UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Smeal College of Business alumna and California native Mindy Longo wanted “the movie experience” when searching for a college — a beautiful town centered around a school, a fun football environment and good academics.
After a campus visit during her senior year of high school, she said, she fell in love with Penn State.
“It had everything I wanted, and there was such a sense of community and pride,” she said.
Her husband, Brian Longo, also knew immediately that Penn State was the place for him.
“My older brother was enrolled at Penn State, so I already knew the University did some exceptional things. After my first visit, I was hooked,” he said.
The Longos, who met shortly after graduating in 2001 — Mindy with a degree in marketing, Brian as a chemical engineering major — praise Penn State for creating personal and professional opportunities not just for them, but for everyone “lucky enough to be a Nittany Lion,” they said. To help ensure students continue to benefit from a strong business education, the couple recently made a gift commitment to Smeal.
Their gift will endow the Mindy and Brian Longo Scholarship, which will support business students with financial need. It will also provide immediate funding to support students pursuing summer experienceships with small, Pennsylvania-based startup firms through the Brian and Mindy Longo Program Support Fund for CIENT.
“Scholarships help alleviate our students’ financial burdens and create opportunities for them to pursue their dreams and ambitions, which is so important to our land grant mission at Penn State. I am grateful to Mindy and Brian for their support,” said Felisa Higgins, associate dean for undergraduate education and William A. Donan Professor of Business Administration.
The experienceship program, which is coordinated through Smeal’s Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is an internship program for rising third- and fourth-year students with an interest in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship. Students work with Pennsylvania-based startups with less than $1 million in annual revenues.
According to Shawn Clark, clinical professor of innovation and entrepreneurship, Michael J. Farrell Endowed Professor for Entrepreneurship and director of the Farrell Center, students benefit by obtaining real-world experience in small, growing businesses, leveraging opportunities to apply their technical and leadership skills, developing professionally and finding new networking opportunities.
“Our students want to apply the knowledge and skills they are learning in the classroom. The experienceship program helps support the University’s priority to encourage economic development in Pennsylvania and increases the likelihood those businesses are successful. The Longos’ gift will allow us to place even more students into meaningful summer work experiences, and I am grateful for their partnership and support,” Clark said.
The Longos, who said they have made philanthropy a cornerstone of their marriage, said their time at Penn State solidified their desire to help others.
For Mindy, that desire took root when she joined thousands of other Penn State student volunteers who support THON — the world’s largest student-run philanthropy. THON’s year-long fundraising efforts benefit pediatric cancer patients and their families through Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children's Hospital and culminates in a 46-hour dance marathon. THON has raised more than $235 million since its inception in 1977.
“My parents were philanthropists in their own right,” she said. “They raised me to have an empathetic heart, and to continually look for opportunities to give. Getting involved with THON just exploded that passion and feeling that I had for giving back.”
She assumed leadership positions as a morale captain and as part of the overall committee (marketing) before dancing in her senior year.
Mindy began her professional career as a business strategy and marketing consultant at Accenture in their Philadelphia office. In 2007, she became a brand promotions manager at AstraZeneca and then a senior product manager at Abbott Labs in 2008.
After a several-year hiatus to raise the couple’s children (now 14 and 11), Mindy focused on her passion for nonprofit work. She co-founded Impact Diablo Valley in 2018. Impact Diablo Valley is a chapter of the non-profit organization Impact100, a giving circle intended to empower women and transform communities, with a focus on health, education, human services, arts and culture and environmental work.
Finalists for the grant are invited to present to the group’s children, teaching them about the various needs within their community and the organizations committed to serving others.
“Setting an example for our kids is so important. Whether it's creating a scholarship, supporting student entrepreneurs, or through an organization like Impact Diablo Valley, Brian and I feel strongly that if you are lucky enough to have some success in life, it's equally important to help people along the way,” Mindy said.
Since 2018, Impact Diablo Valley has given more than $732,000 to local nonprofits.
In recognition of her career and nonprofit work, Mindy will receive the Smeal Distinguished Alumni Award next month.
Brian began his professional career as a consultant in Accenture’s Philadelphia office. In 2006, he joined Oracle as a senior sales consultant.
The following year, he was recruited to California-based Veeva Systems, a cloud-computing company focused on pharmaceutical and life science industry applications. During his tenure, he launched and led multiple business units and was instrumental in scaling the company to a multi-product, international and successful SaaS and Industry Cloud business.
Currently, Brian is an active board member and advisor to a portfolio of high-growth start-ups, including Courier Health, Mendel.ai, Lifebit, Phil, Stitch and Redesign Health.
“Professionally, I’ve been drawn to startups. That’s why support for Smeal’s entrepreneurship program was so important to me,” he said. “A school like Penn State not only offers a fantastic education, but it helps develop a grittiness that’s valued in the workplace. Penn Staters roll up their sleeves and work hard, and that’s going to be a tremendous value to the companies hiring these Smeal students.”
As the couple was considering which charities and organizations to support, Penn State was always at the top of the list.
“Our gifts to Penn State touch the things that are near and dear to us,” Mindy said. “It brings us such joy to help students with limited means to go to college or to have access to opportunities to apply what they are learning through entrepreneurial work experiences.”
“Penn State is a special place,” Brian added. “It gave Mindy and me a great foundation for our success, and it’s our gratitude to Penn State that really motivates us to give back. We hope this is just the beginning.”
To learn more about the experienceship program, including how eligible businesses across the commonwealth can hire Smeal students, email xship@psu.edu.
Donors such as the Longos 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; and increasing the University’s impact for students, families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.