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For Susan (Fracaroli) Petniunas ’77, the qualities that made her fall in love with Lycoming as a high school senior are
the same qualities that keep her close to Lycoming today. “Even years later, I find it easy to reacquaint myself with the
College because of its small size,” she said. Susan and her husband, Raymond, recently decided to include Lycoming
College in their estate plan.
“The atmosphere on campus set the stage for my future life as a lobbyist. The camaraderie, the athletics and my
internship in Washington, D.C, all played a role.”
Through Susan’s own industriousness, as well as a sequence of unique events at Manville Corporation (now
Johns Manville), she leveraged her government experiences and business-focused education to learn the public
policy process. “I was exposed early on to senior executives at Manville, Capitol Hill and in the administrations in
power, eventually paving the way for establishing my own public policy company in Washington, D.C., Public Affairs
Resources, Incorporated.”
Susan acknowledges that her successes were aided by Lycoming’s strong
programmatic focus on public policy and entrepreneurship, so she worked with
the College to ensure that future students will benefit from these qualities
by putting the focus in writing and allowing their endowment to serve as a
format for future programs.
“It excites me that the College is on solid financial footing. Lycoming
has the flexibility to look at new, more relevant professions, instead of
remaining stagnant in its approach to higher education,” said Susan.
Raymond added, “I’m encouraged by President Kent Trachte’s effective
leadership and the team he has put in place. Without these, we may not
have made the decision we did.”
Susan and Raymond’s advice to other alumni: Start
thinking about your legacy now. You can be more
thoughtful about your arrangements, and others won’t
have to make decisions for you.
“Lycoming allowed us flexibility in
crafting our estate plan. The College
was very gracious with their time in
helping us tailor our gift,” said
Raymond. “We have worked
with other institutions that
were more bureaucratic,
but not quite as personal,
and this made the
difference for us.”
To learn more about
including Lycoming
College in your estate
planning, please
contact the Office of
College Advancement
at 570.321.4036
or lycomingfund@
lycoming.edu. Ask
for your copy of
the
“Tower Society
Guide to Charitable
Planning.”
Early Preparation and Flexibility Lead to Estate Planning Success
LEVERAGE OUR COLLECTIVE STRENGTH