The Smith Family Celebrates Their Third Child Attending York College
Following in two of his older sisters' footsteps, Andrew Smith ‘29 will be taking the next steps in his education at York College of Pennsylvania.
Andrew Smith '29 spent many years visiting York College of Pennsylvania. Growing up, he and the rest of his family would drive by the campus on their way to visit extended family in York.
By the time he was a teenager, the visits became ventures into campus as he helped his sister, Sarah '21, move into her dorm and cheered his other sister, Abby '27, on at her field hockey games. The Smith family became a part of the York College community, and Andrew learned more and more about the amazing academic and athletic programs the College had to offer.
Now, Andrew is entering his first year of college, and the Smith family is excited as another family member will attend York College in the 2025 Fall Semester.
A Legacy in Science and Sports
Andrew wasn’t the only one whose decision to attend York College was influenced by how often he interacted with the school; his older sisters found their reason for going to be because of their experiences with the College long before they enrolled.
Sarah Smith began considering York College as a potential school after the College visited her high school in Maryland. She was interested in science and decided to pursue a Biology major after learning about the program's amazing opportunities. Now, Sarah works as a high school chemistry teacher along with her twin sister, Samantha, who teaches math.
Abby Smith, on the other hand, wanted to play field hockey in college. While helping Sarah move in, she watched one of York College’s field hockey games and met the team. Abby reached out to the coach during her recruiting process and committed to the field hockey team when offered a goalie position during her junior year of high school. She has since continued with the sport as a Forensic Chemistry major.
Like his sisters, Andrew wanted to study science in college and play a D3 sport. He ended up choosing tennis and, after contacting the team’s coach, learned that spots were available. Andrew’s excitement grew when he discovered the hands-on opportunities the College had for its students, especially regarding letting first-year students have experience in engineering labs and workshops. With that in mind, Andrew declared himself a Mechanical Engineering major.
“I’m glad that I’ll get to have the experience of not only learning other things, but also getting to know how to use different machines or their tools,” Andrew said. “So then when I graduate, I’ll at least have a lot of knowledge of it.”
A Home Away from Home
Kacey Smith, Andrew’s mother and an elementary school assistant principal, has seen firsthand how her children have blossomed because of York College. She is happy to know that the same will happen for Andrew when he arrives in the fall.
“As a parent, you want your child to go anywhere their heart desires and do whatever they feel passionate about,” Smith said. “College was such an exciting experience for me. For all of them, this is the school that gave them the spark of where they wanted to be.”
As an administrator herself, Smith has seen the many benefits that York College provided for her two daughters, from the small class sizes to the wonderful people who have become their lifelong friends. The professors and coaches have also played a major role in helping them in their journeys, and Smith is happy to see the same for her youngest son.
“York [College] has just provided exactly what Sarah needed to mature and become an adult,” Smith said.
“So knowing that Andrew is coming into that is also a big piece of it, but I could just tell when we met the tennis coach that just like with Abby, that was it - I knew he was going to make up his mind right then and there.”
York College is very excited to welcome Andrew and the rest of the incoming Class of 2029 to campus this fall. We can’t wait to see everything our students will accomplish during their time here!
