In 2009, the Pacanowski family returned to their hometown of Honey Brook after an 11-year stay in a small town in Minnesota.
From being home-schooled in a farm town with a population of 300, Ken and Amy Pacanowski’s three children entered into a new environment, and in a short time, have begun to excel in their educations, jobs and personal endeavors.
During the family’s 11 years in Minnesota, the kids lived and worked on a farm, where they were home schooled.
Their days consisted of schoolwork, church, feeding and caring for animals, swimming, fishing and playing with their other home-schooled friends who lived close by.
Hannah, 20, says this environment is what made her into the woman she is now.
“It’s where we learned how to work hard and have work ethic,” she said. “Pretty much all the life lessons that I’ve learned and kept with me and that means the most to me, that’s where they came from.”
Hannah is currently enjoying the summer before her third year as a Penn State Berks student. She majors in Kinesiology, or exercise science, and maintains a 3.75 GPA.
“I plan on getting my master’s to be a physician’s assistant and working for a sports medicine hospital,” she said.
Hannah also works training horses and was previously featured in the newspaper for her barrel racing achievements.
“All through high school, I barrel raced with my horse,” she said. “He’s old now and retired, and he stays at the place I work, which is Palmer Performance Horses. It’s a really big training facility. I love it.”
Hannah hopes to one day own and train her own horses.
Nathan, 22, is the oldest of the three. After moving back to Honey Brook in 2009, the siblings initially attended Coventry Christian School, where Nathan graduated and went on to become a student at Penn State University.
Nathan spent two years at Penn State Berks and eventually joined the crowd of nearly 45,500 students enrolled at the main campus in University Park.
“It was a big change going to a place with that many people,” said Nathan. “I was lucky I stayed friends with most of the friends I made at Berks.”
Graduating from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business in May with a 3.5 GPA, Nathan has already gotten his footing in the professional world.
“I’m a project manager for a company called Sustainable Resource Group, Inc. based in Exton,” he said. “We basically take excess materials, like coffee grounds from a coffee company for instance, and we find ways to reuse it. I was so lucky to find this job before I even graduated. I don’t want to be stuck in an office, and with this job I’m only in the office a few days of the week.”
The youngest of the three, Luke, is a 16-year-old Twin Valley sophomore. In his last football season, he received a varsity football letter and was named to the Berks County Football Coaches Association All Academic Team.
Luke plays as a left tackle and defensive end for the Twin Valley team. He also maintains a part-time job at the local Billy Burger.
He is unsure whether he will follow in his brother and sister’s footsteps and attend Penn State, but he is already thinking of long-term professional goals.
“I want to do something in business,” he said. “I’m thinking marketing. I really like people, and I like presentations and things like that. I have some ideas, but I haven’t narrowed it down yet.”
When asked if he plans to play college ball, he said it all depends on which college he chooses to go to.
Ken and Amy could not be more proud of their three children.
“The kids have done more than most people do in a lifetime,” said Ken. “They’re just getting started.”
Amy said she is glad they made the decision to move back home.
“I wouldn’t have traded that time for anything in the world, but it was just for a temporary time,” she said. “Moving back definitely felt like moving home. I’m so proud of the kids. They have adjusted well, and it’s been a perfect community for them with a lot of really strong family values, people who love the outdoors and appreciate farming and people that are hardworking.”
Ken and Amy have high hopes for their children and are enjoying watching them grow.
“I’m so proud of what they’ve been able to do because it’s a big hurdle,” said Amy. “They’ve been able to take good values, morals and ethics that we did our best to instill in them, bring it into a bigger picture and apply it to whatever situations they’re in.”
