More than a half-dozen Pre-College Programs attracted a knowledge-hungry host of teenagers to Penn College’s campuses in recent days, the season opener for high schoolers’ exposure to next-level academics. Campers were engaged and enlightened among the week’s bountiful offerings: Architecture Odyssey, Automotive, Aviation, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Health Careers and Information Technology. A second week – inviting more students to test the waters of collegiate opportunity through hands-on learning – will begin July 18.

– Photos by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor; Cindy Davis Meixel, writer/photo editor;
Larry D. Kauffman, digital publishing specialist/photographer; and Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday (unless otherwise noted)

In the physician assistant lab, visitors try their hands at casting.

Michael Damiani, instructor of aviation maintenance, aligns his presentation with the venue: the Lycoming Engines classroom at the Lumley Aviation Center.

A participant rolls out puff pastry for egg tarts. The afternoon’s “work” also included fortune cookies – an advanced skill.

Taking advantage of a beautiful late-spring day – and espousing the notion that no job is too small to be done right – instructor Joe A. Tavani (in red shirt) schooled Automotive Technology participants in the showroom-quality method of washing a vehicle.

Beneath a banner affirming a beneficial corporate alliance, Richard K. Hendricks Jr., instructor of machine tool technology/automated manufacturing, shows off the newest piece of Haas equipment: a Universal Machining Center that will greatly enhance graduates’ marketability.

Two alums, both working as project managers at RAL Architecture+Design Inc. in Lewisburg, came back to give back. Sharing their portfolios and experience during campers’ Architectural Odyssey (as they did in past seasons when they were students) are Olivia Kleman and Riley Ferro, each of whom earned degrees in architectural technology and building science and sustainable design.

A Health Careers participant lines up the camera for an abdominal X-ray of “Pixie.”

Information Technology enrollees inhabit a well-appointed lab …

… where they received valuable one-on-one assistance from Alicia L. McNett, assistant professor of computer information technology.

Their balance challenged while tossing a weighted ball off the “rebounder,” Health Careers participants get a glimpse of activities a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant might use to help a client.

Campers grill chicken and corn on the cob as volunteers during a demonstration by Chef Christopher R. Grove, executive chef of Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.

Health Careers teens visit the “Textiles in Transition” exhibit in The Gallery at Penn College, where they consider the healing potential of art.

Drew R. Potts, assistant professor of civil engineering technology, was among the faculty all-stars …

… providing hands-on exposure to their weeklong audience.

Elsewhere in College Avenue Labs, Hendricks showed his cohort the on-screen design side of the automated manufacturing process.

Chef Frank M Suchwala, associate professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, demonstrates how to trim a pork tenderloin during Future Restaurateurs. Suchwala oversaw the savory portion of the five-day program that culminated in a participant-produced Asian fusion dinner for the teens’ families. Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts and culinary arts, supervised baking and pastry production.

The aviation contingent prepares to step inside an attraction you don’t typically see at summer camp: A Boeing 727 donated by FedEx for students’ instructional use. (Photo by Matthew D. Krepps, instructor of aviation maintenance)

Tavani, a Honda PACT faculty member, shows Nathaniel Wren, of Plymouth, how to rub away surface imperfections.

Matcha ice cream with fried lemon blueberry won ton, a treat that readily signals “refreshment,” is just one of the impressive desserts prepared by Future Restaurateurs. (Photo by Chef Charles R. Niedermyer)

Pre-College attendees troubleshoot an electrical fault on two aircraft systems.

Cassandra Fernandez, of Marion Heights, works with architectural software on the road to designing her “dream house.”

The world of engineering design, as well as the world that such a degree will open, is imparted in a CAD lab by Craig A. Miller, instructor and department head of engineering and industrial design technology.