SPRINGVALE — A flyer from a friend outlining a school opportunity, and a mother-and-daughter decision to follow through six years ago has opened new doors for a local teen.

Emily Pinchott, 17, will graduate this year from Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania —  that Hershey, of chocolate fame  — and is preparing to go on to college. It is all because of that flyer, and the lure, for Emily, who was about to enter sixth grade at the time, of pizza.

“I wanted free pizza,” said Pinchott in a telephone interview from the  Milton Hershey School on Friday. 

She got it, plus a whole lot more.

The flyer advertised an evening for a movie, free pizza and the Milton Hershey school. Emily and her mother Gayle saw the movie, heard about the school, enjoyed the pizza, and thought about the future. 

“(The presentation) talked about the school, how it came to be, Milton Hershey’s ideas and how the school has helped so many people better their lives,” said Emily. “Mom was really interested and I said ‘that’s pretty cool.’”

Milton Hershey School is a cost-free private, residential school for children from lower income families founded by Milton and Catherine ”Kitty” Hershey. The couple couldn’t have children, and, according to school literature, decided to create a home and school for orphaned boys. They established The Hershey Industrial School in 1909  that was renamed Milton Hershey School in 1951. After his wife died, Hershey donated his entire personal fortune to establish the Milton Hershey School Trust, which continues to fund the school, along with product sales. Currently, 77 percent of the school’s 2,000 Pre-12 students hail from the Keystone state, while 23 percent are from an array of other states. This year, there are 12 Maine students enrolled. There were 197 graduates in 2017.

Mother and daughter decided to proceed with the interview process for the school and that fall, Emily went off to sixth grade in Hershey.

Gayle, a single mother, became an empty-nester. 

“I was thinking ‘I don’t think I can do this,”’  but she was so excited because of all the opportunities and “I knew she would get much more out of her school year if she went to Milton Hershey School, so we went forward,” Gayle said, a nurse who is now retired.

Emily said her favorite subject is science, she’s currently taking advanced placement biology  courses, among others, and enjoys environmental and political science. 

When she first began thinking about her future, Emily was intent on becoming a large animal veterinarian. For a couple of summers, she worked with cows and horses on the campus farm. She is vice president of the school’s chapter of Future Farmers of America, a member of the Student Government Association and has served as secretary of Community Service. She is secretary of National Honor Society and participates in the school’s dance, and cross country and swim teams.

 Emily  said she hopes once she is off to college in the fall — she is eyeing Brown and Georgetown—  she’ll have a better understanding of what is next — which could include environmental activism. 

“I hope to get more environmental classes and political science because I like how these things connect,” she said.

“She wants to make a difference in the world,” her mother said. “Emily’s very concerned about the environment and the way things are happening with global warning and what her future is going to be. I totally agree. It’s a scary thought.”

What has attending the Milton Hershey School done for Emily? 

“I owe the school everything,” Emily said. “It has completely changed my life and my perspective. Coming here, I have not only become more independent, I have found a purpose.” 

“Before here, I knew would probably never go to college because I had no money and that would limit my career options,” Emily said. “I really didn’t have much hope for the future. By coming here, I have that opportunity. I’ve had a wonderful education here, and I’m learning and connecting with adults and students.”

Each Milton Hershey School student has the opportunity to earn scholarship money to further their education, said school spokeswoman Keri Straub. So far, Straub said, Emily has accumulated $92,000 for college through her good grades and solid behavior.

“The goal is to have an undergraduate degree covered,” Straub said.

Emily said she does miss her home and family, though the homesickness was more pervasive when she first began her studies at the school six years ago.

“It is still bittersweet. You think about what your family is doing,” when you’re not there, she said.  There’s the absence of a traditional public high school experience, too, she pointed out. 

Still, “the pros outweigh the cons,” Emily said.  

“Parents make sacrifices for their children all the time,” said Gayle. “This was one of those things where I thought Emily would be better off where she could hopefully get into a good college. I know how bright she is and her teachers here would remark all the time that she is a very smart girl, with great potential. I wanted her to do what is right for her.”

“I still miss her a lot, but  the pros definitely outweigh the cons,” said Gayle. “I have no regrets at all.”

For more information about Milton Hershey School, go to: www.mhskids.org.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.