Four virtual workshops in April, continuing Penn College’s series of free community presentations, will provide expert advice on topics as richly varied as the institution’s curriculum portfolio.
The National Association of Landscape Professionals Foundation has awarded $1,000 scholarships to each of four Pennsylvania College of Technology landscape/horticulture technology students on behalf of industry benefactors.
Honored virtually during NALP’s 45th annual National Collegiate Landscape Competition from March 15-19 were Nick Bianchi, of Archbald, recipient of The Ruppert Landscape Company Scholarship; Erick V. Kennedy, of Williamsport, RM Landscape and Lemcke Family Scholarship; Joanne S. Kim, of Williamsport, Chapel Valley Landscape Co. – The Reeve Family Scholarship; and Cyra E. Sterner, of Williamsport, Jacobsen Landscape Design and Construction Scholarship.
A trio of Pennsylvania College of Technology students have each received $5,000 scholarships from the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association Foundation, which annually recognizes outstanding achievement at institutions offering degrees in horticulture, nursery production, landscape contracting or related fields.
Awarded three of the foundation’s four 2020-21 scholarships were Nick Bianchi, of Archbald, landscape/horticulture technology: landscape emphasis; Rebecca Cornish, of Lewisburg, dual-majoring in business administration: management concentration and landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis; and Erick V. Kennedy, of Williamsport, landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis.
Eight Pennsylvania College of Technology students have passed the state Department of Agriculture’s Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification exam, administered in November at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center.
Pennsylvania College of Technology’s horticulture department delivered 450 poinsettia plants to UPMC Susquehanna on Thursday for distribution to health care workers.
The plants are annually grown in the Schneebeli Earth Science Center greenhouse for a holiday sale, but ongoing COVID-19 concerns prompted the traditional event’s cancellation. Instead, senior administration agreed that the poinsettias should be donated to front-line workers in hopes of bringing some seasonal cheer in the midst of their selfless service.
Three faculty members at Pennsylvania College of Technology were presented with Excellence in Teaching Awards at the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
As part of the Distinguished Teaching Awards program at Penn College, President Davie Jane Gilmour presented Excellence in Teaching Awards to Carl J. Bower Jr., assistant professor of horticulture; Barbara F. Di Marco, assistant professor of mathematics; and Heather S. Dorman, instructor of physician assistant.
Distinguished Teaching Awards are presented to full-time faculty at Penn College who have been nominated by their students and colleagues for excellence in instructional performance. There have been 115 recipients since the program began in 1982: 33 Master Teacher Awards and 82 Excellence in Teaching Awards.
“From day one, teaching has been at the core of who we are,” Gilmour said. “As is obvious through comments from their students and colleagues alike, Carl, Barb and Heather are among the very best at putting that mission into practice.”
For the fifth consecutive year, Pennsylvania College of Technology has attained Tree Campus USA recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to urban forestry.
The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.
Plants nurtured throughout the pandemic by the horticultural hands at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center brought a burst of National Nurses Week sunshine to UPMC Susquehanna campuses Thursday. About 850 potted flowers and hanging baskets, originally cultivated for a plant sale, were delivered to Williamsport, Divine Providence, Muncy, Lock Haven, Cole (Coudersport) and Wellsboro hospitals for distribution to nurses – among the tireless health care workers on the front line of a global health crisis. A troupe of ESC faculty and staff, General Services employees and a college alumnus/retiree loaded and unloaded the colorful cargo at hospital campuses in Lycoming and Clinton counties; UPMC handled transport to the Northern Tier locations. Helping to keep the greenhouse stock thriving in students’ absence were horticulture faculty; Wyatt C. Forest, laboratory assistant for horticulture; and Sean C. Golden, a landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis student and work study employee.
Forest (left) and Dincher beautify the ESC campus while educating students in doubly-distanced fashion.
Michael A. Dincher, assistant professor of horticulture, and Wyatt C. Forest, laboratory assistant for horticulture, planted two sugar maples and a sawtooth oak at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center pond for Arbor Day. The tree planting was part of an online instructional video for Dincher’s Arboriculture class. Observed in the United States on the last Friday of April, the holiday encourages the planting, nurturing and celebrating of trees. Penn College has repeatedly been honored by the Arbor Day Foundation’s “Tree Campus USA” program for establishing and sustaining healthy community forests. Photo provided
A landscape/horticulture technology student has been awarded $1,000 from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, which canceled its National Collegiate Landscape Competition that was scheduled March 18-21 at Michigan State University.
