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Alexanders Donate Model T to Automotive Restoration Program

Aubrey Alexander (front row, left) and brother Adam (front row, right) deliver a 1926 Ford Model T to students and faculty outside College Avenue Labs, home to Penn College’s automotive restoration and collision repair majors.

A 1926 Ford Model T, traded to Alexander Nissan in 2013 by its Picture Rocks owner, has been passed on to Pennsylvania College of Technology students for use in a variety of automotive labs.

Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships donated the historic vehicle that was recently offloaded onto main campus, accompanied by brothers Adam and Aubrey Alexander.

“We appreciate this gift to our automotive restoration program from the Alexanders. In addition to value for our students in their curricular work, it serves as a way to engage prospective students in the restoration major,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “Our goal is to foster the interest in antique cars and the restoration industry among young people.”

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Dream Matches Real-World Need Addressed by Penn College

For a class assignment, 9-year-old Trevin Allen described his dream of working in plastics at SEKISUI SPI with his father, Lucas, a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology. Trevin’s mature goals prompted an invitation from the college, where he experienced various facets of applied technology. From left are Shannon M. Munro, vice president for workforce development; Tom F. Gregory, associate vice president for instruction; and Trevin and Lucas Allen.

The dreams of many 9-year-olds transform them into adult superstars. What kid hasn’t dreamed of making the pivotal play to win the big game, belting out a tune to adoring fans or basking under the bright lights of Hollywood?

Trevin Allen.

No disrespect to athletes, rock stars and actors, but the fourth-grader’s dream – described for a class assignment – actually matches reality’s need: a need addressed by Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Trevin’s aspirations connect applied technology education to rewarding careers in the skilled workforce, which is grappling with a shortage of qualified professionals. His words are timely and impactful beyond his classroom at Bloomsburg Memorial Elementary School.

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Five Employers Coming to Penn College This Week to Meet You!

Five employers, looking for students and alumni in majors that span four of Penn College’s six academic schools, have scheduled information sessions this week:

For more information, check out Career Services’ flyer: Employers Visiting Campus

Director Appointed for Penn College Physician Assistant Program

Joshua A. Bower

Joshua A. Bower has been named director of the physician assistant program at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Bower is a certified physician assistant, licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. His primary focus is in ophthalmology. Prior to joining the Penn College staff in August, he was a physician assistant for six years at the Eye Center of Central PA.

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Child’s Dream Matches Penn College’s Mission

A school assignment required 9-year-old Trevin Allen to write about his dream. Rather than being a famous athlete, musician or movie star, the youngster expressed a desire to work as a computer designer in the plastics industry for SEKISUI SPI, which employs his father, Lucas L., a 2001 Penn College graduate in building construction technology. Trevin’s “essay” sparked a visit to main campus, where he experienced CAD, the new makerspace and various plastics labs. Trevin’s wish for applied technology education – offered by the likes of Penn College – matches the needs of the workforce, which is grappling with a shortage of skilled professionals. Many Penn College students, especially plastics majors, have jobs lined up well before graduation. The college has a 96 percent graduate placement rate. Trevin’s word to describe his visit? “Cool!”

Surgical Technology Board Exam Pass Rate Beats National Average

Penn College student Anna G. Thompson, of Mount Carmel, practices assisting with a laparoscopic surgery in the college’s mock operating room. Over 91 percent of the college’s August surgical technology graduates passed the national certification exam for surgical technologists on their first attempt.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s 2018 surgical technology graduates passed the national Certified Surgical Technologist Examination on their first attempt with a 91.67 percent pass rate, which far exceeds the national average. The group of 12 graduated in August and took the exam the same month.

The Certified Surgical Technologist exam is conducted by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

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Opportunity Knocks, Indoors and Out

Part-time jobs, internships and co-ops are on the table

Penn College’s Part-Time Job Fair and Fall Fusion returned this week in and around the Field House, giving students a chance to interact with more than 100 potential employers and campus/community organizations. A near-record number of students registered for Tuesday’s conveniently combined events – 527, according to the official count provided by Dana R. Suter, Career Services’ assistant director.

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Fit for a Ring: Grad Earns Super Bowl Ring With Eagles

Chris Rutledge, a 2016 graduate of the college’s web and interactive media major, will be fitted for a Super Bowl ring as the Philadelphia Eagles’ digital project coordinator. Photo courtesy of Rutledge

From the Fall 2018 Penn College Magazine: A web and interactive media graduate’s career takes him to the sidelines of the Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles’ digital project coordinator. Read “Fit for a Ring.”

Pinning Ceremony Held for Summer Nursing Grads

The 37 members of the health arts: practical nursing emphasis Class of 2018 gather for a recent pinning ceremony at the Community Arts Center.

