{"id":24864,"date":"2026-04-22T09:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/?p=24864"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:15:16","slug":"esu-foundation-hosts-17th-annual-scholarship-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/esu-foundation-hosts-17th-annual-scholarship-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"ESU Foundation Hosts 17th Annual Scholarship Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

The East Stroudsburg University Foundation hosted its 17th<\/sup>\u00a0annual Scholarship Dinner, \u201cFollow Me,\u201d on April 9, 2026, at\u00a0Terraview\u00a0at\u00a0Stroudsmoor\u00a0Country Inn in Stroudsburg, Pa.<\/p>\n

Presented by\u00a0the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union,\u00a0the annual event gives donors and student recipients an opportunity to connect and celebrate\u00a0the impact of scholarships.\u00a0More\u00a0than 300 guests attended\u00a0the celebration held during\u00a0the Foundation\u2019s 40th\u00a0anniversary year.<\/p>\n

Every academic year, hundreds of ESU students\u00a0benefit\u00a0from\u00a0the generosity of Foundation donors. In fiscal year 2024-25,\u00a0the Foundation awarded 777 annual and endowed scholarships totaling more\u00a0than $1.2 million, and 26 new scholarships were created.\u00a0This marks\u00a0the sixth\u00a0consecutive year\u00a0that\u00a0the Foundation has provided more\u00a0than $1 million in scholarship support to deserving Warriors.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo our donors, our sincerest\u00a0thank you. Your generosity makes\u00a0these opportunities possible,\u201d said Rich Santoro, executive director of\u00a0the ESU Foundation. \u201cBecause of you, students\u00a0are able to\u00a0pursue\u00a0their goals and move forward with\u00a0confidence. To our scholarship recipients, we are incredibly proud of you. Your hard work, dedication and determination have brought you to\u00a0this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dinner program featured a panel discussion by scholarship recipients and donors who shared personal stories of supporting and receiving scholarships. Alumni shared\u00a0their professional journeys after graduation while students expressed\u00a0their gratitude and hopes for\u00a0the future.<\/p>\n

Those who\u00a0participated\u00a0in\u00a0the panel:<\/p>\n

Dynasia Speaks of Royersford, Pa., a graphic design student expected to graduate in 2027, received\u00a0the Harry and Jeannie Lee Endowed Scholarship,\u00a0the Margaret A. Rosso Annual Scholarship, and\u00a0the ESU Suncoast Alumni Chapter Annual Scholarship.<\/p>\n

Student-athlete Ashton Blose, a senior exercise science major from Els, N.J., has received multiple scholarships:\u00a0the Ron\u00a0Vitkun\u00a0Family Football Annual Scholarship,\u00a0the Jeff Shrive Football Annual Scholarship,\u00a0the James H. and Sarah A. Rhine Family Endowed Scholarship,\u00a0the\u00a0Thomas and Deanna Detwiler Football Endowed Scholarship, and\u00a0the Peg and Jack \u201952 Gregory Annual Scholarship. He earned All-PSAC honors and was twice named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of\u00a0the Week in 2025.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gerard Rozea \u201996 M\u201997, ATC,\u00a0established\u00a0the Athletic Training Directors Annual Scholarship and\u00a0the Dr. Gerard D. Rozea \u201996 M\u201997 ATEP Endowed Scholarship. Rozea is a faculty member and department chairperson for ESU\u2019s Athletic Training Department.<\/p>\n

Ray Hamlin, a 1986 ESU graduate, was recognized for his achievements as a men\u2019s basketball student-athlete and attorney. A Rutgers Law School graduate and founding partner of Hunt,\u00a0Hamlin\u00a0and Ridley, he\u00a0received ESU\u2019s Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 1999.\u00a0He established\u00a0the Ray Hamlin \u201986 Men\u2019s Basketball Annual Scholarship in 2024.<\/p>\n

Master of Ceremonies for\u00a0the celebration was Rory J. Yanchek \u201984, chief executive officer of Best Energy Reduction Technologies. Yanchek and his wife, Diane,\u00a0established\u00a0the Rory J. Yanchek \u201984 Endowed Scholarship and\u00a0the Rory J. \u201984 Annual Scholarship in 2017.<\/p>\n

The program also included a musical\u00a0theater performance by ESU student Bella Smith\u00a0and Associate Professor Dr. Brian Hodge.<\/p>\n

To see\u00a0the complete listing of\u00a0the 2025-2026 scholarships awarded and\u00a0their student recipients, please visit\u00a0The ESU Foundation website<\/a>.\u00a0To see photos from\u00a0the event,\u00a0visit\u00a0ESU\u2019s Flickr page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ESU Foundation hosted its 17th<\/sup>\u00a0annual Scholarship Dinner, \u201cFollow Me,\u201d on April 9, 2026, at\u00a0Terraview\u00a0at\u00a0Stroudsmoor\u00a0Country Inn in Stroudsburg, Pa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":24867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[143,42,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-news-release","category-slider"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24864"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24864"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24868,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24864\/revisions\/24868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quantum.esu.edu\/insider\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}