A student in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s innovative two-year concrete science technology major has received a prestigious $10,000 industry fellowship.
Joseph F. DiBucci, of Glenshaw, was awarded the Richard D. Stehly Memorial Fellowship from the ACI Foundation, a nonprofit subsidiary of the American Concrete Institute. Named for the institute’s former president, the fellowship spotlights undergraduate students enrolled in a concrete-related curriculum with an emphasis on structural design, materials or construction.
Dedicated Nursing Associates Inc., a suburban Pittsburgh staffing agency specializing in health care, has scheduled an information session Monday for students and alumni of the School of Nursing & Health Sciences. Recruiters, who are looking for nursing majors to fill a variety of openings, will be available from 10 a.m. to noon in the atrium of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center. For more, check out the Career Services flyer: Dedicated Nursing Associates
Also visiting campus this week is F.S. Lopke Contracting Inc. from Apalachin, New York, which is scheduled to interview prospects Tuesday in CC, Room 202.
Alumni panelists (from left) McLeland, Keyser, Williams and Gray offer truthful and humorous insight into their career paths. (Photo by Stephenson)A full house of graphic design and advertising art students gathers for the weekend presentations.McLeland describes some of her comical and complex rebranding adventures.The redesign for Yuengling’s Lord Chesterfield “Chetty” Ale (on screen) is among Gray’s accomplishments.
Four graphic design alumni who are creatively fulfilling artistic aspirations returned to campus last weekend to share their experiences with students. Brody W. Gray, ’15, art director at D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. in Pottsville; Morgan N. Keyser, ’17, associate designer at Andculture in Harrisburg; Laurea (Lapp) McLeland, ’13, senior designer at Seedhouse Design in Chicago; and Emmalee J. Williams, ’16, marketing manager at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport gave a straightforward look at the transition from student to professional in individual presentations and a culminating panel discussion. The informal conversations offered collegiate and career advice to graphic design and advertising art students, as well as the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists. “As a senior in the graphic design program, it was really interesting to hear about how our major’s alumni developed as designers after college,” Nina L. Walk said. “Each speaker took a different avenue to arrive where they are now. It was inspiring to hear about all of the successes, losses and changes that helped shape their careers.” This is the fourth time the graphic design alumni panel has been organized by Penn College’s student chapter of AIGA, a professional association for design, and Nicholas L. Stephenson, instructor of graphic design and chapter adviser.
Helpful employees from student-focused offices were on hand to shepherd tomorrow’s grads through today’s task list.Building construction technology students Logan L. Bathurst (left), of Lock Haven, and Jason M. Zucco, of Bellefonte, stand ready to graduate in the May 18 morning ceremony.The College Store brought along a number of items with which to remember those “proud Penn College days.”
Penn’s Inn served as an accommodating venue for Tuesday’s Grad Finale, catering to students destined for the three commencement ceremonies to be held May 17-18. Students were encouraged to stop by the second floor of the Bush Campus Center from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to pick up graduation tickets, purchase caps and gowns, pose for fun photos, and snag some last-minute pointers on everything from veterans’ benefits to continued involvement with their alma mater. Additionally, Jostens and Snap-on were on hand to share information about class rings and tools. Photos by J.J. Boettcher, student photographer
In the church’s kitchen, students form an assembly line to pack giveaway bags with toothpaste and toothbrushes.The crew of helpers: Front row (from left): dental hygiene students Hailey A. Gearhart, of Phillipsburg; Kaeli A. Plezia, of Sellersville; Taylor E. Allison, of Allport; Emily N. Renninger, of East Greenville; Jordyn M. Kahler, of York; and Megan P. Fitzsimmons, of Portville, N.Y., with Nolan Strouse. Back row (from left): dental hygiene student Pavel Dariychuk, of Leola, with Derek W. Baldwin, a physician assistant studies student, Barbara K. Emert-Strouse, Robert Strouse and Scott Neff II, ’16. Also helping was dental hygiene student Christina M. Kiessling, of Muncy.
For the ninth year, faculty member Barbara K. Emert-Strouse, assistant professor of dental hygiene, and her family, joined by several dental hygiene students, provided a “pay it forward” dinner at Christ Episcopal Church on Mulberry Street. The group served around 180 diners with a menu of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, Jell-O with fruit, and cake. They also offered free toothbrushes and toothpaste. The church serves a free “First Saturday” community dinner each month, and the family – including sons Scott L. Neff II, a 2016 culinary arts and systems graduate, and Derek W. Baldwin, a physician assistant studies student – provides one of those monthly dinners each spring. The April 6 dinner and the Penn College crew helping to serve it were featured on WBRE. Photos provided
Less than 24 hours after freezing April showers and overhead gloom shrouded the area, far more seasonal conditions prevailed for a Spring Open House that more than lived up to its name. Rising temperatures were matched by warm smiles and abundant goodwill in every corner of Penn College’s campuses, where students, employees and alumni helped inquisitive visitors spend a Saturday to remember.
