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Alumnus to lead community college in North Carolina

A Pennsylvania College of Technology alumnus will serve as the 10th president of Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, North Carolina. The appointment of Christopher L. English, who graduated in May 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in automotive technology management, was approved late last week by the State Board of Community Colleges.

English – vice president of economic and workforce development continuing education at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, North Carolina – has 20 years of experience in community colleges and has held leadership roles at Blue Ridge Community College and in the North Carolina Community College System.

English earned a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina; a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico; and an Associate of Applied Science in Industrial Technology from Greenville Technical College in Greenville, South Carolina.

Selected after a nationwide search, he will take office no later than Aug. 3.

Automotive Collision Repair & Restoration Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Collision repair with Shane V. McDonnell

As a child, Shane V. McDonnell became fascinated with cars. Now he’s following his longtime love by training for a career in collision repair technology. Working in hands-on labs with tools and equipment just like the pros use, McDonnell is building real-world experience. And when he’s done, he’ll walk away with structural, suspension, body, electrical and paint skills along with certifications from two industry leaders. “The big thing that drove me to Penn College in this major was the amount of time we spend working in the lab compared to the time we spend in the classroom,” the Dresher resident says in a video added to the college’s YouTube channel. “We take in either students’ or teachers’ cars. We write estimates. We order parts. We map out a repair plan. We do all the paint work, detail work, and it runs like an actual collision repair shop.”

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‘Retired’ UPS vehicle finds renewed purpose with students

Students, faculty and UPS Freight representatives – including two Pennsylvania College of Technology alumni – gather with a retired vehicle donated to the college. Joining students outside the Schneebeli Earth Science Center are (at left) Mark E. Sones, instructor of diesel equipment technology, and James R. Poehailos, UPS Freight fleet manager; and (at right) 1983 automotive technology alumnus Gregory A. Tama, retired senior director of maintenance, engineering systems and technology, and 1992 diesel technician graduate Scott C. Moore, district fleet manager. (Photo by Marci M. Hessert, secretary to the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies)

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s diesel equipment technology program have invaluable laboratory access to a time-tested road warrior: a 2006 Volvo VNL single-axle tractor, donated after its retirement from UPS Freight fleet service.

“UPS is a valued partner of Penn College and our students. This gift will provide our diesel students an opportunity for experience on the real-life wear and tear they will find in industry,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “This is a mutually beneficial opportunity because the signature brown on the truck resonates with our students, reminding them that UPS is a partner in their education and a potential employer for their career.”

Alumni Automotive Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Automotive grad finalist for national teaching honor

Penn College alumnus Harrison G. Young, an automotive technology instructor in Jersey Shore Area High School’s career and technical education program, is one of three national finalists for the 2019 CareerSafe Safety Educator of the Year Award. Online voting is open through 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25; the winner will receive $5,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to December’s Association for Career and Technical Education “Vision 2019” event in Anaheim, California, for the award presentation. Young holds an associate degree in automotive technology (2010) and a bachelor’s in automotive technology management (2012).

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Mustang speaker looks to past to inspire tomorrow makers

Brett A. Reasner (left), dean of transportation and natural resources technologies, accepts a Ford Performance banner for campus display after introducing Clor.

"Everyone has a Mustang story," the speaker said, sharing a number of tales from the car's illustrious lineage. — “Everyone has a Mustang story,” the speaker said, sharing a number of tales from the car’s illustrious lineage.

In one of many cultural touchpoints featuring the Mustang, Farrah Fawcett sits atop a 1976 Cobra II during her "Charlie's Angels" years. (Others cited in the presentation include Steve McQueen's famed San Francisco car chase in 1968's "Bullitt.") — In one of many cultural touchpoints featuring the Mustang, Farrah Fawcett sits atop a 1976 Cobra II during her “Charlie’s Angels” years. (Others cited in the presentation include Steve McQueen’s famed San Francisco car chase in 1968’s “Bullitt.”)

Clor enthusiastically recounts the automobile's life-altering place in American society, enabling the "free and unencumbered mobility to go where you want to go." — Clor enthusiastically recounts the automobile’s life-altering place in American society, enabling the “free and unencumbered mobility to go where you want to go.”

Students and faculty alike supplement the day's curriculum with an expert's perspective. — Students and faculty alike supplement the day’s curriculum with an expert’s perspective.

