UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two years after establishing a bequest to create an undergraduate scholarship, Penn State alumnus Lyn VanTassel took steps to begin making an impact now through a five-year pledge early activating his scholarship. The Lyn M. VanTassel Undergraduate Student Scholarship in the College of Agricultural Sciences will be open to all undergraduates of the college, regardless of major or financial need.
"We are truly thankful for Lyn's commitment to support our undergraduate students with a future gift to create a scholarship, but are also thrilled he's chosen to early activate the scholarship so he can see his generosity in action,” said Tracy Hoover, associate dean for undergraduate education in the college. “Financial support in the form of scholarships like this one helps make an agricultural sciences education more accessible, opening opportunities for students to explore their passions and interests and make a difference in our society and the world."
VanTassel grew up on a dairy farm in upstate New York and earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. Following through on a lifelong ambition to be an agricultural education teacher, he spent 38 years teaching both agriculture and the sciences at various schools in both Pennsylvania and his home state.
“I think teachers are born,” VanTassel said. “I was lucky enough to be in a job where I felt like I never went to work. I really had fun with what I did.”
Van Tassel initially started his undergraduate education at what is now SUNY – Cobleskill before transferring to Cornell for his final two years. But his road to and through college required a strong understanding of finances and the will to work hard, he said.
“I never could have gone to college without state and federal support,” VanTassel said. “I also received scholarship money and grants. I still came out with a small amount of debt, but that’s because every waking moment I wasn’t in school, I was working. We just didn’t have money on the farm for education. However, education is one of those things that can make a world of difference, but in that case, education needs to be your world.”
VanTassel earned his master’s degree in the College of Agricultural Sciences over several years, taking summer courses he could apply to his work with youth. His degree would prove invaluable as it enabled him to meet state certification requirements in New York to continue teaching. It was over the course of those many summers that VanTassel formed a strong attachment to the University, he said,
After retiring from his local school district in 2020, VanTassel decided to create a scholarship for graduating seniors through the Allegheny County Area Foundation. He initially set up a bequest but also opted to make annual gifts now for the scholarship when, he said, he realized the last class he taught would be graduating.
“I felt really happy about what I could do locally, and I realized I wanted to do it for Penn State too,” VanTassel said. “It has everything to do with the value I place on Penn State.”
With the rising cost of higher education and his personal experiences, VanTassel said he understands first-hand that money from scholarships, grants and other sources can make a positive impact for the recipients.
“I was one of those people that a $100 scholarship from the local Rotary helped me buy a book. That’s $100 that might otherwise have been hard to come by," he said. "I just want to make things easier for students, even if it’s just one book easier.”
VanTassel said he has plans to create additional scholarships through other organizations that made a difference in his life. But he stressed that he isn’t doing this for acclaim.
“There are things I’ve been able to do in my life that I was blessed to be able to do. Then there are opportunities like this that I can do that make me so happy. I have my college degree and my education, and I had a great career. Now I get to help others walk down a path that they can enjoy," he said.
Donors like VanTassel advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.