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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The humble beginnings story is pretty well known, A priest dispatched from Notre Dame with a pocket full of money and a typewriter establishes Wyoming Valley&#8217;s first college for the sons of miners, and a local landmark is born.</p><p>King&#8217;s College marks its 70th anniversary this year, something The Rev. John Ryan, in his fifth year as president, said likely will be only modestly marked. &#8220;We may wait until the 75th for a bigger celebration.&#8221;</p><p>This also marks the third consecutive year King&#8217;s has won the Times Leader&#8217;s Readers&#8217; Choice Award as the Best Local College/University. It&#8217;s an honor that makes Vice President for Enrollment Management Corry Unis &#8212; a pretty big booster for the college any time &#8212; gush upbeat.</p><p>&#8220;I think the future is bright for us, Unis said. &#8220;I started working at the college in 2013 and what the team has been able to do is increase applications by 35, 40 percent. That&#8217;s huge knowing demographics are going the wrong way.&#8221;</p><p>High school enrollments and extension graduates going onto higher education have been declining in the area and the state, and local colleges have had to work harder to sustain enrollment.</p><p>While King&#8217;s, like others, has looked to compensate with more international students &#8212; Ryan noted that enrollment has climbed from 1 to nearly 100 in a few years &#8212; Unis said King&#8217;s has &#8220;increased its local market share each year.&#8221;</p><p>Yes, tuition has climbed, but Ryan noted financial aid has increased at a faster rate, so by that yardstick King&#8217;s is arguably more affordable now than a few years ago. He believes the college&#8217;s fundamental strength is commitment to its original mission: Teaching students to make a living and make a life.</p><p>Unis said King&#8217;s keeps true to three principles: Personalized attention with an average of 17 students per class, a caring community that builds relationships with students, and professional preparation of the staff.</p><p>That Notre Dame connection doesn&#8217;t hurt. Ryan said 13 students are heading there for an engineering degree, thanks to a dual enrollment agreement.</p><p>&#8220;Any time we get to co-brand ourselves with our sister school adds to a level of prestige,&#8221; Unis said.</p><p>Maybe, but students cite the atmosphere of friendship and the sports.</p><p>&#8220;As soon as I came to King&#8217;s, it felt right. When I came for a tour, everyone was so nice and helpful,&#8221; said Alexa Lambert, 20, a junior from Alburtis, near Allentown.</p><p>King&#8217;s 5-year physician assistant program was a draw, as was the opportunity to participate on the swim team.</p><p>&#8220;I came and immediately fell in love with King&#8217;s,&#8221; said Betty Montgomery, 21, a theater major from Philadelphia. &#8220;You&#8217;re not just a number here. Everybody knows your name.&#8221;</p><p>She learned about King&#8217;s at a college fair in high school and intended to study special education, but switched to theater as a major because she fell in love with that, too. She&#8217;s already had one job interview in the Philadelphia area.</p><p>Senior Angela Coco was looking for &#8220;a small, Catholic and supportive&#8221; college, and selected King&#8217;s after a visit because the people &#8220;I met were so incredibly inspiring and interested in me! It felt right.</p><p>&#8220;King&#8217;s&#8217; best attribute is the community on campus,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;Everyone knows me: students, professors, and staff. The people here are my beloved mentors, co-workers, spiritual leaders and friends. They want to help me succeed.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Unis-Corey.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Corry Unis </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Unis-Corey.jpg</photo0><caption0>Corry Unis </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_TTL031616ryan1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">King&#8217;s College President Rev. John Ryan </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_TTL031616ryan1-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>King&#8217;s College President Rev. John Ryan </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_003.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">King&#8217;s College student Betty Montgomery, of Philadelphia </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_003.jpg</photo2><caption2>King&#8217;s College student Betty Montgomery, of Philadelphia </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_001.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">King&#8217;s College student Alexa Lambert, of Alburtis, near Allentown </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_001.jpg</photo3><caption3>King&#8217;s College student Alexa Lambert, of Alburtis, near Allentown </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_4-pres.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">As King&#8217;s College celebrates its 70th anniversary, the current president and three past presidents got together at the University of Portland, which &#8212; like King&#8217;s &#8212; was set up by the congregation of the Holy Cross. From left, are The Rev. Charles Sherrer (1974-81), The Rev. James Lackenmier (1981-1999), The Rev. Thomas O&#8217;Hara (1999-2011) and The Rev. John Ryan (2011-present, the ninth president). </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_4-pres.jpg</photo4><caption4>As King&#8217;s College celebrates its 70th anniversary, the current president and three past presidents got together at the University of Portland, which &#8212; like King&#8217;s &#8212; was set up by the congregation of the Holy Cross. From left, are The Rev. Charles Sherrer (1974-81), The Rev. James Lackenmier (1981-1999), The Rev. Thomas O&#8217;Hara (1999-2011) and The Rev. John Ryan (2011-present, the ninth president). </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_kings1_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kings College senior Angela Coco </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_kings1_faa.jpg</photo5><caption5>Kings College senior Angela Coco </caption5><photoCredit5></photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

King’s named best college third year in a row