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Alexander dealerships recognized for all-star support of students

Aubrey Alexander accepts a framed #9 Wildcat jersey, representing his Penn College graduation year.

The Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships, with 18 locations that employ a number of Penn College alumni, was honored Wednesday for its inspiring generosity and ongoing dedication to Wildcat Athletics. Through scholarship support, mentorship and other substantial contributions – including new scoreboards in Bardo Gymnasium – the Alexander family’s financial commitment was noted by the Wildcat Club as “creating lasting impact for our student-athletes and the athletic facilities they call home.” Among those on hand for Corporate Partner Day during a basketball doubleheader against the College of Saint Elizabeth was Aubrey Alexander, a 2009 business administration graduate and member of the Penn College Foundation Board of Directors.

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Penn College, leading company form perfect ‘package’

Packaging Progressions Inc. in Souderton – the world’s leading supplier of high-speed interleaving and stacking machines – boasts a multi-generational connection to Penn College. Company founder and chairman Larry Ward (center) graduated from Penn College’s predecessor institution, Williamsport Area Community College, in 1966. Welder/fabricator Brett E. Stanley (left), of Lancaster, graduated from Penn College in 2012, and automation engineer Johnathan T. Capps, of North Wales, earned his degree from the college last May.

On the surface, the three men have little in common. One looks like a vibrant, distinguished grandfather with his neatly trimmed white goatee and confident gait. The second could pass for a lead singer in a rock band with his lip and nose rings, faded T-shirt and long hair. The third appears to be a budding executive with his coiffed hair and button-down shirt complemented by a perfect smile.

They are separated by appearance, age, background and job title. But the three share educational roots at Pennsylvania College of Technology and mission at Packaging Progressions Inc. in Souderton.

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Graduate chef creates feasts for the eyes on Instagram

Colleen S. Masteller, a 2016 graduate of Penn College’s culinary arts and systems major, made PA Eats’ list of “20 Food-Loving Pennsylvanians to Follow on Instagram.” Masteller – who also maintains the In Whites blog – is a kitchen manager at Sawhorse Café in Williamsport; hosts a series of pop-up, limited-seating dinners; and populates her Instagram account with “poetic” photos of finished dishes, ingredients and life in the kitchen, according to PA Eats. PA Eats is an online publication dedicated to Pennsylvania food and drink news.

State ag secretary champions Penn College education

A parent’s proud endorsement of a Penn College education, which propelled his son into an imminent career as a landscape designer, kicks off a Pennsylvania Farm Show video from state Sen. Gene Yaw. The legislator – who chairs the college’s board of directors – sat down with state Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding, father of a 2016 landscape/horticulture technology alumnus. Elliot C. Redding carried his two-year degree to Penn State, where he will graduate with a bachelor’s degree later this year. Watch PCToday for photos from the 103rd annual expo, at which the college was a weeklong presence.

Fall 2018 class of graduates listed

The roster of Fall 2018 graduates has been issued at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

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Freeze-framing a day to remember

As faculty march to the stage, anticipation and fulfillment blend on a student's radiant face.

Pennsylvania College of Technology held its Fall 2018 commencement on Saturday, Dec. 22, in the Community Arts Center, bringing down the curtain − as winter officially arrives and the new year nears − on another season of academic success. The student speaker was Katherine Lynne Mertes, of Williamsport, who was awarded a bachelor’s degree in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration. Also addressing the Class of ’18 was Joanna K. Flynn, associate professor of mathematics, who was presented with the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award in May. Civil engineering technology alumna Margaret A. Jackson received the Alumni Achievement Award during the ceremony, at which more than 300 degrees were conferred by college President Davie Jane Gilmour and Steven P. Johnson, president of UPMC Susquehanna and a member of the college’s Board of Directors.

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Civil engineer honored with Alumni Achievement Award

Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour (left) presented the Alumni Achievement Award to Margaret A. Jackson at the college’s Fall 2018 commencement ceremony Dec. 22.

A civil engineer who is serving as a project manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s $670 million Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation project was honored with an Alumni Achievement Award at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Fall 2018 commencement ceremonies, held Dec. 22 at the Community Arts Center.

Margaret A. “Maggie” Jackson, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering technology from Penn College in 2008, is co-managing PennDOT’s CSVT project, a long-anticipated initiative to enhance the busy Route 15 corridor in Central Pennsylvania. Expected to be completed in the mid-2020s, the project comprises nearly 13 miles of a new four-lane, limited-access highway crossing three counties and a massive, 4,545-foot-long bridge over the West Branch of the Susquehanna River south of Lewisburg.

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Penn College Fall Commencement set for Dec. 22 at Arts Center

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Fall 2018 Commencement ceremony will be held Dec. 22 at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport.

A commencement ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 22, for the nearly 320 Pennsylvania College of Technology students who have petitioned to graduate following the Fall 2018 semester.

The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. in the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., Williamsport, with 235 students expected to march.

The student speaker will be Katherine Lynne Mertes, of Williamsport, who will be awarded a bachelor’s degree in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration.

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Student-run event gives robots fighting chance

The theater of battle fills with participants and spectators.

Action heats up in the competition cage.

A steady hand on the controller ... and in capturing the contest on cellphone video.

The makings of a winner?

