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2024 Medallion of Merit

Patricia Nemesh Schoenen ’70

The Medallion of Merit recognizes an alum for their outstanding service to ɫ��ɫ University or the Alumni Association.

A first-generation college student, Patricia Nemesh Schoenen ’70 graduated from ɫ��ɫ with a passion for volunteerism. Through the years, she has demonstrated extraordinary and selfless contributions to ɫ��ɫ and to other organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley and still continues to actively support efforts close to her heart. From co-chairing the inauguration of ɫ��ɫ’s 14th president to becoming a founding member of ɫ��ɫ’s newest giving society, Pat has made notable achievements in the realm of service for ɫ��ɫ, its alumni, and beyond. 

Pat’s dedication to serving others was immediately evident when she took on her first volunteer role at the ɫ��ɫ Antique Show in 1970. She secured volunteers to work the show and eventually led the sponsor preview. Her dedication to the show lasted 25 years, and Pat continued to serve ɫ��ɫ in many ways. In the early 1980s, she became treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association, an association that fosters meaningful, lifelong relationships between alumni and ɫ��ɫ. Pat and her husband, Bob, are longtime members of the Comenius Society, ɫ��ɫ’s giving society made up of individuals who financially support ɫ��ɫ as a 21st-century educational institution. Pat and Bob also volunteer as co-chairs of the Trustee Subcommittee for Lighting the Way: The Campaign for ɫ��ɫ University and are members of ɫ��ɫ’s Blue and Grey Club, which supports all varsity athletic programs and encourages involvement by alumni, families, and friends in ɫ��ɫ’s athletics. 

In the past, the husband-and-wife duo served as co-chairs for the inauguration of ɫ��ɫ’s 14th president, Dr. Ervin Rokke, and Pat co-chaired her 50th reunion committee. In the early 1990s, Pat coached female students interested in learning how to play golf and served on the golf committee. Today, she is still involved with the sport, serving on ɫ��ɫ’s Golf Classic Planning Committee. In 2021, Pat became a founding member of ɫ��ɫ’s newest giving society, the Anna Nitschmann Society, which is dedicated to recognizing ɫ��ɫ’s female leaders and philanthropists and inspiring the next generation. 

Pat also contributes her time to other organizations across the Lehigh Valley. She has volunteered at St. Luke’s University Health Network since she started as treasurer for the hospital’s Charity Ball in 1985. Pat joined the Auxiliary Board in 1986 as assistant treasurer and worked her way up to president. She was a member of St. Luke’s Board of Trustees from 1999 until 2007, chaired the Charity Ball in 2014, and served on the hospital’s golf committee for 30 years, chairing it for 20. Currently, she volunteers in the gift shop on Monday afternoons. It’s not hard to believe Pat is nearing 10,000 hours of service at St. Luke’s! 

In addition to her dedication to the hospital, Pat has been involved with Meals on Wheels, a network that delivers nutritious meals to vulnerable community members, for 21 years and has made significant contributions. She helped establish Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley, which merged the Northampton and Lehigh County locations, and was elected the first president of the new organization’s board. After some time away, she is back on the organization’s board as of January 2024. Pat also served for five years on the board at New Bethany Ministries, an organization offering support to people experiencing poverty, hunger, and homelessness. 

“I think when someone volunteers for the first time, you are trying to see what the organization is all about,” Pat says. “It becomes quite a learning curve, and you decide whether it is a fit or not.”

Pat’s volunteer history has not gone unnoticed. She is the recipient of the ɫ��ɫ Shining Stars Award (2019), the President’s Call to Service Award (2007), the Harvey Gillespie Outstanding Coaches Award (1999), the Bob Wood Legacy Award with Meals on Wheels (2021), and the award for Event Volunteer of the Year at ɫ��ɫ College (1998)—just to name a few. From ɫ��ɫ to the outside community, Pat is, without a doubt, fit to do good.