Floyd and Janet Hauth of Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania, recently created a new scholarship to benefit World Campus students. The Floyd and Janet Hauth Scholarship for Military Families in the Penn State World Campus was born from the Hauths’ “mindset of service,” their good fortune in receiving scholarships to support their own education, and firsthand experience of military life.
Says Floyd, a retired colonel with the Air Force whose own military career spans 34 years, “Our scholarship includes the family, as they encourage each other by example.”
Janet, who taught English and math to young GIs while Floyd undertook a tour of duty in Vietnam, refers to this experience as an inspiration for the scholarship: “Many in my classes wanted to advance. Some had grown up in ghettos. Some with gangs. Taking classes was their opportunity to better themselves. The desire to learn was there, but support was needed. It is still the same.”
Janet, who began her college career at Penn State, where she and Floyd met, holds a BS in sociology from the University of Nebraska in Omaha. Floyd holds a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Penn State (1962) and a master’s in the same subject from the University of Wisconsin.
Says Floyd, “We chose to create our scholarship because military members and their spouses usually have a mindset of service, and their children are often raised in the same manner. We wanted to support that way of life. We thought focusing on families would give them great opportunities just like we had.”
Says Janet, “Education is the key, and we think the accessibility of the World Campus is great for military students.”
Active-duty military, veterans, and military family members comprise 18% of World Campus enrollment — the majority of all military students in the Penn State system. World Campus was recognized in this year’s US News & World Report as in the top ten of Best Online Programs for Veterans.
The Hauths’ generosity also contributes to the University’s new campaign: A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, focused on the three key imperatives of a public university. Private support will keep the door to higher education open and enable students to graduate on time and on track to success. It will create transformative experiences on Penn State campuses and around the globe that tap the full potential of Penn Staters to make a difference. And it will impact the world through discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship.