Lebanon Valley College announced Olivia Tassou ’26 as the most recent recipient of LVC’s full-tuition scholarship for Harrisburg Area Community College graduates. Tassou received her associate’s degree in Psychology at HACC’s Gettysburg campus and arrived at LVC for Fall 2024.

“My senior year of high school came up on me a lot faster than I had anticipated,” said Tassou. “It felt like everyone around me suddenly had already decided where they would attend college while I was still applying to many schools. I began feeling like none of the schools I had visited made me feel like they were a perfect fit. I despised the idea of settling—I always have, so I did not want to make a rash decision about where I would attain a bachelor’s degree.”

Tassou chose HACC for its proximity to home, her high school experience with their dual enrollment classes, and the option to continue to work full-time to save for college.

“Essentially, I wanted to go to HACC because I felt like I needed more time to think about what I wanted to do, what I wanted to major in, and where I wanted to get my bachelor’s degree,” said Tassou. “I knew HACC could provide me with the time to critically consider those decisions while continuing to push me toward pursuing my education.”

Tassou’s classes at HACC helped her settle on Psychology as a major, and one of her professors encouraged her to visit LVC. The professor explained that LVC students always had the most impressive research at the conferences she attended compared to students from other colleges.

Tassou scheduled a tour of LVC that week and felt immediately at home with the personalized tour and conversation with Hannah Whitman, LVC’s Transfer Coordinator. That welcoming feeling continued when she moved onto campus.

“I love being at LVC because I feel like there are always fun things to do and exciting things to look forward to,” said Tassou. “I also feel like I am always surrounded by kind and welcoming people, which has made transferring much easier than anticipated.”

“Right out of the gate on move-in day, there have been so many opportunities to meet other students, socialize, and learn about what events there are at LVC. I have gone to all the soccer games. I have met some really cool people at orientation and in classes. I had a blast at Fall Fest and learned a lot about the different clubs,” added Tassou.

On the academic side, Tassou looks forward to finding an internship and gaining practical experience to help her narrow her future career focus.

“Psychology is such a broad discipline that the options of careers offer quite an extensive list,” said Tassou. “I am interested in school, abnormal, or child psychology. The curriculum has many steppingstones in place that give me faith that I will succeed after LVC and thrive while I am here.”