Shilo Petrilla
Shilo Petrilla, a hospitality management major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from Boswell, Somerset County, 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.
Petrilla, a member of the IUP Cook Honors College, also is an Eberly College of Business honors student. She received the Sutton Scholarship, the Elizabeth LaVelle Scholarship, and the Freshman Academic Award. She is a member and former vice president of IUP’s Meeting Professionals International student chapter, former treasurer and now marketing chair of IUP’s Club Management Association of America student chapter, and is a member of Eta Sigma Delta honor society and Young Life. She is the daughter of Jeff and Jamie Petrilla and is a 2024 graduate of North Star High School.
She is the seventh student at IUP to receive 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.
The Statler scholarship is part of IUP’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, Impact 150. The Impact 150 campaign has a goal of $150 million; it is the largest campaign in the history of the university. The campaign is named in honor of the university’s sesquicentennial celebration, celebrated during the 2025–26 academic year.
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.
As of March 31, IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive fundraising campaign stands at more than $114.5 million, or 76.34 percent of goal, with 50,150 gifts from 13,138 donors. This total includes more than $54 million for IUP’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, part of IUP’s commitment to address the rural healthcare crisis. At the time of the public campaign launch of IUP 150 in August 2025, a total of $81,236,852—54 percent of the campaign goal—had been gifted to IUP from 11,673 donors.
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 of Business.
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.
Petrilla began working in the hospitality industry as a junior in high school, working for Vail Resorts, and was honored in 2025 with an “On-the-Spot” recognition from the resort. She has completed a food and beverage internship with The Club at Ibis in West Palm Beach, Florida. This past summer, she worked at Lake Yellowstone Hotel. As a great-granddaughter of Italian immigrants, she has gained admission and plans to study abroad in the spring semester at the Florence University of the Arts in Italy.
“My commitment to the hotel industry stems from a genuine love for serving others and helping guests create unforgettable memories,” Petrilla said. “I have a heart for people and multiculturalism, which truly ignites my passion for hospitality.
“IUP has provided a great foundation for my future career in hospitality,” she said. “I am very grateful to the Statler Foundation for its generosity, which will enable me to continue to pursue opportunities in the hotel industry and build my future,” she said.
“The support we have received from the Staler Foundation has greatly enhanced our program and continues to change the lives—and futures—of our students,” Department of Hospitality and Employment Relations Chairperson Jeffrey Santicola said. “We are very proud to have seven recipients of this prestigious scholarship, and we are very grateful for the ongoing relationship with the Statler Foundation.”
Tracing their 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 programs 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. IUP’s Impact 150 comprehensive campaign is designed to honor a legacy of educational excellence while looking toward a future of innovation, public service, and leadership in healthcare education, including the first college of osteopathic medicine at a public university in the commonwealth.