ACCA chapter spends cool day in Lions' den

Published 10.03.2019

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Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning
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Opened six years ago this month, the ice arena plays host to an inquisitive Penn College contingent.Evan Cleary (in plaid shirt), who arranged the campus visit as facilities manager in Penn State's Office of Physican Plant, joins his guests outside the famed Berkey Creamery. Cleary is a 2017 alumnus of Penn College's heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology major.Penn College’s Air Conditioning Contractors of America student chapter recently traveled to Penn State’s University Park campus, visiting four areas that represent the sprawl of careers in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. Accompanied by faculty colleagues Kenneth E. Welker Jr. and Bradley Q. Kishbaugh, the students toured the Pegula Ice Arena, learning what it takes to prep, paint and maintain the 1.5-inch playing surface for the Nittany Lions hockey team; the Berkey Creamery, where freezers are integral to the sale of 750,000 ice cream cones each year; and the North Campus Chilled Water Plant and East Campus Steam Plant, essential in operation of the university's facilities. (The steam plant includes a boiler manufactured by the former E. Keeler Co. in Williamsport, it was noted.) Samuel J. Bertolino, manager of design services, shared his criteria for assessing potential employees: Show up on time, have a great attitude, do what's asked in a timely manner and earn a degree. At least a half-dozen Penn College alumni are now on Penn State's HVAC payroll, Welker said, a testament to graduates' hands-on abilities and teamwork ethic.
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