez. A 2014 Riverside graduate, Ms. Fuentez is an accounting major at Penn State Worthington Scranton and earned dean's List last semester. Ashley, who is a member of the women's volleyball team, earned PSUAC Academic All-Conference this season and stepped into the role of libero helping guide the communication on the court. In January, Ashley took on a leadership role stepping in to revive the campus Athletic Club after its hiatus when the former president graduated. In under 3 months Ms. Fuentez recruited an executive committee and raised funds to support campus athletic programs through the use of her creative fundraising ideas.
This year's male Academic-Athletic Award recipient is 2012 West Scranton graduate Jerry Palauskas. Jerry is an accounting and finance major minoring in information technology and security risk analysis. Jerry is a dean's list student at Penn State Worthington Scranton and a four-year student-athlete on the baseball team, earning PSUAC Academic-All Conference every season that he participated. Mr. Palauskas was the 2015 recipient of the Patrick J. Rose Award for Excellence in Student Leadership, served as treasurer of the Student Government Association for two years, worked as a student aid in the Information Technology Department, and was one of the 2015 THON dancers representing the campus as he danced for 46 hours during the largest student-run philanthropic event in the world at University Park.
The Greater Scranton Penn State Chapter Dinner will be held on Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Fiorelli Catering in Peckville and will honor local high school students who have received scholarships to Penn State Worthington Scranton. In addition, the dinner will honor the Greater Scranton Penn State Chapter Alumnus of the Year, Bill Jones, as well as the Academic-Athletic Award recipients.