Students in Penn College’s automotive, collision repair and restoration majors were treated to a colorful recap of recent automotive history – and their role in the industry’s next chapter – during a Monday campus visit by an award-winning journalist and lifelong car enthusiast. John M. Clor, who manages a club outreach program for Ford Performance, recounted “55 Years of the Ford Mustang” during a presentation in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium. Clor’s lively lecture took the audience through decades of “the most recognized car in the world,” contrasting its iconic beauty with that of less-popular competitors. “Anyone can build something for a minute,” he said, before sharing a slideshow of ill-advised vehicle designs that failed to similarly grab the public’s extended attention. “When you don’t have a heritage, you need a gimmick.” In addition to celebrating the enduring coolness of the Mustang, as distinguishable in its outline as a Coke bottle, Clor applauded the students for choosing their career paths. “Learning to do something with your hands makes all the difference in the world,” he said. “You’re the key to the future. Dream big and heritage is yours.”

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Longtime automotive journalist to address ACC audience

Veteran journalist, author and marketer John M. Clor will share his comprehensive insight into the auto industry with the Penn College community during a presentation at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 30, in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium. A regular columnist for a number of publications, Clor will discuss the Ford Mustang’s role in the automaker’s production history and how design drives the public’s interest in cars. More on the speaker’s extensive background is available in his official bio: John M. Clor

Automotive Collision Repair & Restoration Faculty & Staff Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Penn College among automotive exhibitors at UPMC’s ‘Autumn Fest’

In search of a traditional fall event to usher in the season? Join Penn College automotive restoration technology students for the Autumn Fest & Car Show at UPMC Susquehanna’s Divine Providence Campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. Students are displaying a Ford Mustang body befitting this year’s celebration of the Mustang Club of North Central Pennsylvania’s 30th anniversary. Admission is $10, with proceeds benefiting UPMC’s Addiction Medicine Services. Among activities at the 1100 Grampian Boulevard event are food, raffles, craft vendors and a kids’ pumpkin patch.

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Corvette Club awards scholarships to two Penn College students

Gathered near the restoration-themed water feature at Pennsylvania College of Technology are (from left) Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club members Keith and Jan Hoffman, who brought their 2011 Corvette Grand Sport 3LT to campus; scholarship recipients Chase T. Fritz, of Athens, and Jacob A. Dock, of Middleburg; and Al Clapps, chairman of the SVCC Car Show Committee.

The Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club, which supports Pennsylvania College of Technology students through a pair of scholarship funds, recently honored two more beneficiaries of its generosity.

Students Jacob A. Dock, of Middleburg, enrolled in automotive restoration technology, and Chase T. Fritz, an automotive technology major from Athens, each will receive $2,500 during the 2019-20 school year as the latest recipients of club scholarships.

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Corvette club continues to benefit scholarship funds at Penn College

The Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club is steadfast in its support of Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The club, formed in 2003, has established two funds at the college over the years: a Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club Scholarship begun in 2014 and the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club Foundation Endowed Scholarship initiated in 2018.

To continue its efforts in support of the scholarships at Penn College, the club is conducting a summerlong raffle to benefit those funds. Net proceeds from the raffle – for which the grand prize is the winner’s choice of a 2019 Chevy Silverado, a 2019 Corvette or $35,000 in cash – will go toward those scholarships.

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Hands on, cab off

Students finish their work on a Ford F-550 before reconnecting the vehicle's halves. — Students finish their work on a Ford F-550 before reconnecting the vehicle’s halves.

Robert B. Black, of Whitefish, Mont., talks with classmates before lowering the cab on a Ford F-250 ... — Robert B. Black, of Whitefish, Mont., talks with classmates before lowering the cab on a Ford F-250 …

... and takes a look beneath to make sure everything is lining up perfectly. — … and takes a look beneath to make sure everything is lining up perfectly.

When major engine work is required on a Ford F-Series Super Duty truck, it’s all but necessary to separate the cab from the frame – and that’s just what students in the college’s automotive technology: Ford ASSET emphasis major completed this week. A vehicle owner entering a repair garage might well be shocked to see such a seemingly drastic dissection, but technicians know it’s the key to clearer access and maximum efficiency. Assistant professor Jeffrey M. Januchowski (handling the class while John R. Cuprisin, associate professor, is at a training conference) supervised the intricate work as students made all the requisite disconnections and reconnections involved in properly raising and lowering the cabs on an F-250 and an F-550. Penn College’s two-year Ford ASSET major is a cooperative education program, with eight weeks of laboratory work followed by an internship at a dealership.

