WYOMISSING, Pa. — The Penn State Berks Alumni Society celebrated three alumni who received awards for 2022 during its awards ceremony on Wednesday, April 5. Nick Claytor received the Volunteer Service Award, Brittany Maack LaManna earned the Outstanding Young Alumna Award, and Steve Stetzler won the Alumni Achievement Award. In addition, Nicholas Yeager, 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, was also recognized this year as he was unable to attend last year’s ceremony.
2022 Volunteer Service Award: Nick Claytor, class of 2014
Since graduating from Penn State Berks with a bachelor’s degree in business and a focus on finance, Claytor has volunteered as an assistant coach and co-adviser for the Penn State Berks bowling club. In addition to scheduling the team’s tournaments and travel, he has organized the award-winning monthly “Glow Bowling” event for students, an event where any Penn State Berks student can bowl for free on select Sunday nights throughout the semester. He also organizes the annual youth bowling tournament where young bowlers can earn scholarship money. Since 2015, Claytor has attended every practice and traveled with the team to approximately 10 to 13 tournaments throughout the Northeast and Midwest.
Claytor is employed as a senior accountant for Wilson School District.
The Volunteer Service Award is given to an individual who represents the University and its mission and significantly contributes to fostering advancement at Penn State Berks by dedicating their time, talent, and resources.
2022 Outstanding Young Alumna: Britany Maack LaManna, class of 2012
After earning her degree in communication arts and sciences, LaManna turned the skills she learned at Penn State Berks into a successful career in the insurance industry, working as a senior account executive at The Loomis Co. She was selected as the 2022 Insurance Business America’s (IAB) Young Rising Star recipient, to the Loomis Millionaire Sales Club for 2022, and a 2023 Chubb Rising Star recipient.
During her time at Penn State Berks, LaManna also worked on a project to publish “Jewish Reading and Berks County,” a book that discusses the history of Berks County’s first Jewish settlers, in 2011.
Outside of her career, LaManna volunteers with the Berks County Children’s Alliance Center and Olivet Boys and Girls Club, helping to raise nearly a million dollars for the latter.
This award recognizes an emerging alumni leader, under 35, who has extraordinary loyalty and service to Penn State Berks and has demonstrated outstanding professional, community and educational accomplishments.
2022 Alumni Achievement Award: Steve Stetzler, class of 1993
After graduating with an associate degree in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management, Stetzler was asked by the owners of the Deitsch Eck (Dutch Corner), where he started working at the age of 15, to become the manager. In 1997, he became the restaurant’s owner.
His charitable activities include serving free Thanksgiving meals to low-income individuals and households of the Northern Berks Food Pantry, and donating food for various church dinners and fundraisers. He also started the “Plate It Forward” initiative in 2017, where each month, the restaurant donates $1 from every "PA Dutch special" ordered to a different nonprofit.
Stetzler received the 2002 Emerging Professional Award from the Penn State Hotel and Restaurant Society and the Keystone Award from the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association for his achievements in the restaurant industry.
The Alumni Achievement Award was designed for a Penn State Berks alumnus who exemplifies leadership in his/her profession, contribution to the betterment of society, and extraordinary professional and community accomplishments.
2021 Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Nicholas Yeager, class of 2010
Yeager graduated in 2010 from the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology. He is a senior technical program manager with Google. As a first-generation college student, he stepped outside his comfort zone to take advantage of unique opportunities including internships and a co-op, helped to set him up for a career in "big tech," he said.
Yeager has traveled the world in his position at Google and he has moved into a leadership role. He leads a team that is working to transition their hardware lines to cloud-based access. Yeager has hosted a group of the college’s information technology students at Google. In addition, he sits on the board of "Dream Come True-Lehigh Valley," a non-profit which grants wishes for children with terminal illnesses.
For more information on the Penn State Berks Alumni Society, contact Heather Wise, assistant director of alumni relations, at HLA2@psu.edu.