MALVERN, Pa. — Penn State Great Valley hosted its 13th annual golf outing to support student scholarships at the Applecross Country Club in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. More than 70 golfers participated, bid on silent auction items and enjoyed brunch, a buffet dinner and cocktail reception.
View photos from the 2025 golf outing.
Erica Dambach, Penn State women's soccer head coach, spoke at the reception. A two-time National Coach of the Year and five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Dambach led her teams to 17 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, 11 Big Ten regular season titles, five Big Ten Tournament titles, and the 2015 NCAA National Championship. In 21 years as a head women’s soccer coach and 17 seasons leading the Nittany Lions, Dambach has accumulated 314 career wins with a .708 winning percentage, one of the most dominant marks in all of college athletics.
Dambach spoke to attendees about “the discipline of staying focused on what’s in front of us right now. … It’s your choice how you perceive your own career. There’s a lot we can’t control around us, but we can control our attitudes.”
This year’s golf outing raised $30,000, which will support student scholarships at Penn State Great Valley. Financial support can make a great difference to graduate students, many of whom are carrying debt from their undergraduate education or have families depending upon them.
Scholarship recipients typically write letters to thank donors for the way their gifts changed students’ lives, and past expressions of gratitude include:
- “Thanks to you, I am one step closer to my dream. You have lightened my financial burden, which allows me to focus on learning.”
- “This scholarship comes at a time of increased financial stress. I am very thankful to have one less thing to worry about.”
- “Thank you for investing in students like me. Your support changes lives in ways you may not always see — but the impact is profound.”
Gifts to Penn State Great Valley advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.