As the State College Area High School class of 2000 prepares for its 25-year reunion, its members are also taking time to remember the 12 classmates they've lost by launching a memorial fund aimed at supporting student mental health in their honor.
“Every class has loss and every class has grief,” said Adam Smeltz, a class of 2000 alum and one of the fund’s organizers. “What we’ve tried to do here is pull something productive from our sense of loss and our sense of grief.”
Created in partnership with the State College Area School District Education Foundation, the Class of 2000 Memorial Fund for Mental Wellness is designed to respond to evolving mental health needs across the district — from direct student support to expanded mental health curriculum and staff training.
“We really wanted to get a sense of where we could do the most good and make the most impact in the school system,” Smeltz said.
The initiative is meant to be more than a one-time gesture. Organizers hope the fund will continue beyond the reunion — not only raising money, but also reducing stigma and encouraging students to speak up and seek help.
“The conversations about mental health were very different 25 years ago,” Smeltz said. “There was certainly a greater sense of stigma.”
Today, alumni hope their openness will help students feel less alone.
“It was good for kids to hear that it’s not just them,” said Paul Olivett, executive director of the State College Area School District Education Foundation.
Looking ahead, the class hopes the fund will evolve alongside student needs, with support from the Education Foundation.
“One thing that is really a common thread is this sense of gratitude for all of the opportunities and support that we had growing up in the State College school system,” Smeltz said.
