HACC Alumni Association

Kathy M. Verna
Social Service, 2005

Kathy Verna

“One has a vision of what college kids look like, but at HACC you see people who are the same age range or ethnic background as you. You feel like you belong. At HACC, I always had the sense that the instructors were willing to do what was needed to help you succeed.”

Verna went from being a client of Potential Reentry Opportunities in Business and Education (PROBE) in Lebanon County to becoming an employee and is now the chief executive of the nonprofit agency that enables displaced homemakers, single parents, dislocated workers and people in transition to enter and remain in the workforce.

Verna, a stay-at-home mom who raised four sons, spent 15 years as an accredited La Leche League leader on the local, state and regional levels in a variety of capacities. Feeling lost when her youngest son started school in 1995, Verna ended up on PROBE doorstep where she was encouraged to go to college. Once at HACC’s Lebanon Campus, she found her wings. She earned an associate degree in social service at HACC in 2005 followed by bachelors and master’s degrees in social work at Temple University.

She has worked at PROBE since 1998.  She and her team provided career development services, provided one-on-one money management counseling, sponsored community financial literacy workshops and assisted individuals in finding employment. PROBE often takes clients on a tour of the Lebanon HACC Campus and encourages them to apply.

Active in her community, Verna served on HACC’s Human Services Advisory Council and the Advisory Committee for the Lebanon HACC Campus. She is a board member of Pennsylvania Women Work, the treasurer for the Lebanon County Money in Your Pocket program and is active on the Lebanon County Coalition to Prevent Homelessness.

 

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