ERIE, PA – Oct. 3, 2025 – Gannon University is proud to announce Josie Spano (Softball) & Lance Slater (Baseball) as PNC Achievers for the fall 2025 academic semester. These student athletes were selected by members of the Athletic Department following nominations by their coaching staff.
PNC recognizes, celebrates, and showcases students who excel academically, contribute through community service, and are engaged leaders on campus. Spano & Slater excel in all three categories & meet additional University requirements, including:
• Maintaining an overall 3.5 GPA & being named to the Dean's List in every semester on campus
• Participate in a minimum of 20 hours of community service each academic year
• Possess exemplary leadership skills, both in and out of competition
"Josie and Lance are excellent representatives of our athletics department and we are honored for them to be recognized with this well-deserved award from PNC", said Meghan Morphy, Director of Athletics. "We are grateful for the continued support of PNC to provide this meaningful celebration of our student-athlete's commitment to excellence in the classroom, on our campus, and in our community."
Now in her senior year, Josie Spano has exemplified what it means to be a true student athlete. The Hudson, Ohio native is a Health Science - Physical Therapy major and has been named to the PSAC All-Academic & NFCA All-Academic teams for three years. Spano has also been recognized to Gannon's "A" Team for five semesters and the Dean's List for six semesters. Her community services efforts span far and wide: Josie plays a significant role in GIVE Day, including supporting the Erie Zoo in their setup for Zoo Boo. Spano continues to volunteer with the Zabawa festival, campus ministry, numerous PT clinics, and is part of the Phi Eta Sigma honor society. This season, Spano will serve as a team captain for the softball program.
In his redshirt sophomore season, Lance Slater has gone above and beyond showcasing leadership qualities both on and off the field of competition. Hailing from Renfrew, PA, he is an Industrial Engineering major with a current GPA of 3.83. A four-time Dean's List honoree, Slater continues to donate his time and efforts towards multiple volunteering efforts. They include food service at the Zabawa Polish Festival, unloading and organizing clothing at local winter clothing drives, and other food drives at his church. Slater is deeply involved as the team bible study leader and serves as a student leader for the Student-Athlete Fellowship Group. Despite injuries limiting his time on the field in his first two years, Slater has excelled in his leadership off the field of competition.
Gannon University is committed to teaching the values related to this program and is proud to be one of over a dozen schools across the country to partner with the PNC Achievers program.
About PNC Bank
PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.
