Higher Education Support
Connect with Higher Education Support Specialists for help with academic, financial, and general advisement during college.
Higher Education Support Specialists
Higher Education Support Specialists work with recent MHS graduates as they pursue postsecondary education. Through regular communication and visits to the graduates’ college campuses, they provide academic, financial, and personal advisement.
- Graduates are expected to communicate monthly with their Higher Education Support Specialist through text, phone calls and/or email & attend college visits.
- Specialists serve as an advocate to graduates throughout their postsecondary journey. Regular communication between graduates and specialists ensures meaningful guidance, direction and support.
The specialists also work closely with CES staff and higher education partners at postsecondary institutions to promote graduates’ educational success.
At the end of each term the Higher Education Support Specialists review all graduates’ college transcripts to ensure CES standards and progress towards degree completion.
- Upload your Unofficial Transcript (must include term and cumulative GPA & credits earned). View sample.
Who is My Higher Education Support Specialist?
Higher Education Support Specialists visit all college campuses on the GPS Partner School list and/or college campuses within a 3.5-hour radius of Milton Hershey School that have a high number of MHS graduates attending.
There are three Higher Education Support Specialists who cover the following territories:
Shelly Wessner: |
4-year institutions (West) |
Unique Patterson: |
4-year institutions (East) |
Ashley Smith: |
All community colleges, technical institutions, culinary and certificate programs |
The Pennsylvania and U.S. maps below show each specialist’s coverage area for 4-year institutions.
n West
n East
GPS Partner Schools
Milton Hershey School has established partnerships with select higher education institutions in order to improve college persistence and degree completion among our graduates. These schools often offer the following personalized support to students:
- Dedicated faculty/staff members specifically for MHS graduates and GPS staff
- Strong student support services (academic advisement, counseling, career, disability)
- Mentoring
- Tutoring
- First-generation student programs
- Campus employment
The GPS Partner Schools:
- Alvernia University
- American University
- Arcadia University
- Bloomsburg University – Commonwealth University
- Commonwealth Technical Institute
- Culinary Institute of America – New York
- Dickinson University
- Elizabethtown College
- Harrisburg Area Community College
- Howard University
- Kutztown University
- Lackawanna College
- Lebanon Valley College
- Lehigh University
- Lincoln University
- Messiah University
- Millersville University
- Northampton Community College
- Pennsylvania College of Technology
- PennWest California
- Pittsburgh Technical College
- Reading Area Community College
- Shippensburg University
- St. Francis University
- Susquehanna University
- Temple University
- Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology
- The Pennsylvania State University
- University of Pittsburgh
- West Chester University
- York College of Pennsylvania