By William A. Woodard Jr.

Penn State Erie has the Behrend campus. Penn State Fayette has the Eberly campus. Penn State New Kensington should have the Klukaszewski campus.

The eight children of Anne and Frank Klukaszewski -- Mary Anne Grabowski, 47; Michael Klukaszewski, 46; Frank Klukaszewski Jr., 44; Kathy Goodermuth, 42; Laura Wattmuff, 41; Joan McCallum, 40; Patricia Remetz, 39; and Larry Klukaszewski, 36 -- grew up on Hillview Drive in New Kensington, in the shadow of the New Kensington campus.

All have Penn State ties. Seven attended Penn State. Six graduated from Penn State. Five started at Penn State New Kensington before finishing at University Park. One earned a degree from Edinboro University.

"I was the black sheep who left the New Kensington campus after one year for a small baseball scholarship to Edinboro," said Larry, an elementary teacher at Kiski Area School District. "However, I did come back in 1999 to coach baseball for Darb (former baseball coach and athletic director Bob Darby) and take some graduate school classes."

Larry still enjoys visits to the campus for the monthly Art Gallery exhibits (his first major was art education) and homecoming weekend. The campus ties extend to his wife, Renea, who attended the campus in the early '90s and taught pre-school for several years before becoming a full-time mom to Jake, 11; Sarah, 9; and Nicholas, 4.

Mary Anne, the first-born, opted for cosmetology school. She is now the mother of a Penn State New Kensington student. Robert is a junior in the information sciences and technology program. He made the dean's list for fall 2006 semester.

Even the parents "attended" Penn State New Kensington. For 13 years, 1985-98, Anne, 68, was the administrative assistant for the nursing program at the New Kensington and Monroeville Center campuses. Frank, 77, a retired Prudential Insurance agent, worked three years, 1987-90, in the maintenance department at the campus.

The Monroeville Center was an off-campus graduate center that offered adult education programs, such as the bachelor of science in nursing degree. All academic programs are now housed at the New Kensington campus. The Office of Continuing Education administers the programs for returning adults, including the master of education degree.

Education had premium status in the Klukaszewski household. Anne and Frank insisted that their children attend a private school with small classes and individual attention rather than a large public school. Thus, all the Klukaszewski children graduated from St. Joseph's High School, a small Catholic school in Natrona Heights.

That mindset carried over to higher education. The parents encouraged their offspring to obtain a highly regarded degree at a local institution. Penn State fit both criteria. With the New Kensington campus literally in their back yard, Anne and Frank saw an opportunity for their children to get a world-renown education at an inexpensive price.

"Penn State has a great reputation as a university, and I enjoyed the personal attention the children received at the New Kensington campus," said Frank, who was raised in West Natrona and graduated from Har-Brack Union High School. "My wife and I were able to attend the kids' campus activities, such as basketball and baseball games and the theatre."

"We wanted the children to have the opportunity to experience college on a small campus, to mature before going to the University Park campus," said Anne, who grew up in Bairdford and attended West Deer High School "And I enjoyed my time there. Its people and family atmosphere made it a great place to work."

The Klukazewski children paid their way through college by working during the summer and taking out loans. The parents helped them obtain grants and scholarships and provided tuition reduction with their Penn State employee benefit.

Michael, who lives in Gainesville, Ga., with his wife, Laura, and two young boys, Ben, 3, and Jon, 2, was the first to heed his parents' advice and head to Penn State. He received his bachelor's degree in accounting in 1982 and was the only one to bypass the New Kensington campus.

"I had a Navy ROTC scholarship that required me to attend University Park," said Michael, the vice president for finance for Cottrell Inc. "Other wise, I'm sure that I would have started at the New Kensington campus."

The first Klukaszewski to attend the New Kensington campus was Frank Jr., a manager of Forecasting and Inventory Control-North America for PPG Industries. He has fond memories of meeting new friends during his two years, 1980-82, at the campus and is a strong proponent of the branch campus system.

"University Park is so big and overwhelming that it was nice going with friends from New Kensington who shared a common experience," said Frank, a resident of Mars, Pa. "After two years at the branch campus, we knew enough of the 'system' to make the transition to University Park without any problems."

