Riepe by the Dozen: How Penn Scholarships Make (Family) History

June 3, 2009

While scholarships don't come cheaper by the dozen, there is a distinctly "more the merrier" feeling among the 12 Riepe Scholars, ten of whom are pictured here with their donors.

In all, there have been 45 students bearing that title since James S. Riepe,W'65,WG'67, and Gail Petty Riepe, CW'68, endowed their first scholarship in 1989. "The wonderful thing about it," says Jim, our  outgoing Chairman of the Penn Trustees, "is that you can start with one and keep adding throughout the years."

The Riepes remember Penn's very first scholarship celebration twenty years ago. "There were just a few tables and about 50 people," Gail recalls, "and Jim was the speaker." "Now," Jim adds, "there are almost 500 guests, and the scholarship event is my favorite event of the year!" He notes that there was nothing like this when he was a student, and he remembers wishing he could meet and thank his own scholarship donors.

The Riepes are delighted that their students all have different interests and backgrounds. Jim, who was captain of the football team, mentions a Riepe Scholar who played varsity football." Once he dragged us down to the field after a game to meet his parents, and they were so moved that they burst into tears. It affected us deeply." Then he describes a very different kind of tribute -- one that made him laugh. "One day I was walking along on campus when one of our solar cars rolled past. Suddenly the top flew open and up popped this brilliant engineering student. 'Yo,Mr. Riepe!' he yelled -- and then he just popped back in and drove away."

Gail, who is an Overseer of Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine, has stories of her own. She speaks with emotion of a scholarship for the School of Nursing that the Riepes helped organize in honor of "a dear Penn friend" who died of ALS. She feels a special bond with the current recipient, Alexis "Lexi" Hoffa, NU'11, who, like her, lost a beloved older brother. Lexi feels it, too. "When I first met the Riepes it was like reuniting with old friends. 'Welcome to the Penn family,' is what they said, and like a family is how I felt. The pride in their students that beamed on their faces is what drives me to do the best I can each day. Now I can beam on them with pride as I call myself a Penn nurse."

All the students say they are inexpressibly grateful to the Riepes and that they couldn't have come to Penn without their support. Many talk about the impact the Riepes themselves are having on their lives. "Even though Mr.Riepe is the chairman of the Board of Trustees," comments Dan Lustig, ENG'09, "he has still taken the time and effort to be a resource for me, and that really means a lot. I am a little sad to see him stepping down, but he will always have his place as a great leader at Penn." Brett Muhlada, C/W'09, muses, "I know I would be a different person if I hadn't been able to come to Penn. My career, personal life, and values have all been influenced by the Riepes' generosity."

Molly Reed, C'12, expresses the feelings of many. "Not only did Mr. and Mrs. Riepe donate money, they also put their hearts behind this gift and were glad to meet and joke around with us. Mr. Riepe was chock full of stories about Penn and expressed his disappointment that I live in Fisher-Hassenfeld and not his college house; he clearly loves our university as much as we do."

Jim and Gail created Riepe College House, located in the Quadrangle that has been home to three generations of Riepes: Jim; Gail's father, Orville Petty, W'36; and James S. Riepe, Jr., C'98, WG'07. "Both Jim and I are thrilled to be able to support undergraduate life at Penn in any way we can," Gail says.

Meanwhile, Jim has been thinking about the John Dern Memorial Scholarship that brought him to Penn -- and how without the generosity of the Dern family and friends, there would be no Dern Scholarships, no Riepe Scholarships, and no Riepe College House. "I've decided that I'm going to try to get in touch with one of Mr. Dern's sons," he says. "He might like to know that I turned out all right."

Photo: (front row) Molly Reed, C'12; Jim Riepe, W'65, WG'67; Gail Reipe, CW'68; Doug Miller, Jr., C'12 (back row) Jem Atlas W'10; Alice Lee, W'10; Liane Toohey, C'11; Alexis Hoffa, Nu'11; Charles Walker, W'12; Harrison Garfinkle, C'12; Brett Muhlada, C/W'09; Dan Lustig, ENG'09

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