Kayla Kritschil
Kayla Kritschil, a senior hotel, restaurant, tourism, and event management major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from Birdsboro, has been selected for the Statler Foundation’s Scholarship of Excellence.
The Statler Foundation was created from the estate of hotelier Ellsworth M. Statler following his death in 1928. Its purpose is to support research work and train employees for the benefit of the hotel industry. Statler, a self-made millionaire who worked his way from bellhop to industry legend, founded the largest premier hotel chain of his day.
The competitive Statler Scholarship of Excellence was established in 1997 and is awarded to students who demonstrate a high degree of academic performance and aptitude studying the hotel management field, along with demonstrating character and commitment to the industry. It provides $25,000 to the recipient.
Kritschil, daughter of Kathleen Kritschil and Richard Kritschil and a 2022 graduate of Daniel Boone Area High School, is a member of the IUP Eberly College of Business honors program and is vice president and treasurer of Eta Sigma Delta hospitality honor society.
She is IUP’s sixth recipient of the Statler Foundation’s Scholarship of Excellence.
In March, IUP announced the Statler Foundation’s $100,000 program grant for IUP, continuing the Foundation’s support for IUP’s Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism, and Event Management program. This gift will allow the university to purchase advanced hotel management software. This program grant follows the Statler Foundation’s 2022 $125,000 donation to construct a hotel front desk simulation lab for students and the Statler Foundation’s 2025 $50,000 gift for hotel management software.
This funding from the Statler Foundation is part of IUP’s Impact 150, the university’s $150 million comprehensive campaign; as of December 2025, the campaign has raised more than $102 million. The largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history, the campaign is named in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2025. At the time of the public campaign launch in August 2025, a total of $81,236,852—54 percent of the campaign goal—had been gifted to IUP from 11,673 donors.
Impact 150 centers around raising funds for healthy students, including supporting students academically and personally; a healthy university, including maintaining IUP’s commitment to excellence and innovation; and healthy communities, including IUP’s work to establish a college of osteopathic medicine.
The Statler Foundation simulation lab, opened for student use in 2023, is in the Eberly College of Business building; the Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism, and Event Management program is part of the Department of Hospitality and Employment Relations in the Eberly College.
The Statler Foundation simulation lab provides an opportunity for students to experience a real check-in and check-out process at a desk that is custom-built for practicing customer service operations, including customer service issues. IUP is one of the few colleges and universities in Pennsylvania to offer a hotel front desk simulation lab and the advanced software
“Hospitality is more than service; it is a chance to brighten someone’s day, even for just a moment,” Kritschil said. “From a warm greeting at a front desk to a flawlessly executed event, hospitality surrounds us in ways that often go unnoticed but always leave an impression. That is what drew me to this field: the idea that making a difference in the world can begin with touching the lives of individuals. I have always wanted to help people, and hospitality gives me the platform to do so with empathy, energy, and purpose,” she said.
Kritschil began work in the hospitality industry at 14. She completed an internship at the French Creek Golf Club in Elverson and is currently leading a 15-person team as a banquet intern at Indiana Country Club.
“This scholarship eases the financial stress of my education and allows me to focus more fully on my academic and career development,” she said. “I am very grateful to my faculty for encouraging me to apply for the Statler Foundation scholarship and very grateful to the Statler Foundation for this scholarship opportunity.”
“Our relationship with the Staler Foundation is one we are very grateful to have and very proud of our students who have engaged with the Staler Foundation,” Department of Hospitality and Employment Relations Chairperson Jeffrey Santicola said.
Tracing its history at IUP back to 1916, IUP’s Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism, and Event Management program has been providing an exceptional education to its students who are interested in pursuing a career in this field, offering specialized knowledge and skills for managing the businesses within the hospitality industry.
This premier program consistently enrolls more than 100 majors annually, making it one of the largest undergraduate hospitality program-of-study in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the largest program in the PASSHE System. In addition to studies in the classroom, students operate the Allenwood Restaurant and serve guests in the Isabella Wilkinson Green dining room. Students in the program are required to complete two industry-specific internships.
IUP’s Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism, and Event Management program is ranked ninth in the nation by Study.Com.
Since its founding in 1875, IUP has evolved from a teacher-training institution into a doctoral research university recognized for its commitment to student success and achievement. As IUP celebrates its 150th anniversary during the 2025–26 academic year and through the Impact 150 comprehensive campaign, the university honors a legacy of educational excellence while looking to its next 150 years of student success, innovation, leadership in healthcare education, and public service.