HCF Gift Legacy eNewsletter 07/28/21

FACULTY MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Political Science Professor sees his legacy flourish

It was in 1985 that Hartnell College political science professor Paul Aschenbrenner felt it was time to start helping Hartnell students with scholarships. He found information about endowments and concluded that his goal would be to create a scholarship fund to help students in perpetuity.

Aschenbrenner started the Pennies from Heaven project that same year with a mission to collect one million pennies. This number of pennies would set up a $10,000 endowed scholarship fund and fund at least one scholarship per year using just the interest from the endowment.

What prompted the urgency to begin this project was discovering that the national debt had surpassed one-trillion dollars.  Attempting to conceptualize the idea of a trillion dollars, Aschenbrenner explained to his class that this is equal to one million times one million and encouraged the class to collect a million of something with value, which turned out to be pennies.  

Ashcenbrenner was clever in his strategy. He used the 188th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birthday (the face of our penny!) to kick off this unique effort. 

A special box made of steel and glass was specially constructed and placed in the Hartnell Student Center to collect the pennies. These pennies were collected from students and community members for over 13 years before it reached the one million mark. Fast forward to 2021, this scholarship fund has grown and for over 20 years has supplied scholarships to Hartnell College students.

“We now have nearly $60,000 in the endowment,” said Aschenbrenner. “This year, my committee and I gave three scholarships of $900 each.”

The scholarship committee (which includes former students of Aschenbrenner) likes to have close contact with the recipients. Once the applicants are selected, they are invited to Aschenbrenner’s home in Salinas for a gathering. “We like to have that personal connection,” he said. “We love to hear the students’ stories and to know how the scholarship is helping them reach their dreams.”

Aschenbrenner taught at Hartnell for 28 years and was beloved by his students and campus community. He retired almost 20 years ago, but his heart has always been with Hartnell students. He loves to travel, and his favorite place in the world is Antarctica, followed by Africa. In his spare time, he loves to volunteer at his church feeding the homeless in the area.

Thank you, Paul Aschenbrenner, for showing continued care and love toward Hartnell students and our community!