Anonymous donor surprises two Thiel College workers

Staff report

greenville, pa.

Patricia Murrin and Patricia Turcic have spent nearly three combined decades at Thiel College helping students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends of the college feel at home. Now a gift set up in their honor will help students in a different way.

An anonymous donor and the women’s employer, AVI Foodsystems Inc., have donated the funds to create the $25,000 Patricia Murrin Endowed Scholarship and the $25,000 Patricia Turcic Endowed Scholarship.

The scholarships will help cover educational expenses for students of their choosing.

The two women were stunned by the formal announcement of the scholarship last month. The anonymous donor, impressed by their work ethic and kind and generous nature, donated $20,000 in each woman’s name for the scholarship and AVI added another $5,000 for each woman.

Soon the two women who have been working the annual endowed scholarship luncheon — where donors and students met each fall — will attend the event to meet their scholarship recipients.

They were told about the scholarship at a private luncheon followed by a surprise reception with more than 100 friends, family and colleagues.

“I don’t understand this all. I don’t know what I did,” Murrin, 72, of Maysville, Pa., said. “I just love them all. I just think of them as my kids.”

“This is really an honor. I can’t believe it,” Turcic, 62, of Greenville added. “This is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen.”

The scholarships are a company first for AVI Foodsystems, said President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Payiavlas. The Warren, Ohio-based company serves more than 6,000 institutions, including colleges, business and industry and health care.

“They so perfectly embody what our organization stands for,” Payiavlas said. “As a company, we are very proud. We’ve never had something like this happen. We are thankful to the trustee for honoring them this way. People really do notice and appreciate when you treat them kindly.”

Thiel College President Troy D. VanAken said the two workers are great examples of kindness being paid forward.

“In many organizations, you have individuals silently making profound contributions,” he said. “Patty and Patty symbolize that. They are rays of sunshine. Their hard work, dedication and cheerful disposition are reflected in the relationships of substance they have created with students, faculty, staff and friends of the college. They are two examples of what makes the Thiel College community great.”