Ms. Gonzalez Recognized for Intellectual Achievement, Leadership, Community and Campus Engagement

READING PA – Reading Area Community College announced today that Noemi Gonzalez has been selected as one of 20 college students named to the prestigious 2025 All-USA Academic Team. Selected from nearly 2,100 nominees, Ms. Gonzales will receive a $5,000 scholarship.

Noemi was recognized for her academic achievements, campus and community engagement and overall leadership. She will be recognized during the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) annual convention in Nashville in April.

"The All-USA program is a prestigious recognition of a student's exceptional abilities both in and outside of the classroom,” Amanda Karpinski-Gorman, Interim Director of the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation, said. “These students are selected for their resilience, creativity, and ingenuity in tackling global and local challenges. We are incredibly proud of the individuals named to the 2025 team and eagerly anticipate the continued impact they will make."

The All-USA program is among the nation’s premier academic honors for students pursuing an associate degree. Each institution may nominate two students who have shown outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and citizenship. The program also honors students who leverage their community college experience to better themselves, improve their schools and impact their communities.

About Phi Theta Kappa.
Phi Theta Kappa is the first honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 4.4 million members and nearly 1,250 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 220,000 active members in the nation’s colleges. Learn more at ptk.org.

READING PA – Reading Area Community College student Ms. Noemi Gonzalez, has been named a 2025 New Century Transfer Scholar and will receive a $2,250 scholarship. 

New Century Transfer Scholars are selected based on their academic accomplishments, leadership, activities, and how they extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom. Nearly 2,100 students from more than 1,300 college campuses nationwide were nominated. Only one New Century Transfer Scholar is selected from each state.

The program is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, Phi Theta Kappa, and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). 

“We congratulate Ms. Gonzalez for receiving this prestigious scholarship, and we are honored to partner with the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, and the AACC to recognize these outstanding achievements,” said Phi Theta Kappa’s President and CEO Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “Scholarship programs like this are integral for creating opportunities for two-year college students to succeed and for putting college completion within reach.”

About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please visit coca-colagivingback.com.

About The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation celebrates and empowers visionary leaders who are refreshing the world. Supporting more than 1,400 exceptional college students each year, it awards $3.55 million in scholarships annually through three nationally recognized programs. Learn more at coca-colascholarsfoundation.org.

About Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa is the first honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 4.4 million members and nearly 1,250 chapters in 11 countries, with approximately 220,000 active members in the nation’s colleges. Learn more at ptk.org..

The agreement provides RACC students with immediate acceptance into Manor College after completion of an Associate’s Degree.

Reading, PA - Reading Area Community College (RACC) and Manor College announced a transfer agreement that allows students graduating from RACC to be guaranteed admission to Bachelor Degree programs at Manor College.

“This agreement provides next-level opportunities for student degree achievement in our region,” Dr. Jonathan Peri, president of Manor College, said. “We’re excited to connect these students with Bachelor-level programs in a way that makes the transfer process fast and seamless.” 

We are proudly celebrating this new agreement with Manor College, which will open many new doors of opportunity for our graduates, says Dr. Susan Looney, RACC president. This pathway is the result of great cooperation and collaboration between the leadership of our respective institutions and will serve well both the needs of our institutions and, more importantly, those of our students.

The deal was formalized on January 9 in a ceremonial signing on the Reading Area Community College campus. 

Under the agreement, students at Reading who complete an Associate’s Degree and graduate with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 will be guaranteed admission into Manor. Degree programs include Allied Health Science, Business, Computer and Information Systems, Child Development, Psychology and more.

We wanted to do this because the students at Reading Area Community College are very similar to the students here at Manor, Dr. Joseph Gillespie, Manor College Provost said. We would of course say yes to providing them an opportunity to continue their education in an institution with similar student-centered values as the one they’re currently attending.

Reading Area Community College was founded in October 1971 in the city of Reading. The institution’s vision is to provide affordable and quality educational experiences that help students succeed in completing the first two years of college, preparing for a career in two years or less or obtaining nationally recognized business and industry training.

Manor College, located in Jenkintown, was founded in 1947 by the Ukrainian Sisters of Saint Basil the Great. Manor College offers small, personalized education with a 12:1 student/teacher class radio. The institution remains among the most affordable private colleges in Pennsylvania. 

David Hessen
Director of Marketing & Communications
Reading Area Community College
610.607.6212
dhessen@racc.edu

Reading PA – Reading Area Community College (RACC) President, Dr. Susan Looney, was recently recognized in the Lehigh Valley Business (LVB) Power List for Higher Education. 

The Lehigh Valley Business Power List for Education is a list of individuals who hold positions that give them the ability to shape our communities and influence our quality of life through education. 

“I am inspired and honored to be included alongside my fellow honorees – many of whom I work closely with and know well. They are all remarkable individuals and a good representation of excellence in the field of higher education. This acknowledgement reinforces our strong commitment to making a lasting impact in the communities our colleges serve,” says Dr. Looney.

As RACC’s president, Dr. Looney believes that everyone should have access to affordable education. As a community college graduate, she can understand and identify with her RACC students’ unique needs. Dr. Looney has led the college to a place of growth, with year-over-year enrollment consistently on the rise.

David Hessen
Director of Marketing and Communications
Reading Area Community College
610.607.6212
dhessen@racc.edu

Reading PA, November 6, 2024 – Reading Area Community College (RACC) has been named a top ten finalist for the 2024 Bellwether Award in the category of Planning, Governance, and Finance.

The Bellwether Award is one of the most prestigious community college awards in the nation. The competition and selection process brings a level of excellence that demonstrates the innovate spirit and results-driven mindset that exists among the finest community colleges.

RACC’s submission, “Driving Enrollment: Bringing the College Registration Process into the High Schools” showcases RACC’s innovative initiatives of inserting the college admissions process into high schools; ensuring a smooth enrollment transition for the student by providing a seamless transfer from the high school guidance counselor to college admissions counselor, and then to a RACC academic advisor.

“Meeting students in their school environment rather than having them come to campus is a critical aspect of recruitment for the students in our community,” says RACC Director of Admissions and Enrollment Services, Kathy Cunningham, M.Ed. “It also strengthens RACC’s presence in the high school while ensuring the school guidance office is engaged with the college,” she adds.

The Bellwether College Consortium is comprised of award-winning colleges charged with addressing critical issues facing community colleges and recognizing best practices. RACC won the Bellwether Award in 2024 in the category of Instructional Programs and Services. 

“I am so proud of the incredible work done by our admissions and advising staff to continue improving processes to better serve our high school students,” says RACC President Dr. Susan Looney. “Being recognized as a Bellwether finalist for the third year in a row, further validates my belief that RACC’s faculty and staff are among the best in the country.”

Annually, the Bellwether Consortium nominates 30 community colleges finalists from a large group of applicants in the United States and its territories. The selected colleges compete for one of three Bellwether Awards. A rigorous selection process with two rounds of judging by peers and academicians in the field culminates with a daylong event of presentations by contenders for the Bellwether Award. 

Finalists will participate in the final round of the Bellwether Award competition at the 31th Annual Community College Futures Assembly to be held Sunday, February 23 through Tuesday, February 25, at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

David Hessen
Director of Marketing & Communications
Reading Area Community College
610.607.6212
dhessen@racc.edu