Alice Gilmore Young ’77 credits her State High experience with helping her on a path toward success after high school. In addition to enjoying a long career using her passion for mathematics, she continues to share her talents in music, which she honed in school chorus, orchestra, and band.
“Thanks to the school district, I was able to take credits for several AP classes to Penn State,” Alice said. After graduating from State High, she enrolled as a Mathematics major but graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in German Literature. She said she realized she had “the best teachers” at State High when she saw other students struggling more to adjust to college academics. After Penn State, Alice went on to earn a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh at the age of 21.
Alice started her career as Business Manager of The United Methodist Home for Children in Mechanicsburg, PA. After moving to New Jersey and marrying her husband Barry, she worked at the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau, a nonprofit insurance rating corporation; at Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll, a law firm; and for 38 years she was Vice President, Finance and Corporate Compliance Officer of the nonprofit John F. Kennedy Behavioral Health Center in Philadelphia.
After a long and successful career, Alice is adjusting to retirement at her home in Tunkhannock, PA. “I enjoy living in the Endless Mountains region of Pennsylvania with my husband and our two cats. I volunteer at the local soup kitchen. In good weather, I can usually be found outside trying to tame monster weeds or maybe just enjoying the view of a mountain from my house,” she shared.
Alice and Barry have two children, one of whom lives in Denver and the other in Philadelphia.
“I am honored to be inducted into the Maroon & Gray Society,” Alice said. “When I found out that I had been nominated, my first question was: why me?”
Reflections on State High:
“Music and math teachers were my favorite. I especially liked Music Theory I and II and AP Calculus. Some of the best times were when I was in the orchestra pit playing flute and piccolo for a musical or on stage for choir, stage band, or orchestra; or in marching band. My absolute favorite was participating in All-State Chorus – it was an incredible experience.”
A love and talent for music:
“I have enjoyed participating in various musical groups in my communities. At Penn State, I sang in choir concerts directed by Andre Previn and Michael Tilson Thomas. When I was 38, I had my first private voice lesson and went on to sing in operettas, church, and community choruses, and perform solos at weddings and funerals. I directed a children’s church choir and a youth praise band. I played piano in a community chorus concert with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra; sang in the Philadelphia Choral Arts Society, performing locally at the Academy of Music and in New York City at Lincoln Center; and most recently, I have played piano in the annual holiday show that benefits the Tunkhannock Public Library. I sing in and substitute as a pianist for my church choir.”
Serving the community:
“I am most proud of my nonprofit work in Philadelphia. I helped a corporation recover from near bankruptcy and secure a strong future. We served thousands of clients every year, including homeless, indigent mental health, and substance abuse clients. It was not easy work, but it was important work.”
Advice for today’s students:
“Try to balance academics and extracurricular activities. Experience new things – you might discover a new talent. I loved music and was good at it in school, but I knew that I did not have the patience to pursue a career in music education. Although a certain teacher was so certain that I would study music education, he even printed it in my Senior concert program, but he had never asked me. If he had, I would have told him that my true passion was mathematics. Ironically, I ran into one of my high school math teachers after I had an MBA. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him that I was working for a nonprofit, doing accounting and budgets. He told me that I was wasting my math talents. I told him I disagreed because I used math every day in my job, and I had the added bonus of being able to do good in my community.
Talk to your teachers and guidance counselors about your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re as lucky as I have been, you might just find a way to support yourself with a career doing something that you love and still be able to fill your soul with skills you learned in classes and extracurricular activities.”
