An Abington Experience: Support, internships, leadership shaped a life and career

ABINGTON, Pa. — After graduating from Penn State Abington and more than a decade working at big name universities, Regina Fetterolf's dream persisted — return to campus and help students navigate the same challenges she once faced. Today, she works on campus and her journey demonstrates what the Abington Experience can do for a first-generation student figuring out where they belong and where they want to go.

The Abington Experience is the campus' roadmap for launching students from campus to career. It combines leadership development, internships, research with faculty, and academic travel to help students test new interests, build real-world skills, and discover paths they might never have considered on their own.

As a first-generation college student, Fetterolf discovered something at Abington that shaped her college years and her career: a community that nudged her toward things that scared her, opening up doors through leadership development and internships.

"I was really shy," she said. "And what can you do when you don't have your parents' experience to help guide you through college decisions?"

So Fetterolf said yes to the Abington Experience, and it changed her life. At a career counselor's suggestion, she joined a student organization, became a club officer, and uncovered new talents.

"I realized I was good at event planning and enjoyed being part of a community," said Fetterolf, who commuted from her family home in Bucks County.

During her time at Abington, Fetterolf also joined student government and attended leadership retreats and professional conferences, uncovering possibilities for herself that she had never envisioned before.

"I couldn't believe it: Someone was investing in me and believing in me," she said.

Peers, faculty and staff challenged her to stretch beyond her self-imposed limits. She became an Orientation Leader, which led to the admissions director regularly inviting her to speak with prospective students about her Abington Experience.

"I was terrified at first," Fetterolf said. "But he knew that I could do it, and I needed to do it."

Those experiences transformed her into a confident leader.

"Things outside of class directed my career as much as my major, and a lot of what I use every day in my life I learned from extracurricular activities," she said.

A degree and a direction

Originally intending to teach German, Fetterolf graduated from Abington with a degree in corporate communication, a major she chose after discovering her interests in community engagement, communications and leadership through experiences inside and outside the classroom.

Internships and campus employment provided real-world skills. One internship involved creating marketing plans, designing promotional materials, and supporting student life initiatives on campus, work that helped her connect her academic interests to a future career in higher education.

"I was able to blend my interest in higher education with corporate communication," she said.

Community showed up

The close-knit community she found at Abington became especially meaningful when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.

"My mom passed while I was here, and people took care of me," Fetterolf said. "I needed a lot of support, and I had it here."

That sense of belonging is part of what brought her back. Although she transferred to University Park during her third year with plans to earn her degree there, the relationships she'd built and friends she made drew her back to Abington after one semester.

"It was the right decision for me," she said. "I missed Abington, and I missed the community."

Building a career

After graduation, a recommendation from a campus colleague led Fetterolf to her first professional position at a nonprofit, but Fetterolf soon realized her true passion remained in higher education.

She went on to earn a master's degree and built a successful career at Fordham, Harvard and Boston universities. Over two decades, she planned events, worked alongside student leaders, supported experiential learning programs, and helped create opportunities for students to grow and launch their careers.

Yet Abington remained special.

"It was always my dream to work at Abington when I moved back to Pennsylvania," she said.

That dream became reality last year when she returned to Abington as an academic adviser.

"Penn State Abington has given me so much," she said, “and now I’m returning the favor.”

Paying It forward

Today, Fetterolf works primarily with incoming students, many of whom also are first-generation college students. She helps them navigate academics, overcome personal challenges, and discover opportunities that can shape their futures while keeping an eye on making their degrees affordable and attainable.

Her work is guided by the same philosophy that defined her own experience as a student.

"My job now is in the same spirit I had as a student at Abington," she said. "Let's make these degrees work for our students and help make their circumstances work so they can earn their degrees."

For prospective students in the Philadelphia area weighing their options, Fetterolf's advice centers on affordability, opportunity and belonging, the priorities that shaped her own path.

"Look at all your options and remember that all skills are transferable. There are a lot more paths out there than you think," she said.

Fetterolf’s Abington Experience proves that a quiet, first-generation student can transform their future by finding an affordable degree, a sense of belonging, and a career, all starting at Penn State Abington.

About Penn State Abington

Penn State Abington, home to nearly 3,000 students and just minutes from Philadelphia, offers four-year degrees and NCAA Division III athletics. The Abington Experience launches students from campus to career through internships, leadership development, academic travel and faculty-led research. Penn State Abington — where the city's energy meets the best of the suburbs.