News about Business & Hospitality

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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Conference guides enterprising high school students

Mark A. Ciavarella, associate professor of business administration/management, teaches high school students about the steps of writing a business plan during an Entrepreneurship Challenge event at the college.

A team from Bradford Area School District develops a business plan for an ice cream shop.

Students from Berwick Area School District hash out their target audience and sales territory. They are pitching a business that manufacturers an add-on component for hybrid vehicles.

High school students participating in the Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy’s Entrepreneurship Challenge gathered in the college’s Penn’s Inn facility on Wednesday for a one-day conference to help them define and develop their business concepts and write a summary business plan. They were guided in the activity by Mark A. Ciavarella, associate professor of business administration/management at Penn College, and Tim Keohane, director of the Small Business Development Center at Lock Haven University. PennCFL sponsors local, regional and statewide competitions that allow students to pitch new business ideas. The Penn College event was the first of three such conferences the organization is hosting this month at area colleges. Following the conference, the students return to their schools to complete and submit their business plans for prizes. The top three teams are invited to PennCFL’s state competition.

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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Students to prepare cuisine for elite Breeders’ Cup crowds

Horses parade to the paddock at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Ky., in May. Pennsylvania College of Technology hospitality students will again work alongside celebrity chefs in the Downs’ premier venues during the Breeders’ Cup Championships, Nov. 2-3.

Pennsylvania College of Technology students are set to return to the famed Churchill Downs racetrack, where they will work alongside celebrity chefs to feed guests of horse racing’s prestigious Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

Sixteen students in the college’s baking and pastry arts, culinary arts and hospitality management majors will leave campus Oct. 31 and spend the next three days in the kitchens of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. They will be accompanied by Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts, who is an alumnus of the college.

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Morgan Foundation grant pushes scholarship fund past $1 million

A second gift of $500,000 from the Tamaqua-based John E. Morgan Foundation has boosted an endowed scholarship fund at Pennsylvania College of Technology to more than $1 million.

The John E. Morgan Scholarship gives first preference to graduates of Tamaqua Area High School who are pursuing “a degree that is not readily available from other institutions, at a comparable price, within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Examples of such programs offered at Penn College include, but are not limited to, culinary arts and systems, web and interactive media, building science and sustainable design, health information management, industrial design, plastics and polymer engineering technology, emergency management technology, and aviation maintenance technology.

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Start building a Penn College future at Oct. 28 Open House

The Madigan Library (left) and Bush Campus Center are two of the facilities that visitors to Pennsylvania College of Technology may tour during Fall Open House on Sunday, Oct. 28.

Students looking for a bold next step in their educational journey are encouraged to attend an Oct. 28 Open House at Pennsylvania College of Technology, where “future made by hand” is a template for success.

“Visiting a college campus should be an experience. At Open House, students are able to touch, see and explore their future,” said Claire Z. Biggs, assistant director of admissions. “From the state-of-the-art labs to the knowledgeable faculty and staff, Penn College is the place to be if you want to be a tomorrow maker.”

The college will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for prospective students and their families to explore more than 100 bachelor’s, associate and certificate programs. Free bus service will be available on the main campus in Williamsport, and shuttles will transport guests to and from the nearby Lumley Aviation and Schneebeli Earth Science centers throughout the day.

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Culinary students spend summer cooking on French Riviera

Pennsylvania College of Technology culinary arts and systems students Amaris T. Smith (left) of Williamsport, and Dylan H. Therrien, of Reading, pause from their internship work in the kitchens of French Riviera luxury resort Le Mas Candille to join Therrien’s mother, Tracey.

Two Pennsylvania College of Technology culinary arts students added a measure of clarity to their career aspirations during summer internships on the French Riviera.

“It really changed my perspective on things, on how I want to do things when I own my own restaurant,” said Amaris T. Smith, of Williamsport.

Smith and Dylan H. Therrien, of Reading, spent two months in the kitchens of Le Mas Candille, a luxury hotel and spa in Moujins, France, a picturesque village near Cannes. Both are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in culinary arts and systems. The resort featured two gourmet restaurants: a poolside restaurant called La Pergola, and the Michelin-rated Le Candille, an intimate boutique restaurant.

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Insightful alum urges students to stoke passions, make connections

A 2007 recipient of the college's Alumnus Achievement Award, Jeffcoat talks with students during a late-September return to campus.

Pennsylvania College of Technology alumnus Keith L. Jeffcoat recently returned to his roots to share advice and industry experience with the next generation of students.

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The third time’s a charmer!

Enjoying the autumnal alumni evening (from left): Timothy D. Haldeman, ’11, manufacturing engineering technology; Michael D. Ferraiolo, ’10, aviation technology, and ‘11, aviation maintenance technology, and guest, Melyssa McHale; and Whitnie-rae (Mays) Haldeman, ’12, advertising art, and ’14, applied technology studies.

The disparate threads of Homecoming and Parent & Family Weekend were woven together again this fall, producing another seamless tapestry of fun and reconnection for graduates, current students and families. The third annual combined celebration kicked off with a Friday bonfire, tent party and Hall of Fame Banquet; continued Saturday with a presidential breakfast, Williamsport bus and trolley excursions, lab tours, a golf outing and on-campus sporting events, arts and crafts, and an alumni reunion at downtown nightspots; and concluded Sunday with more athletics and a fond farewell (until next year)!

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Faculty, students teach at Philadelphia National Candy Show

Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts at Pennsylvania College of Technology, developed the curriculum for and taught at the Confectionary Institute at the Retail Confectioners Association of Philadelphia’s semi-annual Philadelphia National Candy, Gift & Gourmet Show in Hershey. Educational events were coordinated by RCAP board member Laura Tornichio (left), education director for the show.

A baking and pastry arts chef/instructor at Pennsylvania College of Technology wrote the curriculum for the Confectionary Institute at the 138th Philadelphia National Candy, Gift and Gourmet Show in September.

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Accounting faculty member receives Young Leader Award

Michael D. Shipman

The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants named Michael D. Shipman, instructor of business administration/accounting at Pennsylvania College of Technology, among its 2018 Young Leader Award recipients.

Through its Young Leader Awards, the PICPA annually recognizes members under the age of 40 who demonstrate a commitment to the accounting profession through their participation in PICPA or community volunteer activities.

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Setting the stage

Penn College graduates (from left) Jeffrey T. Feeman, Eric T. Metzler and Franklin N. Carr have found a calling at Sight & Sound Theatres, where audiences are awed by the on-stage results of their behind-the-scenes work.

Three alumni use their skills to craft scenery and on-stage technology for the panoramic stage at Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster.

From the Fall 2018 Penn College Magazine: Three graduates’ craftsmanship wows audiences of more than a million a year at Sight & Sound Theatres. Read “Setting the Stage.”

 

Journey to the Winner’s Circle: Kentucky Derby Is a Culinary Marathon for Students

Culinary arts and systems student Jacob W. Parobek, of Seltzer, joins classmates to watch the storied Kentucky Derby from a rainy rooftop.

On Wednesday, three days before the Derby, students, from left, Bridget M. Callahan, of Pottsville; Bailey L. Frey, of Watsontown; Bethany R. Taylor, of Moosic; and Stephanie C. Myers, of Catawissa, step away from the kitchens to take in the world-famous track.

From the Fall 2018 Penn College Magazine: Penn College writer/video editor Tom Speicher embedded with hospitality students as they traveled to the 2018 Kentucky Derby. For a quarter century, Penn College students have joined the Derby’s culinary team. Read “Journey to the Winners’ Circle.”

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.”

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.

Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State