Jana Marie Foundation

Benefit show for Jana Marie Foundation:

The story-

Jana Marie Vicere was a beautiful, intelligent, talented young woman who graduated with a GED from the State College (PA) Area School District in 1999. She went on to Penn State University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Sociology in 2005. As a student at Penn State she was named to the Dean’s List, Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society, and to the College of Health and Human Development’s Women’s Leadership Initiative for her demonstrated potential as a leader in the field of human services.

Although Jana struggled with depression throughout her lifetime, she always had a generous heart and an unwavering commitment to helping people. Her sense of pride from receiving her GED led her to tutor others working towards their diploma. Because of her dedication to tutoring and to the GED program, Jana was appointed to the State College Area School District’s Community Education Advisory Board. Her continued commitment to helping others earned for her a statewide award from the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Community Education (PAACE) in 2006 for her volunteer efforts. Later in her career Jana was a counselor for at-risk teenage girls through the State College Area Youth Service Bureau where she displayed an unyielding devotion to helping her girls get back on their feet.

Jana also loved to express herself through artistic and creative endeavors. Her poetry, collages, drawings, jewelry, pottery, and love for music showcased her personality, emotions, and free spirit.

In 2011 Jana lost her battle to depression and died by suicide at the tender age of 30. The Jana Marie Foundation is dedicated to her commitment to helping others and to her love of creative expression and the arts.