News about Business & Hospitality

Penn College Again to Exhibit at Nation’s Largest Science Festival

Penn College will reprise its “A Taste of Technology: Sweet and Savory Science” presentation at the 2018 USA Science & Engineering Festival, scheduled for April 7-8 in Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania College of Technology will reprise its participation at the 2018 USA Science & Engineering Festival – the largest event of its kind nationwide – showcasing how science, technology, engineering and math play an integral role in culinary activities.

Faculty and students from Penn College will once again present hands-on demonstrations during the crowd-pleasing “A Taste of Technology: Sweet and Savory Science” for the thousands of people looking to experience STEM fields at the biennial festival. The event is set to take place April 7-8 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

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Culinary Student Demonstrates Mocktail in Live Broadcast

Chef Mary Trometter and student Erik L. Perry Jr., with "PA Live" co-host Brittany Sweeney

Penn College’s Erik L. Perry Jr., a culinary arts technology student from Waldorf, Maryland, represented Penn College on WBRE’s “PA Live” show on Monday. Perry joined Chef Mary G. Trometter, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, on the set as he demonstrates his “Fire and Ice” mocktail. Perry developed the drink recipe in the Hospitality Beverage Management and Controls class, taught by Chef Paul Mach, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, and Neal Palmer, maître d’ hotel II for the School of Business & Hospitality’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant. The segment is available on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton NBC affiliate’s website:
Part 1
Part 2

Accounting Faculty Share Income Tax Expertise at Thrive

Penn College accounting faculty members Michael D. Shipman (left) and Bob Nolan offer guidance on income tax return preparation at a Thrive International Programs event, held at City Alliance Church in Williamsport.

Pennsylvania College of Technology accounting faculty members recently presented a session on income tax returns – and the assistance available to file them – at Thrive International Programs in Williamsport.

Michael D. Shipman, instructor of business administration/accounting, and Bob Nolan, part-time instructor of accounting, provided an overview of the federal income tax system, who should file an income tax return and why. Shipman and Nolan are also the Penn College site administrators for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, a free, IRS-sanctioned service to help the community file personal income tax returns.

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Signups Open for College’s Exciting, Eclectic Summer Camps

An Aviation Camp has been added to the already-captivating roster of fun, interactive and hands-on summer camps that reflect the distinctive career opportunities offered at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The signup deadline is May 11, for the 11 overnight camps and one day camp. In addition to gaining inspiration to chart their employment path, participants entering grades nine to 12 are eligible for up to $2,000 in tuition assistance should they enroll at Penn College.

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Students to Join Chef of Super Bowls to Prep Benefit Dinner

Chef Robin Rosenberg

A chef whose culinary creativity has been evidenced at Super Bowls, the Grammy Awards and the Kentucky Derby is set to lend his knowledge to Pennsylvania College of Technology students as they join him in the next edition of the college’s Visiting Chef Series.

Robin Rosenberg, vice president and chef de cuisine for Levy Restaurants, will spend three days on campus, working with students in the college’s School of Business & Hospitality to create an elegant meal on Friday, April 20. Proceeds from the Visiting Chef Dinner fund scholarships in the college’s baking and pastry arts, culinary arts and hospitality management majors.

Rosenberg will be joined by Chef John G. Scourlas, senior pastry chef for Levy Restaurants, who will also lead and mentor students.

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Alumni Sweethearts Celebrate Inspiring Mentors, Enduring Love

Alumni Sweethearts Chris Y. and Beth L. (Rozman) Cummings enjoy a Victorian House stay during their return to campus.

A couple who met at freshmen orientation – during the summer of 1998 – returned to campus this past weekend as the 2018 Alumni Sweethearts.

Chris Y. and Beth L. (Rozman) Cummings, of Elizabethtown, enjoyed an overnight stay in the Victorian House and dinner at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant as winners of Alumni Relations’ seventh annual Alumni Sweethearts contest. Due to the start of Spring Break, the alumni enjoyed a particularly quiet weekend at their alma mater.

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Students Earn Innovation Engineering Black Belts

Chet Beaver, of Muncy, and Diane H. Bubb, of Hughesville, are the first Penn College graduates to receive Innovation Engineering Black Belts from the Eureka Ranch in Cincinnati. Both are also Penn College employees. Beaver is coordinator of veterans affairs; Bubb is a workforce development consultant.

