Higher Education Support
Connect with Higher Education Specialists and Workforce Development Specialist for help with academic, financial, and general advisement during college.
Higher Education Specialists
Higher Education Specialists and Workforce Development Specialist 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 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 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 Specialist?
Higher Education 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 Specialists and one Workforce Development Specialist who cover the following territories:
- Shelly Wessner: 4-year institutions (West n)
- Unique Patterson: 4-year institutions (East n)
- Ashley Smith: Community colleges and technical institutions
- Wendy Gillman: Certificate and diploma programs
The Pennsylvania and U.S. maps below show each specialist’s coverage area for 4-year institutions.
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
- 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
Contact GPS
The College and Career Readiness and Support Department helps students and alumni on their postsecondary journey before and after graduation.
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