The friendships he forged there carried through to University Park and continue to this day. Three of his classmates were in his wedding (two groomsmen and a bridesmaid).

"I still remain in touch with friends I made at PSNK," said Frank, who earned a bachelor's degree in operations management in 1984. "We try to go to at least one football game a year and get together on holidays."

Frank and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Casey, 16, and Alex, 14. Casey and Alex are both considering following their father's footsteps to Penn State.

Besides friends on campus, the Klukaszewskis had each other. The first and last siblings, Michael and Larry, went at it alone, but the middle group always had a family member to lean on at the campus.

Kathy had the best situation at both the New Kensington and University Park campuses. She was sandwiched by Frank, a year ahead of her, and Laura, a year behind her. All three compared notes on professors, classes, dorms and activities.

"It was a comfort to have family nearby and sharing their previous experiences," said Kathy, who lives in Satellite Beach, Fla.

Kathy gravitated to New Kensington in 1982 because of the small class size that allowed her to go "one-on-one with my teachers and provide a strong basis for my major classes." The local campus also offered the opportunity to continuing working part time, which was essential for paying for her education and minimizing the need for school loans.

Even after relocating at University Park, Kathy couldn't cut the ties with her neighborhood campus. She continued to take summer classes at New Kensington en route to a bachelor of science in computer science in 1986.

"Summer classes allowed me to lighten my course load some semesters and to enjoy the other activities of college life," said Kathy, a software engineer for the Harris Corp. "I was involved with athletics, the student government and other events."

Her connection with her alma mater and its multi-campus system is shared by her husband and children. In her junior year, Kathy met Todd Goodermuth, who spent his first two years at the York campus. The 1986 grads have a son, Aaron, 15, and a daughter, Kari, 14. Aaron wants to continue the family tradition of a Penn State education. He recently visited the New Kensington campus to learn more about engineering and the information sciences and technology program.

"Our Penn State pride is strong, even here among the Florida fans," said Kathy. "We still watch all Penn State football games with Space Coast Alumni Association fans and had the privilege of attending the recent Outback Bowl win over Tennessee."

Laura trailed Kathy to University Park and earned a nursing degree in 1987. She currently works at a hospital near her home in West Chester and is the mother of Colin, 8; Matthew, 6; and Rachel, 3. She is the wife of Robert Watmuff.

Joan, a 1988 graduate with a degree in quantitative business analysis, started at the New Kensington campus in 1984. Though none of her older siblings were on campus with her, she benefited from their counsel and passed it on to her younger sister, Patricia.

"They advised me on the unwritten rules of the entire college process," said Joan, who resides with her husband, Bruce McCallum, in King of Prussia. "They had been through the exact same struggles, and it helped me to know that they made it through."

While at New Kensington, Joan was involved in numerous campus activities including the University Choir and Rotary club. She also served as a student tutor.

"I have fond memories of the New Kensington campus, joining friends to study in the library or Art Galley, or grabbing a snack at Dan's," said Joan, a technical writer who owns an independent contacting company, WRITECH. "Many of the friends I made there continued on to the University Park campus, which made for a less daunting experience."

The penultimate Klukaszewski, Patricia, was the last of the era to matriculate at University Park. She earned a hotel and restaurant management degree in 1989. She and her husband, Joe Remetz, live in Sayre, with daughter, Lindsay, 6, and son, Steven, 4.

"I was very lucky to follow in Joanie's footsteps and then I was able to be the 'big' sister to Larry," said Patricia, a former manager of Marriott Hotels. "It truly was a benefit to go to a local branch campus of Penn State and it was a bonus to have siblings who can go through it with you."

Love of education is the common thread that runs through three generations of the Klukaszewski family. Their Penn State educations have been the conduit for establishing careers, forging lifelong friendships, and creating generations of future Penn Staters. The family has come to personify the wisdom of establishing the Penn State system with its 24 campuses located throughout the Commonwealth.

"A Penn State degree is nationally recognized and this made is easier for me to find employment when searching outside of Pennsylvania," said Kathy. "Penn State New Kensington helped me make the transition from a small high school to the demands of college without sacrificing any quality of education."

Penn State New Kensington is not the Klukaszewski campus, but the Klukaszewski family says, "We are … Penn State."