Overcoming Financial Hurdles to Funding Futures: A First-Generation Student's Journey at Moravian

Allentown native Donald G. Musselman ’68 never visited Moravian before he enrolled as a first-generation student. His first time on campus was a reception welcoming new students. “I was a little bit scared,” he remembers.

Musselman’s parents encouraged him to attend college despite his needing to rely on student loans and scholarships to afford it. They both finished middle school, then had to help tend their families’ farms. They wanted more for their son.

“I’ve never regretted it,” recalls Musselman, who now lives in Colorado with his partner, Ella Blume. “At Moravian, I learned to be more independent than I’d been before. It prepared me for graduate school and gave me confidence in myself.”

An Impactful Experience

Musselman was a psychology major, but the Moravian College Choir was a foundational part of his college experience. “It was the activity that I spent the most time on in those four years,” he says with a laugh. Musselman made time between his psychology classes for choir practice three times a week, extra rehearsals, concerts, and tours with legendary choir director Richard Schantz.

However, the most impactful experience he had at Moravian was one that barely registered at the time. Musselman received a scholarship from Moravian and had loans from the federal government to pay tuition and fees each semester. At the beginning of his junior year, the federal loans were discontinued. Moravian quickly stepped in with work-study stipends and increased scholarships to bridge the gap. “I didn’t have to worry,” he recalls gratefully.

Musselman graduated from Moravian with a psychology degree and just $1,100 in debt. He was drafted into the army in 1969. He was able to defer repayment of his loans until he was separated from active duty and, again, while he earned his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law. Musselman started working in the U.S. Department of Defense in 1981. “I had 11 years to repay [the loan], and the interest was 3%. It’s not like folks these days facing $100,000 debts for years,” he recalls.

Musselman attributes much of his success to his Moravian education. In gratitude, he gives back to Moravian University and its students. Thirty-nine years ago, he began giving what he terms “modest gifts” to support scholarships.

Musselman’s then-upcoming 50th reunion motivated him to broaden his support. He and his classmates decided to collectively endow a fund that helps provide $2,500 stipends to students pursuing internships. Musselman worked while in college—as a short-order cook in a local restaurant and newspaper delivery person for the Morning Call along with a variety of other summer jobs. He says working as a student was different back then.

“Today, the emphasis is on internships—people getting experience while they are in school that will help them proceed on with their careers,” Musselman says. “The internship fund would help them to do it, and not have to worry about finding one that will pay them.”

Meeting one of the recent recipients of the internship stipend galvanized Musselman. “She was a very good investment—self-assured, confident, well-spoken,” he says. “Listening to her talk reminded me of my own classmates.”

Leaving a Legacy of Caring

When Musselman turned 70, he considered the legacy he wanted to leave at Moravian. He learned about Mo’s Fund, which provides financial support to students experiencing hardships, such as unexpected medical expenses, a death in the family, or other unique circumstances that threaten their ability to stay in college. He recalls thinking, “Here is a fund that will help people who need a little boost,” and he gave his first gift. 

Mo’s Fund awarded nearly $19,000 to nine students this past year, helping them continue on the path to earning a college degree despite their hardship. Musselman decided to endow Mo’s Fund for the next generation of students.

“We all have bumps in the road—some not so great, some greater than others,” he says. “This is going to help them maintain their focus on getting through and achieving their goals at Moravian.”

Meeting Student Need

Mo’s Fund is not the only way Musselman has helped students struggling with challenges that scholarships and financial aid won’t cover. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he answered a call from Moravian’s Phonathon students about food insecurity. He learned that nearly one in three students at four-year colleges do not have enough to eat, derailing their college degree plans. Musselman gave a gift over the phone, and when his class began planning their 55th reunion gift to expand Moravian’s on-campus resource pantry, Mo’s Cupboard, in the new Haupert Union Building (HUB) he eagerly pledged his support. 

Since 2018, Mo’s Cupboard has provided fresh produce; other shelf-stable foods; toiletries; dorm, classroom, and cleaning supplies; and more to over a thousand undergraduate, graduate, and seminary students. Last academic year, 726 students visited Mo’s Cupboard, and nearly $25,000 in total support was distributed.

“Mo’s Cupboard offers students the ability to close the gap (between what they need and what they can afford),” says former Moravian University Chairwoman Evelyn G. Trodahl Chynoweth ’68. “To support the students who need it is really a critical thing.”

Chynoweth knows from experience—she shared her own story with her class about how she would borrow toothpaste from her peers and go home with friends for dinner to save money during college. The Class of 1968 is one of the most philanthropic classes in Moravian’s history, with more than a third of its members donating annually. Chynoweth’s story and the purpose behind Mo’s Cupboard struck a chord with many of them.

“I had not really been aware of the difficulties some students have with adequate food and supplies,” says W. Eugene Clater ’68. “I was instantly on board with this project.”

“As proud alumni, we feel a responsibility to support our present and future Greyhounds,” share Rev. J. Michael ’68, S’71 & Kathleen Doyle ’68 Dowd P’21. “Mo’s Cupboard relieves students’ stress and provides a pathway to success.”    

So far, 30 class members have donated $270,000 in total philanthropic support to expand Mo’s Cupboard in the new HUB.

The new Mo’s Cupboard will have a footprint six times larger than its original space. It will also have a dedicated storage area where volunteers can sort donations received from Mo’s Cupboard’s Amazon Wish List, food drives, and community partners, including Giant and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania.

To meet growing student needs, Moravian received a nearly $20,000 state grant to open two Mo’s Cupboard satellite locations—one in the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center and the other in the HILL on South Campus.

“Other than grants, the entire operation of Mo’s Cupboard is donor-funded,” says Greg Meyer, dean for community wellness. “The generosity of our supporters, including alumni, faculty, staff, students, and others, has allowed us to support the ever-growing basic and academic needs of our undergraduate, graduate, seminary student and employee populations.”

Musselman looks forward to seeing how else he can support Moravian’s students and future generations. He generously designated Moravian as a beneficiary of his will, ensuring his impact will last long into the future. “The institution helped support me and made me successful in my life,” he says. “Maybe someone else can benefit from my support.”

Moravian’s commitment to meet the growing need for student support and wellness continues to be a core value of our community. Moravian is in the process of developing a comprehensive fund to address student needs, called the Helping Hounds Student Fund. For more information on how you can support our students in need, contact Marissa E. Zondag ’13, Director of Development, at zondagm@moravian.edu.

Special thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Class of 1968 members who gave the inaugural gifts for the new space:

Mrs. Evelyn Trodahl Chynoweth ’68
Mr. W. Eugene Clater ’68
Mrs. Shirley Messics Daluisio ’68
Rev. J. Michael ’68, S’71 and Kathleen Doyle ’68 Dowd P’21
Miss Carolyn D. Felker ’68
Mrs. Constance Stirling Hodson ’68
Mr. Leslie C. Jones ’68
Mr. Donald G. Musselman ’68
Mr. Donald W. Powell ’68