A day before the summer commencement ceremony at the Community Arts Center, graduates of the health arts: practical nursing emphasis major gathered at the venue to receive pins from mentors. During the ceremony, the honorees recited the Nightingale Pledge. Remarks were provided by class members Rachael J. Camacho, of Williamsport, and Chad M. Quail, of Lock Haven, as well as Diane L. Smith, director of nursing, associate degrees, and nursing instructors Kimberly A. Brenchley and Sherry L. Hyland. Class member Kayla J. Billheim, of Allenwood, sang “The Climb.”
Photo by Tina R. Strayer, nursing office assistant, completion degrees

Alumnus Flavorfully Travels From Protégé to Pioneer

Manuel S. Baez Jr.Alumnus Manuel S. Baez Jr., executive chef at Big Water Grille in Incline Village, Nevada, is profiled in the Aug. 23 edition of the Tahoe Daily Tribune. The article traces his involvement with cooking from childhood through his 2011 degree in culinary arts technology to the multicultural influences he brings to the restaurant’s patrons. The article also references alumna Kristi (Ritchey) Genova – featured in Penn College’s magazine and in a YouTube video (and as a returning Visiting Chef) – who has encouraged and enhanced his career.

Publication Taps Chef Charles for Chocolate Know-How

In a recent issue of Bake Magazine, Chef Charles R. Niedermyer II, an instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, shares valuable ideas for cake decorators wishing to elevate their creations with gourmet chocolate. “Selecting chocolate is critical to success,” says Niedermyer, who holds Penn College degrees in baking and pastry arts and technology management. “In terms of purchasing chocolate, there are important factors to consider.”

News Coverage Spotlights Alumni Firefighters

Matthew J. WatersMatthew J. Waters, who graduated from Penn College in May 2016 with an associate degree in forest technology, was among the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources employees dispatched to fight wildfires in western states this summer. The Selinsgrove resident, who spent nearly two weeks on a crew in Tooele, Utah, was featured in a recent front-page article in The (Sunbury) Daily Item. Waters shared the news in an email to Andrew Bartholomay, assistant professor of forestry, saying, “Just thought this is something cool you can mention to the current students about the different opportunities you have with the Penn College forestry degree.” Another forest technology grad Samuel J. Raisch, ’10, one of two alumni profiled in the college magazine for an Alaskan firefight four years ago, was on a Utah crew, as well. His story was shared via the Williamsport Sun-Gazette; The Daily Item article, provided with permission of the newspaper, is available here: The Daily Item

‘Makerspace’ Formally Dedicated at Penn College

Marshall D. Welch III, his mother Mary and other family members enjoy the evening honoring the Welch patriarch.

Designed by students and funded by a forward-thinking group of individual and industry benefactors, a space designed to inspire interdisciplinary innovation and collaboration has opened its doors at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Dedication ceremonies were held Aug. 14 for The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, a facility constructed in the Carl Building Technologies Center on the main campus.

Donors – as well as members of the college’s Board of Directors, Corporate Advisory Board, the Penn College Foundation Board and the campus community – gathered in the makerspace to hear about its genesis and to view, in makerspace parlance, its spaces for “clean” (computers, 3D printers, sewing machines and vinyl cutters, etc.) and “dirty” (saws, drill presses, routers, lathes and CNC mills) activities to take place within.

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Make Way for Tomorrow

Commemorating a man whose home workshop – "a place where wisdom and camaraderie were dispensed in equal measure" – was decades ahead of the "makerspace" concept

A makerspace, providing a fertile environment for innovation and imagination – and the tools with which students can turn visions into reality – was dedicated in Penn College’s Carl Building Technologies Center on Tuesday. The student-designed Dr. Welch Workshop memorializes Dr. Marshall Welch Jr., a local orthodontist and longtime philanthropist, who died in 2012. The Welch family, including son Marshall III, is the principal donor for the facility; George E. “Herman” Logue Jr. supported the so-called “dirty space” (the Logue Fabritorium) and Frederick T. Gilmour, faculty emeritus, made a commitment for the “clean space” (the Gilmour Tinkertorium). The ceremony spotlighted the students and faculty members who brainstormed the idea into existence, and included representative comments from Rob A. Wozniak, associate professor of architectural technology: “With the many students from various majors that will use this makerspace, it is hoped that they take the opportunity to collaborate with others. To create. To explore. To learn about the tools that they may otherwise never have been able to have access to. To try another way of doing something. To invent (and maybe even patent) something new! And, as a result, Penn College, the community and the world will all benefit … from this amazing collaborative effort.”

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Last updated August 15, 2018 | Posted in Alumni, Architectural Technology, Construction & Design Technologies, Faculty & Staff, Industrial Design, Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Institutional Advancement, President, Students | This gallery contains 22 photos. | Tagged as | One Comment

Penn College’s Summer 2018 Grads Listed

The list of Summer 2018 graduates from Pennsylvania College of Technology has been issued.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University