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Baking, Pastry & Culinary Arts Business & Hospitality General Information

College establishes advanced credit agreement through ProStart

This fall, Pennsylvania College of Technology entered an advanced credit agreement with the ProStart program to pave the way for high school students to get a head start on their degree, eliminate duplication of instruction and, ultimately, make a college degree more affordable.

ProStart, administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, is a nationwide, two-year program for high school students that cultivates tomorrow’s restaurant and food service industry leaders. The curriculum was developed by industry and academic experts and reaches more than 90,000 students in 1,700 high schools and career and technical education centers.

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Baking, Pastry & Culinary Arts Business & Hospitality Faculty & Staff Students

Students work alongside celebrity chefs at Breeders’ Cup

Pennsylvania College of Technology was part of the culinary team at the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Championships at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. From left, baking and pastry arts student Amanda M. Brandt, of Etters, York County; Chef Takao Iinuma, of Genji Sushi; and Penn College’s Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, work alongside Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto during a demonstration in “The Mansion” at Churchill Downs.

Pennsylvania College of Technology hospitality students worked alongside some of the nation’s top chefs as part of the culinary team preparing food for guests of the 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

The annual November event is the unofficial culmination of the thoroughbred horse racing season. The two-day extravaganza attracts the best horses, trainers and owners from across the globe, along with its share of celebrity fans.

This year, the event was held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Sixteen Penn College students made the trip to the Bluegrass State to spend three days in the kitchens that serve the Downs’ most high-end venues.

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High school students celebrate STEM Day at Penn College

Students from Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School program paths for small robots called Ozobots using colored markers – a way to code without a computer. The activity was one of several that high school students explored at Pennsylvania College of Technology on Nov. 8 as part of a National STEM Day celebration.

To celebrate National STEM Day, Pennsylvania College of Technology welcomed nearly 100 high school students to campus on Nov. 8.

“STEM” is short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it’s more important than ever that our nation’s youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions,” says the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation & Improvement. “These are the kinds of skills that students develop in science, technology, engineering and math.”

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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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Business & Hospitality Business & Hospitality Management Events

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.
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.
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.
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.

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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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Baking, Pastry & Culinary Arts Business & Hospitality Faculty & Staff Students

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 will be hubs of activity during Penn College’s Spring 2019 Open House, an April 6 event highlighting the college’s unique educational mission and hands-on approach to learning.

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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Baking, Pastry & Culinary Arts Business & Hospitality Students

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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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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Accounting & Finance Business & Hospitality Faculty & Staff

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.
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.
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.”