Pennsylvania College of Technology students received two of the three Women in Energy Mentorship Awards presented this month at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center.
Celeste G. Moquin, of Port Matilda, enrolled in on-site power generation, and Autumn N. Schreiber, of St. Marys, majoring in heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology, were honored at a May 19 dinner.
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.
Allan Myers Inc., a heavy civil construction and construction materials company operating throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, will contribute an additional $50,000 annually to a scholarship it established previously at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Preference for the Allan Myers Scholarship is given to full-time Penn College students who are employees/family members of Allan Myers Inc.
Pennsylvania College of Technology held the Triple Crown of commencement ceremonies May 17-18 for more than 900 students who petitioned to graduate following the Spring 2019 semester. The Friday afternoon proceedings at the Community Arts Center honored students from the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies and the School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications. Saturday morning featured The School of Construction & Design Technologies and the School of Health Sciences, while students from the School of Business & Hospitality and the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies graduated during the afternoon session. Student speakers were Hannah G. Maize, of Riverside, who received a bachelor’s degree in plastics and polymer engineering technology (summa cum laude) on Friday; Lauren S. Herr, of Lititz, awarded a bachelor’s in construction management (summa cum laude) at Saturday morning’s session; and David A. Gadalla, of Mechanicsburg, who received a bachelor’s degree in aviation maintenance technology in the weekend’s final ceremony. The college also bestowed three teaching honors – the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award and two Excellence in Teaching Awards – as well as three alumni awards.
Three Pennsylvania College of Technology faculty members were honored at Spring 2019 Commencement ceremonies for their prowess as teachers.
Ryan P. Good, assistant professor of welding, was presented with the highest honor accorded to Penn College faculty: the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award.
Two faculty members received recognition for their outstanding teaching skills by earning Excellence in Teaching Awards: Drew R. Potts, assistant professor and department head of civil engineering technology, and David S. Richards, professor of physics.
An institutional emphasis on green building was channeled by architectural majors into Penn College’s first gallery exhibit of students’ sustainable designs, which officially opened with a reception Thursday afternoon. “Sustainable Design 2019,” showcased on the third floor of Madigan Library, challenged students to design and develop a substantial project in an urban setting. Eighteen seniors in the college’s building science and sustainable design programs rose to the task, drawing upon four years of immersive education to present capstones that skillfully encompass their processes, renderings and 3D models. The show, which runs through May 23, follows summer hours in The Gallery at Penn College: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays; and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. (The gallery is closed Saturdays and Mondays.)
An inaugural exhibition displaying the architectural design work of 18 seniors in the building science and sustainable design majors at Pennsylvania College of Technology will open soon in The Gallery at Penn College.
A public reception for “Sustainable Design 2019” will be held Thursday, May 16, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., with a gallery talk at 4:30 p.m. The design work will be on display May 16-23 in the gallery on the third floor of the Madigan Library.
The Penn College HVAC technology program’s historically strong partnership with Weis Markets continued last month, as students in the commercial refrigeration classes toured a Weis store with members of the chain’s service team – including a number of graduates. The experience gave the students an opportunity to see operation of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment they covered over the semester. Welcoming the students were Louis J. Frisenda and HVAC alumni Taylor P. Hostler (2010), Nicholas R. Laylon (2008), and John H. Lowe and Stephen J. Reilly (both 1989).
Photos by Stephen D. Manbeck, assistant professor of HVAC technology
Three commencement ceremonies will be offered May 17-18 for the 950 students who have petitioned to graduate following the Spring 2019 semester at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
All of the ceremonies will be held at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., Williamsport, with more than 800 students expected to march.
Five Penn College students were recognized this month by the West Branch Susquehanna Builders Association for classroom success, dedication to the construction industry and the high standards with which they conduct themselves. Honored during a meeting at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore were Hunter M. Bean, of McElhattan, heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis; Matthew E. Blose, of Williamsport, residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration; Corey J. Carr, of Pulaski, Virginia, heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology; Kurtis J. Klodnicki, of Danville, building construction technology and building construction technology: masonry emphasis; and Eric J. Langer, of New City, New York, electrical technology. Graduating seniors are traditionally nominated for the awards by faculty from their respective academic areas, then recognized by the association for their hard work and commitment to entering the industry. Levon A. Whitmyer, instructor of building construction technology, introduced the students to WBSBA members and handed out the awards. He also spoke on behalf of Blose, Carr and Klodnicki. Ryan W. Peck, diesel equipment technology instructor, represented Bean; Eric L. Anstadt, a faculty member in electrical technology occupations, offered an endorsement of Langer. Each of the student winners received a cash prize and was awarded a 4-foot level engraved with his name. “The students also got an opportunity to mingle with the members, increasing their professional network as they get ready to enter the construction industry,” Whitmyer said. “A big ‘thank you’ to West Branch for providing the support to help these students be recognized for their dedication to their craft.”
Photo provided
A memorial service will be Wednesday for Frederick J. Rankinen, Penn College’s first department head for civil engineering technology, who died Saturday, April 20, at the age of 80. A faculty member from 1968 until his retirement in 2001, he was the 1992 recipient of Penn College’s “Master Teacher” award. Rankinen’s son, Jeffrey L., is an associate professor of electronics in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, and his brother, Richard W., retired as an associate professor of forestry in 2006. The service will be at 11:30 a.m. at Nippenose Bible Fellowship, 92 Schoolhouse Road, Jersey Shore. The family will receive friends from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service at the church. A complete obituary was published in Tuesday’s editions of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.
Through support from Makdad Supply Co. Inc., two Penn College students and an instructor recently attended an Emerson Compressor Operation and Service Seminar at the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology. While heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors from across the region attended the event – an in-depth, three-day program packed with everything an HVACR service technician needs to know to install, service and maintain Copeland compressors – Makdad sponsored seats for HVACR majors from CPI and the two students from Penn College. Among attendees were Ronald J. Ostrowski III, of Shavertown, and Zeph L. Woelfel, of Kersey, graduating next month with associate degrees in heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology, and Stephen D. Manbeck, an assistant professor of HVAC technology. Company owner Jack Makdad met with Manbeck and CPI’s Ken Hassinger to discuss how to provide similar training, as well as access to a variety of vendors and industry resources. The institutions already share a strong connection through the Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. That initiative allows high school seniors to earn up to five college credits while enrolled at CPI, credits that help them get a head start on an associate degree at Penn College.
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Penn College’s Construction Management Association recently took 24 students to Washington, D.C., for a tour of six major works-in-progress, including expansion projects at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Ronald Reagan National Airport.
Photos by Wayne R. Sheppard, assistant professor and department head for construction management
The Susquehanna Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors recently hosted its Ed Dobeck Memorial Award dinner meeting, an annual event that enables regional land surveyors to welcome Penn College surveying technology students into the profession.
Two construction management students and their academic dean at Pennsylvania College of Technology recently served as judges at the Pennsylvania Technology Student Association State Conference in Seven Springs.