Thirty-two graduates of Williamsport Technical Institute, a precursor to Pennsylvania College of Technology, were among the 70 attendees at Friday’s 19th annual reunion. Combining coffee and continental breakfast, presentations, lunch, and optional tours of the makerspace and brewing lab, the event allowed WTI alumni and their guests to get reacquainted with one another and their alma mater, as well as to talk with current students about the exciting developments since they left campus. Established in 1941, WTI gained a national reputation for its defense training during World War II and for retraining returning veterans for new positions in business and industry. A number of those veterans, who didn’t experience a commencement ceremony or the recognition accorded today’s graduating servicemen and women, were movingly presented with red, white and blue honor cords in gratitude for their military experience. Among those participating in the reunion were President Davie Jane Gilmour; Kimberly R. Cassel, director of alumni relations; Chet Beaver, coordinator of veteran and military services; and student veterans Keenan A. Bayus, software development and information management, Skyler B. Snyder, automotive technology, and Cody R. Harriman, emergency management technology.
Pennsylvania College of Technology will again be part of the hospitality team for the running of the historic Kentucky Derby on May 4.
Twenty-eight students, 10 alumni and a faculty member are set to spend a week in Louisville, Kentucky, where they will join a legion of culinarians from Levy Restaurants, the food purveyor for Churchill Downs.
While there, the students learn to produce high quality cuisine in mass quantities.
“Our students continue to be instrumental in the production of premium food service, working with some of the top chefs in the country, plus celebrity chefs,” said Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, who will accompany students to the Downs for the 12th time.
Sullivan, whose military service took him from 103-degree Qatar to the snows of Alaska – and several gratifying adventures in between – tells students of “the whole world of opportunity” that awaits.From a Sharon High School Tiger to a Penn College Wildcat, Basile has been well-served by feline instinct and the determination to claw through walls. “I’ll always be proud of Penn College,” he said. “Everything that I’ve done is based on what I learned here and in my life experience.”Jokingly referred to by Wozniak as “the twins,” Schreffler (left) and Miller have gone from college roommates to co-workers. The firm that employs them does a number of educational projects, including an eco-friendly elementary school in Boiling Springs that includes a treehouse overlooking the library.Comprising an informative alumni array for the first of two Q&A panels are (from left) Basile, Demmien, Patel, Walter, Sullivan, Miller, Chapman, Hoffman and Schreffler.
Eight graduates of Penn College and a well-traveled Williamsport Area Community College alumnus returned to campus Wednesday for “Architectural Alumni + Student Day,” a career information and networking opportunity for students. Classes in architectural technology, building science and sustainable design, and residential construction technology and management: architectural technology concentration convened in the Bush Campus Center to hear individual presentations by the nine alumni, panel discussions, question-and-answer periods, and a Career Services overview. The day also included lunch and an optional campus tour. Revisiting through an event facilitated by associate professor Rob A. Wozniak, were: Brig. Gen. Frank Sullivan, ’73, executive director of the Pennsylvania Military Community Enhancement Commission, Harrisburg; Larry A. Basile, ’91, vice president of sales for SupplySource, Williamsport; Amanda J. (Miller) Harry and Erica L. Schreffler, ’12, architectural project coordinators at Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates, Architects, Mechanicsburg; Bradley A. Hoffman, ’94, director of engineering, Conewago manufacturing LLC/Conewago Enterprises Inc., Hanover; Kara A. (O’Brien) Demmien, ’06, project manager, Larson Design Group, Williamsport; Daniel R. Chapman, ’02, territory sales senior manager, Construction Specialties, Muncy; Dhaval J. Patel, ’11, lead virtual design and construction/building information modeling coordinator, McClure Co., Harrisburg; and Tyler L. Walter, ’11, architect, Stantec, Arlington, Virginia. Also part of the audience were a Warrior Run School District faculty member and a number of his drafting and design students from Lycoming Career & Technology Center.
The empowering combination of applied technology education and financial support was celebrated Sunday afternoon, as Pennsylvania College of Technology hosted its second annual Scholarship Luncheon in the campus Field House.
“I am overwhelmed by the collective energies in this room to transform tomorrow,” President Davie Jane Gilmour said, addressing students, families and donors alike. Announcing that the coming academic year will include the largest total amount of scholarships awarded in any one year during the college’s history, she thanked attendees for their significant role in helping students succeed.
