Maybe you’ve seen Nina around town, smiling eyes, white hair streaming from a helmet as she bikes by. Or perhaps you’ve sat with her on a CATA bus, arms full of flowers going to visit her 97-year-old mom. Generous in offering kindness, wisdom and jokes, it’s no surprise that Nina spent her career dedicated to children, beginning in 1974, retiring from Hort Woods in 2013, and teaching at Discovery Space and Childspace until full retirement in 2022.

Nina came to Penn State in 1971; both of her parents are alumni. After a few semesters, she started at a day care center. “I loved working there, but it paid very little,” she recounted. As a single mom bouncing between rentals with her young son, home ranged from a unit over a garage to a Purdue Mountain shed to a house on Pugh Street with ever-rotating roommates where a new owner more than doubled the rent and built a unit over the garden they had enjoyed.

Then Nina heard about a home she could afford, and at 46, she became a first-time homeowner and the second State College Community Land Trust household. This September, she will celebrate 25 years of SCCLT homeownership.

When asked how homeownership changed her life, she answered immediately, “For the first time, I was able to save money. During the pandemic, I was grateful to have the security of my home to weather the uncertainty. My family didn’t worry about me.”

Enjoying retirement, her life is mostly car-free. If you’ve been to an SCCLT event, you may have tasted her springerle, German anise cookies. Nina regularly volunteers and serves on a committee: “I want others to have this amazing opportunity.”

She loves visiting her grandkids and family in Texas who laugh and say they’re doing their part to “keep Austin weird” when they fly in Nona.

As you walk through State College, you might not realize that your neighbors live in SCCLT homes. The mission of SCCLT is creating and stewarding permanently affordable, energy-efficient homes for low- and middle-income individuals and families. SCCLT homeowners are clergy, bus drivers, teachers – essential workers like Nina who contribute to our vibrant community. SCCLT owns the land, reducing the purchase price and ensuring that the home remains affordable in perpetuity; that’s why they’re called Forever Homes. Forever Homes change lives and support health, security and opportunities.

Whether you’re interested in a Forever Home or would like to help, please contact SCCLT. If you’re selling a house in the Borough, SCCLT purchases as-is, at appraised value, then renovates before selling to an income-qualified homebuyer. SCCLT is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and Centre County United Way partner agency.

Land in Trust. Homes in Reach. Forever.

For more information, visit www.scclandtrust.org or call 814-867-0656.

Jennifer Jourdan is the outreach and development coordinator of State College Community Land Trust.