Farewell from the Director

Sue Woodring

Another academic year has come to a close. Students have graduated and are looking forward to new opportunities that will shape and mold them as only life experiences can.

I, too, am looking at another opportunity. On June 30, 2017, I will retire after thirty-four years at my beloved Penn State. This will be my final piece for our IvyLink e-newsletter and I’d like to share with you a chapter in “My Penn State Story.” I am paying tribute to Steve Richards, chair of our college’s Philanthropic Council, who suggested that we seek out stories from our alumni that we can share to inspire others—stories that underscore the importance of the role we play at Penn State Altoona and in the lives of students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and within our community.

Penn State and Penn State Altoona have been a huge part of my life and I have been enriched by the many opportunities I have been given as an employee and as our college’s director of development and alumni relations. My greatest personal experience was the day in December 1999 that I received my baccalaureate degree. My goal was to graduate before my oldest daughter graduated from college and I succeeded by five months! I don’t think I was ever more proud of an accomplishment (other than the birth of my three children)! Obtaining my degree opened doors that never would have been opened without a degree. My degree provided opportunities to positions that allowed me more responsibility and let me breathe a little easier financially as a single mom.

Coming to Penn State Altoona in 2003 as the director of development was, in my mind, to be a short-term path to a bigger and better career. My mistake. I underestimated the power of alumni in a community that cared deeply about where Penn State Altoona was going and how it was going to get there. I miscalculated the impact of the stories shared with me by alumni who credited our college with their successes in life and in their careers. I didn’t realize that many of our donors were friends of the college and had never even attended Penn State. The stories these folks shared with me enriched my life in ways I never could have predicted. My life is forever changed by the time I spent at Penn State Altoona.

I am humbled by those along the way who set the bar for others when a need was presented and the goals that were achieved. It has been my honor and privilege to be a member of this Penn State family. That’s ‘My Penn State Story’ and I’m sticking to it!

I’d like to invite you to share your Penn State story. Please send your special story to ivylink@psu.edu, and with your permission, we will share in another issue of IvyLink.

Be well and enjoy life!

Woodring Signature

 

 

 

N. Susan Woodring
Director of Development and Alumni Relations