Pennsylvania College of Technology recently recognized its first Innovation Engineering Black Belt recipients. The credential, issued by Eureka Ranch, is available to students who successfully complete five innovation courses at the college and then pursue an extended project.

The recipients, Chet Beaver, of Muncy, and Diane H. Bubb, of Hughesville, received certificates in applied innovation leadership from the college. The college also offers a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurial innovation, a bachelor’s degree in applied innovation, and a minor in innovation leadership, all of which can lead to an Innovation Engineering Black Belt.

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Art à la Carte

Handcrafted ceramic bowls to grace fundraising table.

Got soup?

Truthful labeling awaits nourishing ladling.

Chef Frank M. Suchwala (in blue cap) stirs a pot of mushroom bisque as student Nolan S. Lester (left) adds stock. Others involved include (from left) Amaris T. Smith, Dylan H. Therrien, William D. Benedetto and Austin B. Ovens.

Penn College students are again lending a helping hand to the Williamsport Soup & a Bowl event benefiting the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. About 120 bowls crafted by students in Ceramics 1 classes will be filled with soup created by students in the culinary arts and systems major. This year’s fundraiser will be Friday, March 2, at The Genetti Hotel and Suites in downtown Williamsport. Three seatings (11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.) and takeout orders are offered; the 11 a.m. seating is sold out. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the food bank’s Williamsport office at 570-321-8023. The bowls were produced in classes taught by husband-and-wife duo David A. and Deborah L. Stabley, members of the college’s art faculty. This is the sixth year the college has donated bowls. Students in the Technical Training for Hospitality Industry course made about 25 gallons of soup for the event, stirring up Cajun vegetarian and mushroom bisque under the guidance of Chefs Todd M. Keeley and Frank M. Suchwala, members of the hospitality faculty. And, while the soup was simmering, the instructors discussed community service and outreach with their students. “We want to be a positive force in the community,” Suchwala said. Students in the culinary class are William D. Benedetto, of Howard; Bridget M. Callahan, of Pottsville; Eliza B. Cook, of Towanda; Nolan S. Lester, of Perkiomenville; Austin B. Ovens, of Elizabethtown; Amaris T. Smith, of Williamsport; and Dylan H. Therrien, of Reading.

Penn College Students Assist Food Network Star at PA Farm Show

Penn College students (from left) Amaris T. Smith, of Williamsport, Bridget M. Callahan, of Pottsville, Jacob W. Parobek, of Seltzer, Brittany L. Mink, of Allentown; and Paul J. Herceg, of Chalfont, are among 11 Penn College student volunteers who helped to showcase recipes made from quality Pennsylvania ingredients at the 2018 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

An “Iron Chef” was among the culinarians who joined Pennsylvania College of Technology students to showcase the quality ingredients produced by Pennsylvania farms at the state Farm Show.

The students volunteered the final days of their winter break at the event, where they worked with some of Pennsylvania’s best chefs – and Food Network star Chef Alex Guarnaschelli – to prepare ingredients for the chefs’ demonstrations on the PA Preferred Culinary Connection stage and to cook samples of the recipes for Farm Show visitors.

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D.C.-Based Restaurant Group to Visit in February

Star Restaurant GroupFour representatives of a leading restaurant development, management and ownership company based in Washington, D.C., will be on campus Feb. 7-8 to talk with students in Penn College’s School of Business & Hospitality. The Star Restaurant Group will conduct seminars in several classes and interview for positions within The Walrus Oyster & Ale House, its casual fine-dining restaurant inspired by the surrounding Chesapeake Bay area, and Chicken + Whiskey, a “neighborhood comfort bar” developed in response to the South American rotisserie chicken craze. Scheduled to visit are Stuart R. Damon, managing principal of SRG; Benjamin Nichols, the group’s culinary director; Chef Enrique Limardo, culinary director/partner of Chicken + Whiskey; and Carla Sevilla, restaurant manager at Walrus Oyster & Ale House.

Volunteering Skills, Culinary Student Finds Home in Church Kitchen

Barbara Voss, a leading member of the Antioch congregation, shares an appreciative smile with Mark J. Kriner Jr.

