Central Penn College Receives “Empowering Women” Award
Recognizing the opportunities that Central Penn College gives women to develop their innate talents as leaders and entrepreneurs, Central Penn College was among the employers to be honored with an “Empowering Women” Award from Central Penn Business Journal.
Kristi Castanzo, Executive Assistant to President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams, and Jennifer Mariacher, Chief Financial Officer for the College, accepted the award on behalf of Central Penn at a ceremony in Reading today.
In the award nomination, Central Penn’s work on behalf of women was saluted, including their success in placing many women in leadership roles, educating a student body comprised of 68 percent females, building a culture that supports nontraditional students and work-life integration, and offering extracurricular activities that promote women as leaders in athletics, student government and more.
Many of the college’s health care programs are dominated by strong, talented women, both as students and faculty, including medical assisting, phlebotomy, occupational therapy assisting, physical therapist assisting and dental assistant. Many students are single mothers or hold full-time jobs to support their families while attending school.
The College also supports women holistically through its food pantry, sexual assault prevention initiatives, Student Success Center, Career Services Center, one-of-a-kind housing scholarship, and more.
In the community at large, the College also supports and builds women-leaders through its involvement in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Central PA, the West Shore and Harrisburg Regional Chambers, the Salvation Army Shoe Strut, Colleges against Cancer, and a host of other organizations and relationships.
“Our student body is wonderfully diverse,” said Dr. Fedrizzi-Williams. “Many of our students are first-generation college students or students who never thought they could go to college, but they are here defying the odds and excelling, both in classes and later in life. We have smaller class sizes, a committed faculty, and many opportunities for women to be captains or club presidents. We are so grateful for the recognition we have received from Central Penn Business Journal because empowering women lies at the heart of our mission to create a better future for our students and our communities.”
She cited the fact that the college’s most recent Alumni Survey revealed that 90.5 percent of Central Penn graduates are working in their chosen field or continuing their education within a year of graduation. She also said that the core mission of the Knights family is to educate women to succeed independently—to build a better future for themselves and their families.
