Penn State Great Valley honors donors, alumni at awards ceremony

MALVERN, Pa. — Penn State Great Valley recognized two alumni and one honorary alumnus with awards at a dinner and ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23. The “Evening of Excellence” event also celebrated donors whose generous gifts at various levels place them among the campus’ most dedicated supporters. 

Earlier this year, Great Valley’s alumni relations staff worked with members of the campus advisory board to expand the alumni awards program. At the October event, Great Valley Alumni Society President and advisory board member Michael Koch announced the recipients of three new awards: Graduate of the Last Decade, Honorary Alumni and Outstanding Alumni Awards.

“We have the privilege of honoring three remarkable individuals — leaders, innovators and changemakers who continue to make Penn State Great Valley proud,” Koch said.

Graduate of the Last Decade Award Winner: Nana Yaw Atiapa Essuman

Nana Yaw Atiapa Essuman received the Graduate of the Last Decade, or GOLD, Award. Essuman, an international student from Ghana who earned his master of software engineering in 2015, is the vice president of data engineering at FanDuel Group in New York City, where he oversees all data and machine learning platforms and delivery of data across the company. 

Essuman previously worked at Condé Nast as vice president of data solutions engineering, where he modernized and globalized their data and machine learning platform across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, which led to $8.6 million in savings. He also built a single customer view across their revenue streams and brands, including Vogue, GQ and the New Yorker. 

Essuman has also held several leadership and software engineering positions at NBCUniversal, Comcast, CSX and Siemens Healthcare. He is a part-time lecturer at Columbia University where he teaches a graduate-level course on applied topics in data science for social scientists. 

As he accepted his award, Essuman expressed his appreciation for “the true inspiration of the faculty members who brought their life experiences into the classroom.”

He recalled his experience on a Great Valley-sponsored trip to Penn State’s University Park campus for a career fair, where he spoke about his expertise with recruiters from various organizations, such as Comcast. At that time, he said, Comcast was not hiring a lot of international students like him, but he persevered and secured a position with the company directly after completing his master’s degree.

“The education I got from this University is what actually taught me to be truly analytical, using the leadership skills that I learned by interacting with various colleagues on a day-to-day basis. This is what has brought me to where I am today in my career,” he said.  

Honorary Alumni Award Winner: Charles "Chuck" Thomas

While Chuck Thomas does not hold a degree from Penn State Great Valley, he received the Honorary Alumni Award for his dedication to the campus as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Great Valley for more than 11 years and a member of the campus advisory board for nine years.

His teaching and mentoring of students were informed by more than 30 years of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial experience across a wide range of industries, including retail, media and entertainment, software development and telecommunications. Throughout his career, he built and led technology-based companies, drawing on his understanding of both technology and business strategy to guide teams and deliver results for organizations such as IBM, Comcast, QVC and Cigna.

Thomas also founded several software and service companies, including Concept Systems Inc., which became the largest U.S. retail industry systems firm by the mid-1980s. His work has spanned product development, systems integration and e-commerce innovation, as well as groundbreaking contributions to digital media and interactive television technology, earning him multiple patents and recognition as an expert in the field.

“The teaching experience at Great Valley transformed me from the techie businessman that I was into the person-focused mentor that I became,” said Thomas, as he accepted his award. “I shared my experience with my students, and they in return shared their aspirations with me. I was the clear winner in that exchange. There is little as rewarding as watching a young person develop an idea — a dream, really — into a substantive reality.”

Outstanding Alumni Award Winner: Rina Desai

Rina Desai, who earned her MBA at Great Valley in 2007, received the Outstanding Alumni Award for her work as a digital transformation and technology leader. As principal and owner at Eigen X and Eigen X Federal, Desai works alongside senior executives to strategize, implement and commercialize cutting-edge technology solutions in customer relations management, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) consulting.

With more than 20 years of expertise spanning life sciences, nonprofit organizations, higher education, telecommunications and the federal government, Desai aligns people, processes and technology to deliver practical solutions. She co-founded Trifactor, a women-owned technology company, and has held positions at GE, AmeriGas Propane, Tata Consulting Services and SMART Business Consulting. She received the Minority Business Leader Award in 2016 from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Desai has also volunteered on the executive leadership team for STEM Goes Red, an initiative of the American Heart Association designed to increase the number of women and girls pursuing STEM degrees. She serves as a board member with local non-profit organizations, including WHYY, Delaware County Community College’s Educational Foundation, the Urban Affairs Coalition and the Forum of Executive Women. Her team engages with Penn State Great Valley in hiring and mentoring students and career development sessions.

“The MBA program here at Penn State Great Valley has equipped me with not just foundational knowledge, but extensive skills across all areas of business, which have proven valuable in my multifaceted career,” Desai said. “I carry those lessons with me in every endeavor that I take today.”

She added, “As I accept this award, I am reminded of the importance of community, collaboration and the transformative power of education. I’m truly proud to be part of the Penn State family, and I look forward to finding new and meaningful ways to contribute to our shared mission of making a positive impact in the world around us.”

Great Valley Giving Society recognition

The “Evening of Excellence” event also celebrated members of the Great Valley Giving Society in attendance, from Chancellor’s Circle donors who gave $1,000 or more in the last fiscal year to Platinum Circle donors whose accumulated lifetime giving totals $100,000 or more. Jeffrey and Susie Lipson were inducted as the newest members of the Platinum Circle and received an engraved vase.

“We are deeply grateful for the support of each and every one of our donors,” said Kathryn DiPuppo Tucker, director of campus development. “Your support is not just appreciated; it is profoundly felt in the lives of our students and in the energy of our campus.”

Donors 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.