Culinary arts technology student Mark J. Kriner Jr., of Williamsport, was looking for a way to give time to his community during Pennsylvania College of Technology’s winter break, while he had some to spare. He found that opportunity at Williamsport’s Antioch Baptist Church, where he contributed not only his time but the skills he is pursuing as a student.

The church serves a free breakfast and lunch to the greater Williamsport community every weekday. Kriner asked to help, and according to the Rev. Sam Washington, he fit right in, quickly becoming part of the family.

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Students Invited to Serve Gala Dinner at Governor’s Residence

Eight exceptional students in Penn College’s hospitality majors were selected to help prepare and serve food for the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence Annual Winter Gala in December. From left are Chef Michael J. Ditchfield, instructor of hospitality management/culinary arts; students Austin B. Ovens, of Elizabethtown, Mallory A. Hoffman, of Pottsville, Jacob W. Parobek, of Seltzer, and Kelsie F. Thomas, of Darby; Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf; Gov. Tom Wolf; and students Magdalen C. Bennett, of Erie, Bridget M. Callahan, of Pottsville, Amaris T. Smith, of Williamsport, and Charlie E. Cooke, of Wayne.

A formal event at the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence was the destination for eight exceptional Pennsylvania College of Technology hospitality students, who were given the opportunity to showcase their skills and work alongside the residence’s executive chef.

For close to 15 years, students and faculty in the college’s School of Business & Hospitality have worked with the executive chef for the Governor’s Residence, Chef Barry Crumlich, on the Culinary Connection stage at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. There, the students help some of Pennsylvania’s top chefs to prepare dishes for live demonstrations. Along with Crumlich, the students have shared the stage with Pennsylvania governors and first ladies.

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Penn College to Again Make Impression on Farm Show Attendees

Students in Penn College’s hospitality majors join their instructor, Chef Michael J. Ditchfield, on the Culinary Connection stage at the Pennsylvania Farm Show last January.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors will soon flock to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center to celebrate the commonwealth’s leading industry, and Pennsylvania College of Technology students and employees will be on hand for an interactive peek into the real-world applications of “degrees that work.”

“A beloved tradition of Penn College, the Pennsylvania Farm Show continues to be the highlight of the new year. During the weeklong festivities, members of Admissions, Alumni Relations and Academic Affairs bring Penn College to Harrisburg and showcase all of the amazing opportunities that await students on campus,” said Claire Z. Biggs, coordinator of admissions events and services. “Through our interactive and hands-on activities, we hope that friends of the college will come to learn what makes applied technology education so special.”

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Fall Food Show Winners Announced at Penn College

The Best of Show recipient in Penn College’s Fall Food Show was prepared by students Kelsie F. Thomas (left), of Darby, and Ashley R. Potrzebowski, of Williamsport, as part of their Advanced Garde Manger course. They were tasked with creating a cold platter and charcuterie board.

Pennsylvania College of Technology announced winners of its Fall Food Show, held Dec. 1 at the college.

Earning the Chef Eugene Mattucci Best of Show Award was the student duo of Ashley R. Potrzebowski, of Williamsport, and Kelsie F. Thomas, of Darby, for their “Beer & Pub Style Christmas” platter and charcuterie board. Their entry, completed as a final project for the Advanced Garde Manger course, included a salad of kale, dried cranberries and pecans with orange vinaigrette; haymarket pate en croute with sage-infused aspic; cured and smoked turkey breast; onion chutney; and beer cheese dip with garlic-butter pretzel bites. Both students are pursuing degrees in culinary arts technology.

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College Joins Global ‘Hour of Code’ to Inspire Future Programmers

Alicia McNett, instructor of computer information technology at Penn College, guides a high school student in programming an Ozobot. The workshop was part of an “Hour of Code” event hosted by Penn College and attended by several high schools. It is part of an international initiative to encourage interest and confidence in the skills needed to join the computer science workforce.

Pennsylvania College of Technology hosted about 130 high school students on Dec. 4 as part of the international “Hour of Code” initiative.

Hour of Code is a global movement by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org, reaching tens of millions of students in more than 180 countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming.

At Penn College, students from Commonwealth Charter Academy, Montgomery Area High School, Muncy Junior/Senior High School, North Penn-Liberty High School, Warren County Career Center and Wyalusing Valley High School attended an event that introduced not only coding, but problem solving, creativity and logic.

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