Schreyer Honors College

Elana and Robert Messina Honors Scholarship established for Schreyer Scholars

Penn State alumni Elana and Robert Messina have committed $50,000 to establish a new endowed scholarship that will support Penn State Schreyer Honors College Scholars in the Smeal College of Business and the College of Engineering who have demonstrated financial need. Credit: Elana and Robert Messina. All Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A newly endowed scholarship will support Penn State Schreyer Honors College Scholars in the Smeal College of Business and the College of Engineering. A pledge from Scholar alumna Elana Messina and her husband, Robert Messina, created the scholarship named in their honor.

"After spending the last 12 to 13 years building successful careers, we decided it was time to give back because Penn State played a large role in putting us on the path to success,” said Elana Messina. “[Robert and I] believe that this scholarship can help expand access to higher education by reducing financial burdens.”

Full-time undergraduate Schreyer Scholars who are pursuing degrees from either Smeal or the College of Engineering and who have a demonstrated financial need are eligible for the Messina Honors Scholarship. The couple has committed $50,000 to establish the endowment, which will provide scholarships for one academic year that can be renewed for subsequent years provided eligibility requirements continue to be met.

“The Honors College is deeply appreciative of Elana’s and Robert’s gift,” said Patrick Mather, dean of the Schreyer Honors College. “It is exciting when alumni like the Messinas who are still in the early stages of their professional lives give back to the University. Those instances help to show how deeply committed our Penn State community is to supporting students’ success.”

A 2011 Scholar alumnus, Elana Messina graduated from Penn State with bachelor’s degrees in finance and international studies. During her time as a Schreyer Scholar, Elana completed a summer internship with Bank of America and then, following graduation, began a full-time position with the company as a financial analyst. After nearly 12 years with the company, she has risen to the role of director and senior research analyst, where her work focuses on asset-backed securities and environmental, social and governance investing.

“As a student, I received a merit-based partial scholarship from Penn State, and paying it forward felt like the right thing to do,” Elana said. “Robert and I also experienced the power of philanthropy by serving in organizations that spent countless hours planning and raising money for THON.”
 
Robert Messina graduated from Penn State in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. From there he took on a role as an electrical engineer with North Central Electric, a family and veteran-owned small business based in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He has been with the company for 13 years and now works as its chief operations officer.
 
The couple met in spring 2010, weeks before Robert graduated, and married in September 2021. They both noted that Penn State’s strong reputation in their respective disciplines and the atmosphere at University Park drew them to the University. The Messinas said that they still reap the benefits from their time at Penn State in their professional lives, and they are eager to make similar experiences more accessible to future students.

“Once, on vacation, we were hiking in a remote part of the Swiss Alps, and Elana was wearing a Penn State shirt. We were a bit surprised when a passerby shouted, ‘We Are,’” Robert Messina said. “It truly makes the world feel like a smaller and more supportive place.”

Anyone who wishes to make a gift in support of the Elana and Robert Messina Honors Scholarship can do so via the fund’s webpage.

With the record-breaking success of “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” which raised $2.2 billion from 2016 to 2022, philanthropy is helping to sustain the University’s tradition of education, research and service to communities across the commonwealth and around the globe. Scholarships enable our institution to open doors and welcome students from every background, support for transformative experiences allows our students and faculty to fulfill their vast potential for leadership, and gifts toward discovery and excellence help us to serve and impact the world we share. To learn more about the impact of giving and the continuing need for support, visit the Raise Penn State website.

Last Updated May 26, 2023