Art & Graphic Design Automated Manufacturing & Machining Automotive Building Construction Business & Hospitality Civil Engineering & Surveying College Transitions Communication & Literature Construction & Design Technologies Digital Media & Marketing Emergency Management & Homeland Security Events Faculty & Staff Ford Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Landscape/Horticulture Nursing Nursing & Health Sciences Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Career Day sets middle schoolers’ sights on tomorrow

Led by Franklin H. Reber, instructor of building construction technology, and students, Career Day visitors create concrete stepping stones.

College employees rallied to provide nearly 40 educational sessions for middle schoolers from across the region who visited campus on Monday for the college’s twice-a-year Career Day. Facilitated by the college’s College Transitions Office, the event provided 1,267 students with opportunities to explore a wide variety of careers in each of the college’s six academic schools. Visitors included 13 schools and home-schooled students.

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Students supplement lab work with Honda field trip

Students and faculty visit a pair of Honda facilities for an instructional helping of vehicular lore.

A jet engine is among the displays at the Honda Heritage Center.

The group receives an overview of plant operations, from "rolled steel to driving car." — The group receives an overview of plant operations, from “rolled steel to driving car.”

In two years of American Le Mans Series competition, this Honda-powered ARX-03a Muscle Milk Racing car had an unmatched record of success.

Second-year collision repair majors and students in the automotive technology: Honda PACT program recently visited the Honda Heritage Center and Honda manufacturing facility in Marysville, Ohio, learning about the history of the Honda Motor Co. and its various technologies, as well as how the manufacturing process relates to their curriculum at Penn College. The Heritage Center, a museum showcasing the history of Honda manufacturing in the U.S., includes vehicles from motorcycles and ATVs to passenger cars, race vehicles and jet engines. It also features information about company founder Soichiro Honda, while the Honda manufacturing facility introduced students to vehicle manufacturing from its start as a coil of sheet metal to a finished product driving off the assembly line. The students were accompanied by Loren R. Bruckhart, collision repair instructor, and Joe A. Tavani, Honda PACT instructor. For more about the college’s automotive and collision repair majors, visit the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies.
Photos provided

Automated Manufacturing & Machining Automotive Collision Repair & Restoration Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies Welding

AACA’s Hershey Chapter revisits college’s hands-on world

As is generally the case, students are the best college ambassadors when company comes to call.

Members of the Hershey Region of the Antique Automobile Association of America, among the generous champions of Penn College’s automotive restoration technology major, recently returned to main campus as the first stop on this season’s “Point Run” schedule. The group enjoyed a buffet lunch, toured several instructional areas, and met with student members of the Penn College Motorsports Association and the Classic Cruisers Club.

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Automotive students, faculty compete in ‘Green Grand Prix’

Puddles and jackets readily indicate the day's less-than-ideal racing conditions for the college contingent and fellow competitors.

Twenty-seven members of the Penn College Motorsports Association participated in Friday’s 15th annual Toyota Green Grand Prix, which promotes innovation in sustainable transportation technologies while launching the season-opening weekend at New York’s renowned Watkins Glen International racetrack.

Automotive College Transitions Construction & Design Technologies Faculty & Staff Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Information Technology Nursing Nursing & Health Sciences Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Dual-enrollment students attend Penn College NOW visit days

Daniel J. Harris, instructor of HVAC technology, talks with a group about classes in air conditioning and refrigeration while showing them a lab.

More than 400 high school students, all enrolled in Penn College classes at their respective high school or career and technology center, visited campus on Friday. A visit to campus is a required part of every course offered through the college’s Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. The program offers Penn College classes at more than 50 partner secondary-education facilities throughout the state. College Transitions and First Year Initiatives hosts visits for participating schools throughout the year. To ensure that courses offered through Penn College NOW maintain the same rigor as those offered on campus, secondary teachers work with Penn College faculty liaisons who train them to teach the course curriculum, visit each school at least once a year, and grade high school students’ final projects. In addition to hosting Penn College NOW student visits – including a March 19 trip, also documented in this photo gallery – College Transitions and First Year Initiatives conducts frequent group visits for other secondary students, providing college and career exploration, including a campus tour. On April 2, Lycoming Career and Technology Center plans to bring 200 students to campus for sessions with Career Services, the Academic Success Center and more.

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