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.
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.
The Bush Campus Center was a marketplace of merriment during Tuesday’s Grad Finale for students who will process with their classmates in three commencement ceremonies on May 11-12. Thanks to the five-hour Penn’s Inn event facilitated by The College Store, the near-alumni could conveniently tend to all manner of graduation-related errands.
A celebration of generosity unfolded Sunday afternoon at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s inaugural Scholarship Luncheon. Held in the Field House, the event hosted scholarship donors, student recipients and their families.
Offering a welcome to the guests, Kyle A. Smith, executive director of the Penn College Foundation, thanked donors for their belief and commitment to Penn College’s mission of serving students. In her opening remarks, President Davie Jane Gilmour said, “Your philanthropic commitment provides motivation needed for students to remain focused on their coursework, complete their educational journey and begin a new journey as tomorrow makers in their communities and chosen fields.”
The College Store was filled with imminent alumni on Tuesday afternoon as it hosted a Grad Finale for students who have petitioned to walk across the Community Arts Center stage on Dec. 16. Commencement tickets, caps and gowns, and “all the information you need to enter the world after graduation” were conveniently available under one roof.
– Photos by Rachel A. Eirmann, student photographer
Umbrellas were the most coveted accessory, but nowhere near as essential as the information that visitors to Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Fall Open House carried home. Held across the institution’s awe-inspiring campuses, the autumn tradition delivered tours, priceless exchanges with helpful members of the campus community, valuable exposure to student life with those who live it and close-up views of the newest majors at a 103-year-old institution that never shows its age.
Before we shelve the PCToday scrapbook from this year’s Little League Baseball World Series, let’s thumb through a few more pages featuring members of the Penn College family. Among the ex-Little Leaguers on hand when the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals met at BB&T Ballpark on Aug. 20 was Bucs infielder Max Moroff. And among those happiest to see him was Marlin R. Cromley, a campus employee who was the team’s host when Moroff’s Maitland, Florida, team faced Newtown in the U.S. semifinal at the 2005 series. “Always a wonderful time to meet up with a former player,” said Cromley, a cashier/customer service associate in The College Store, who this year was “uncle” to the Asia-Pacific team representing Seoul, South Korea. “Not to mention meeting a former player that makes it to the majors!” Cromley is one of two team hosts who work at the college; Bruce A. Sechrist, a General Services horticulturist at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center, this year was assigned to the Midwest team from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As noted earlier, the series’ health care team was at the ready for players and fans alike – including scores of students from Penn College’s School of Health Sciences. Representing the college on Sunday’s championship day are (from left) emergency medical services major Keith M. Ray, Montoursville; Bambi A. Hawkins, interim director of paramedic technology programs; and EMS students Michelle K. Waughen, Montgomery; James A. Babinetz, Doylestown; and Abdullah F. Qindil, Houston.
Photos provided
The College Store turned Penn’s Inn into a commencement-focused shopping mall on Tuesday afternoon, hosting a Grad Finale for students on the verge of May graduation. Prizes, food, caps and gowns, and tickets to the May 19-20 Community Arts Center ceremonies were among the attractions at the event, held from noon-4 p.m.
Photos by Tia G. La, student photographer
A number of campus offices threw a party Tuesday for students on track to graduate next month, handily helping them check off their commencement to-do list. The early-afternoon Grad Finale (which featured accommodating staff from Alumni Relations, Career Services, Financial Aid, Registrar, The College Store and Workforce Development & Continuing Education) was held in the Bush Campus Center. From 12:30-2:30 p.m., petitioned students could pick up their commencement tickets, purchase caps and gowns, and learn more about their Alumni Association benefits – all in one handy location. Penn College’s winter ceremony is at 11 a.m. Dec. 17 in the Community Arts Center.
Students completing rounds in the Dental Hygiene Clinic showed their support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month by donning pink gowns during the week of Oct. 10. The gowns were donated by Matt P. Branca, director of The College Store. Other Breast Cancer Awareness-related activities have included a bake sale hosted by College Health Services and Sigma Pi, informational tables in the Bush Campus Center and at the Madigan Library Reference Desk, and a Wear Pink Day for employees on Oct. 7.
Penn College employee Marlin R. Cromley, renewing his longtime August commitment as a team “uncle” at the Little League Baseball World Series, is featured in a photograph posted to Major League Baseball’s website over the weekend. The photo by Alex Trautwig encapsulates – beautifully, genuinely and emotionally – a Japan player’s tears and torment and his host’s offer of solace and support. As a cashier/customer service associate in The College Store, Cromley is accustomed to diplomatically dealing with students and other members of the public from his front-end cash register. In more than a decade at the Series, Cromley said, he feels fortunate and humbled to also see a more personal side of life. “Moments like that just happen,” he explained. “They’re kids. Outside the (International) Grove and on the field, everyone expects the best out of them. We’re privileged that they let us see them at their most tender moments, too, when they’re sometimes at their lowest, and we just try to console them the best we can.”
With a boost from ticket sales for a Snap-on toolbox raffle, Friday’s Student Government Association Silent Auction raised $4,127 toward the Student Leader Legacy Scholarship. The total – benefiting from the 63 campus and community bidders vying for items and services donated by more than 50 employees, students, alumni and friends of the college – is a considerable increase over the approximate $2,300 raised last year. Two toolboxes were given away during the event in the Madigan Library, with $2,660 in proceeds split between The College Store Scholarship Fund and the SGA Leader Legacy Scholarship Fund (awarded by SGA each year to Penn College students who display exemplary leadership). The tool chests were won by Terry San Angelo, of Quakertown, whose son, Drew, will be a freshman in Fall 2017, and Tanya Berfield, manager of College Transitions.
Soon-to-depart students with questions about commencement and postgraduate life – everything from the life span of student email to tickets for their big day to student loans – checked off their to-do list at Tuesday’s Grad Finale on the Bush Campus Center patio. Staff from Alumni Relations, Career Services, Financial Aid, Registrar, The College Store and Workforce Development & Continuing Education were available for the convenience of petitioned students, who could pick up commencement tickets, purchase caps and gowns, and learn more about alumni benefits at one handy location.
The College Store will discontinue its Wildcat Rewards Loyalty Program effective May 31. The store will offer more storewide promotions and other sales so that more students have the opportunity to save money on purchases. “The program has been popular with some students, but most students never trade in their points for College Store gift cards,” said Matt Branca, director of The College Store. By discontinuing the program, Branca said that store will be able to offer more discounts and sales on other merchandise. The store recently started one-day-only “Flash Sales” that are announced via The College Store Facebook page and on the myPCT Portal the morning of the sale. Those have proved quite popular with the campus community. While the Wildcat Rewards Program is ending May 31, students will continue to earn points through May 27. Students have until the end of the day May 31 to trade in any points for a College Store gift card. College Store gift cards do not expire, so students should make sure and cash in those points before they expire: 500 points earns a $25 College Store gift card and 900 points earns a $50 gift card. All points will expire and access to the program will be turned off on June 1. Students should log in to their Wildcat Rewards account via The College Store web site. Instructions can be found on the store’s Portal page.
A collection of faculty member Keith M. Whitesel’s stained glass is on display in The College Store during February, the first in a series of mini-galleries featuring artists who teach noncredit classes at Penn College. An instructor of electrical technology/occupations in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, Whitesel is teaching Stained Glass for Beginners through Workforce Development & Continuing Education starting Feb. 22. A second class, Stained Glass: Level II, will begin April 11. Stop by The College Store to see his beautiful works of art as they glimmer in the sun – and revisit throughout the year as other media (photography, jewelry, etc.) are exhibited. (The pieces of art are not for sale.)