Penn State student Jacquiline Cana pointing upwards while agains a white background.
<h1 class="heading-serif"><span class="white-highlight">Service and Success</span></h1>

The Open Doors Scholarship Program is already having an impact in the lives of Penn State students like Sergeant Jacquiline Cana, a veteran and now Army reservist in her senior year at Penn State’s Eberly College of Science.

Penn State student Jacquiline Cana smiling while wearing a pink dress and standing against a white backdrop.

Jacquiline plans to complete her degree in biology, take a gap year to study for the MCAT, and return to the military as a physician after earning her M.D.—all ambitions that would not have been possible without the Dr. Edwin L. Hemwall Open Doors Scholarship she received through the Complete Penn State program.

What path led you to Penn State?

I grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and I went straight into the military after I graduated from high school in 2010. When I completed my mobilization in 2014, I started my education at Temple University, but I visited my boyfriend’s calculus class at Penn State Abington, and I fell in love with the family environment. I really found my home at Penn State. When I transferred to University Park, the transition was really easy because of all the services and organizations that are avail-able for veterans here.

What have you valued most about your experience at the University?

Coming to Penn State, you may think you know what you want to do with your life, but there are so many people here with different experiences—professors who are excited about their research, students from overseas—that it broadens your own experience and helps you to see new possibilities for yourself. Through philanthropy, Penn State has created such a diverse community, but at the same time, there’s a deep connection that’s shared between Penn State students, alumni, and even its fans. It is the closest thing to the camaraderie that I have felt in the Army.

<span class="pull-quote limestone" role="presentation" aria-hidden="true"><i class="fas fa-quote-left fa-2x fa-pull-left"></i>Through philanthropy, Penn State has created such a diverse community, but at the same time, there’s a deep connection that’s shared between Penn State students, alumni, and even its fans. <i class="fas fa-quote-right fa-xs"></i></span>

Why did the Dr. Edwin L. Hemwall Open Doors Scholarship matter to you?

I had used part of my G.I. Bill benefits to become certified as a medical assistant before I started Penn State, and I hadn’t realized that I wouldn’t be eligible for help with tuition during my senior year. I got the news when I was with my unit at West Point over the summer, training new cadets and struggling with both personal and professional challenges. Everyone at the University was so helpful, especially the Student Care and Advocacy Office, and I wouldn’t have been able to enroll for my senior year without the support I received from my college and the Complete Penn State program. I can’t put into words how grateful I am, and I plan to create a scholarship myself someday so that people like me can get to where they need to be.