Seven Pennsylvania College of Technology horticulture students, a supportive alumnus and a faculty member recently traveled to Colorado State University for the 43rd annual National Collegiate Landscape Competition.
A number of Penn College students were among the top performers in their respective categories, and the team finished 33rd among 64 schools. Brigham Young University-Provo was the overall winner.
Making the March 19-24 trip to Fort Collins, Colorado, were students William X. DeMarco, of Glen Mills; Joseph A. Kern, of Mechanicsburg; Adri S. Lee, of Williamsport; Drew J. Marsh, of Marble; Kendra M. Snyder, of Montoursville; Kendall A. Wanner, of Denver, Pennsylvania; and Alexis M. Witherite, of Spring Mills. Lee and Marsh are enrolled in landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis; the others are in the major’s landscape emphasis.
Penn College’s baking and pastry arts program has added two new industry-standard ovens to its lab: a hearth oven with an integrated loader and a round, rotating-rack oven. Curriculum additions also give students new pathways for their baking careers. The college is implementing a consolidated, three-semester version of its baking and pastry arts associate degree, and in Fall 2020, the college will offer a professional baking certificate. Whether seeking the certificate or a degree, all students will learn the fundamental truth shared by Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, an alumnus and instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts. “Baking is a craft, and you never get away from that,” he reminds in a video added to the college’s YouTube channel. “While we have all these fancy ovens and fancy equipment, there is a person who is making it all happen. And that’s what is exciting about it. That’s what gets me up every day. It’s never boring. It’s never easy. But it’s always fun.”
Mackey welcomes honorees and their guests.Weaver, whose student leadership resume included two terms as president of Minorities Lending Knowledge, resurrects a prophecy – since fulfilled! – from her commencement cap.Davis (left) congratulates Abigail S. Way, who is adding a bachelor’s to her 2017 associate degree in dental hygiene.With daylight to spare, many of this year’s inductees gather for an outdoor portrait.“Beating the Odds: Honoring Women of Inspiration and Hope,” illustrated with magnets at each place setting, will resonate through a number of campus activities as the theme for this year’s Women’s History Month observance.
A total of 37 students, nominated as “Awesome Women Exemplars” and representing all six of Penn College’s academic schools, were recognized Tuesday evening during a reception in the PDC’s Mountain Laurel Room. The group heard from keynoter Kacie L. Weaver, a 2016 graduate in applied human services who was instrumental in endowment of the college’s Start to Finish Minority Scholarship. Currently working as a behavioral health specialist with adult inpatients at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Weaver spoke about the challenges and triumphs of being a minority student at Penn College. Although it was a different environment from her upbringing in Harrisburg, she changed her perspective and realized it was important to be a voice for all students. “A strong woman speaks up for herself,” she said, wrapping up a speech that shared its title with the scholarship. “A stronger woman speaks up for others.” The event, begun in March 2006 and annually held in conjunction with Women’s History Month, was organized by Katie L. Mackey, director of campus and community engagement, and Sammie L. Davis, coordinator of diversity and cultural life.
Precision-designed parts, meeting the rigorous standards of industry, bear the company’s mark of quality.E-Tech’s team approach to business begins with the couple that built it: John, ’74, and Nanette Estep.Anthony R. Bastion, a 2018 manufacturing engineering alumnus and former intern, is among the Penn College-educated talent to find a work home in his Bradford County backyard.Penn College alumni John M. “Max” Brenchley (left), who graduated in December with a degree in engineering design technology, and Aaron C. Smith, who holds degrees in engineering CAD technology (’15) and engineering design technology (’17), discuss their work on a European aerospace project. Brenchley began as an intern while still in college; Smith’s E-Tech connection dates to his Troy High School days, when an 11th-grade CAD class completed projects on-site through one of the area’s first 3D printers.
From the Spring 2019 Penn College Magazine: E-Tech Industries founder John Estep, ’74, credits his team – 70 percent of them graduates of Penn College or its predecessor – for his company’s made-in-the-USA success. Read Locally Grown, Globally Known.
Business and industry from across the country attended Penn College’s on-campus Career Fair this week to offer thousands of opportunities to tomorrow makers. Students and alumni attending the fair – chronicled in this PCToday photo gallery – purposefully strolled the Field House and Bardo Gymnasium in search of recruiters with whom to network and learn what internship and job opportunities are available. Tuesday’s opening of Penn College’s two-day Career Fair attracted broadcast interest from the area’s NBC and ABC affiliates. WBRE’s Morgan Parrish and WNEP’s Kristina Papa both visited campus Tuesday, talking with Career Services staff, students and employers involved in the premier networking event.