Penn College hosted battles of ingenuity during SWORD Fall Fights 2018 in the Field House. Approximately 45 combat robots, designed and built by Penn College students and members of the public, “fought” in the double-elimination tournament on Nov. 17. About 130 people attended the daylong event, which featured 1- and 3-pound weight classes. “In an event like this, students get to see engineering in action,” said Craig A. Miller, instructor of engineering design technology and adviser to the Student Wildcats of Robotic Design Club, which sponsored the event.  “They design, build and test their robots against other builders.  They see what works and what does not and make design improvements in an effort to make their robots more competitive.”

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State Senate Appropriations Committee chair tours campus

Always engaged and advocating for the college, Yaw (right) converses with Browne in the atrium of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center.

State Sen. Patrick M. Browne, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited Pennsylvania College of Technology on Thursday.

Browne, who represents the 16th District – which includes Allentown and other municipalities within Lehigh County – came to campus after presenting an election and legislative update at a breakfast sponsored by the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

He was invited by fellow Appropriations Committee member Sen. Gene Yaw, who also serves as chairman of the Penn College Board of Directors. Yaw also hosted the Chamber legislative update event, held at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport.

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Forestry students extensively tour local veneer operation

South talks with forestry students during Monday's visit.

Students in Erich R. Doebler’s Forest Products class this week visited the Danzer plant on Reach Road, one of the few veneer mills in Pennsylvania. The group met with Paul R. South, a 2016 forest technology graduate of Penn College. He discussed the process of buying logs, specifications, in-demand species and how the log purchasing process is conducted. The students were also given a tour of the facility, where they were able to see the sawmill, as well as the log banding, log cooking, surfacing, slicing, drying and packaging processes. About a half-dozen Penn College alumni are employed by Danzer, formerly known as Keystone Veneers Inc. “This is an exceptionally personal tour,” said the instructor (who also provided the photo), “and something right in our backyard that many do not get the opportunity to experience.”

Horticulture students enjoy bountiful PSU field trip

Students tour the arboretum's Children's Garden.

Back row (from left): Burk; Smithmyer; students Benjamin A. Mowrer, Manheim; Jack R. Mannke, Glen Mills; Kendall A. Wanner, Denver, Pa.; Rachel A. Walton, Orwigsburg; Jeremy M. Smith, (in green hat, partially hidden), Erie; Anthony M. Schauble, (visible above the rest, with blonde hair), Nazareth; Joseph A. Kern, Mechanicsburg; James S. Essig, Bernville; Alex D. Reichner, Sunbury; Jaclyn N. Wolf, Gettysburg; and Aaron A. Sledge (Spring 2018 alumnus, now studying plant science at Penn State). Front row (from left): Diana M. Willman, Dillsburg; Amanda N. Suda, Harrisburg; Oceana R. Copley, Williamsport; Laura L. La Grave, Lewisburg; Drew J. Marsh, Marble; Kendra M. Snyder, Montoursville; Rachel L. Hill, Centre Hall; and Adriana S. Lee, Williamsport.

Burk explains the arboretum's infiltration basin.

A visit to Scott's Landscaping

Carl J. Bower Jr. recently took 18 of his landscape/horticulture technology students on a field trip to several sites in and around State College, including the one-acre Penn State Student Farm/Campus Supported Agriculture, the university’s greenhouse production facility, the Penn State Arboretum and one of the Forestry Building’s green roofs. After a visit to the Berkey Creamery, the group met up with Scott A. Burk, president of Scott’s Landscaping and Wheatfield Nursery (and a member of the college’s Landscape/Horticulture Technology Advisory Committee), and 2002 graduate Frederick B. Smithmyer, operations manager at Scott’s. They talked about various landscape projects on the University Park campus, including several green roofs and the arboretum, and finished the day with a tour of Wheatfield Nursery and Scott’s Landscaping, where the group encountered even more Penn College alumni.
Photos by Bower, assistant professor of horticulture

Penn College helps high schoolers build their future

With a skilled worker shortage presenting a tremendous opportunity for rewarding careers in the construction and design industry, Penn College’s inaugural “PA Build Your Future” event introduced those varied vocational possibilities to hundreds of high school students from throughout the state. Industry exhibitors – as well as college faculty, staff and students – offered participants “hands-on” experiences as a way to explore an exciting future. “If I’m running a company and I’m hiring and I need someone that’s an electrical assembler, I need to hire that person and have him or her start immediately and be as efficient as possible and get up to speed,” says Jeffrey C. Comitz, an applications engineer for Thermal Product Solutions (and a 2016 graduate in heating, ventilation and air conditioning design technology). “The days of, ‘Oh, OK, we’ll teach ’em, they’ll get it eventually’ … they’re over.”

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Future-seekers meet their match at Fall Open House

Savoring an autumn outing and academic exploration

Fall Open House visitors had unfettered access to Penn College’s vibrant campuses Sunday, as today’s faculty/staff, alumni and students provided them with a tantalizing view of a very real and credible tomorrow. All six academic schools put out the welcome mat through information sessions, tours and laboratory demonstrations, and guests were encouraged to explore the institution’s myriad complementary services and activities.

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Alexis I. Ashby chosen as October’s ‘Student of the Month’

Alexis I. Ashby

Alexis I. Ashby, enrolled in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences, has been selected as the October “Student of the Month.”

A resident of Williamsport, Ashby earned an associate degree in surgical technology in August.

She is employed full time by UPMC Susquehanna as a certified surgical technologist and is working toward a bachelor’s degree in applied health studies: surgical technology concentration. She is taking additional classes in hopes of pursuing a master’s in physician assistant studies after graduation.

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