Drew J. Marsh, of Marble, enrolled in the major’s plant production emphasis, received the R.M. Landscape and Lemcke Family Scholarship by mail after the COVID-19 outbreak prohibited him from accepting it in person.
Marsh recently accepted an offer from The Walt Disney Co. in Florida as a plant science intern in its agricultural sciences department.
A December graduate of Pennsylvania College of Technology, whose family’s tree care business in suburban Philadelphia fueled his choice of both college and career, recently arranged for the donation of a newly reconditioned chipper to his alma mater’s forestry program.
Thanks to the resourcefulness of Michael S. Shreiner, now employed full time at Shreiner Tree Care in southeastern Pennsylvania, forest technology students at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center will have access to a 150XP Bandit Tree Chipper that the 2019 alumnus solicited from the manufacturer.
The Horticulture Club will hold a Valentine’s Day sale from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 13-14 in front of CC Commons (Bush Campus Center, first floor). Members will be selling succulents and various interior plants, roses, and roses in bud vases. Vases can be pre-ordered, with pickup and payment during the sale. Everything else is “cash and carry” on sale days. Cash or checks (payable to Penn College) will be accepted. Individual roses are $5; bud vases with one rose, a fern and baby’s breath are $8; and bud vases with two roses, a fern and baby’s breath are $12. Prices vary for succulents and other plants. To pre-order a bud vase with one or two roses, email Alexis Witherite by Friday, Feb. 7.
Pictured in front of pink chrysanthemums at Longwood Gardens are (from left) students Courtney M. Wilcox, of Troy; Jessica M. Duke, of Allentown; Robert J. Williamson, of Fort Washington; and Alexis B. Hassinger, of Bellefonte.Garris visits her alma mater’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center.Against a backdrop of yellow mums are (from left) students Joseph N. Moore, of South Williamsport; Alexis M. Witherite, of Spring Mills; Taylor L. Keiper, of Archbald; and Austin R. Weaver, of New Holland.McGinty explains North Creek’s automated potting process.
Twenty members of the Horticulture Club and faculty members Justin Shelinski and Carl J. Bower Jr. enjoyed a pair of Tuesday field trips: Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square and North Creek Nurseries in Landenburg. The group savored a beautiful fall day, saw the Chrysanthemum Festival display at Longwood, and toured North Creek facilities with general manager Tim McGinty and section grower Kassie L. Garris, a 2018 alumna in Penn College’s landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis. (Garris visited campus last week to talk about the postgraduate path she took, from employment at Longwood Gardens to working at North Creek.) McGinty shared that he first met Garris during a Penn College field trip to North Creek two years ago, when the then-student introduced herself to him. “It just goes to show: You never know what your experiences might bring,” Bower said. “The networking you do, whether it is while you are a student or in your professional career, can lead to some great opportunities. I always tell my students to never be afraid to shake someone’s hand, introduce themselves and say they are a Penn College horticulture student … because that can take you far.” North Creek is known for its sustainable horticultural practices and native perennials, added Bower, who said its greenhouses employ some impressive technology and innovations. Photos by Bower, assistant professor of horticulture
Penn College’s second annual PA Build My Future event, an interactive academic and industry showcase on Thursday, provided more than 900 high-school students with an opportunity to experience the full range of possibilities in the construction and design field. Scores of current students in the School of Construction & Design Technologies joined faculty and administrators, along with many of the college’s commercial benefactors, in guiding visitors toward their potential careers.
WNEP’s Chris Keating visited campus for Thursday’s PA Build My Future, filing a report on the second annual introduction of secondary students to the wide-open world of construction and design careers. Keating visited indoor and outdoor exhibits facilitated by industry sponsors, Penn College faculty and current students (who gave up a day of Fall Break to excitedly represent their respective majors). Included in the broadcast were Carol A. Lugg, dean of construction and design technologies; building construction technology instructor Levon A. Whitmyer; Christine A. Limbert, of Curwensville, enrolled in architectural technology; and Lucas Vandergrift, a sophomore at Wellsboro High School who was among the day’s 929 students from nearly 30 high schools and career and technical centers.
(“PA Build My Future photo gallery)
A landscape/horticulture technology student has been awarded $1,000 from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, which canceled its National Collegiate Landscape Competition that was scheduled March 18-21 at Michigan State University.
WNEP’s Chris Keating visited campus for Thursday’s PA Build My Future, filing a report on the second annual introduction of secondary students to the wide-open world of construction and design careers. Keating visited indoor and outdoor exhibits facilitated by industry sponsors, Penn College faculty and current students (who gave up a day of Fall Break to excitedly represent their respective majors). Included in the broadcast were Carol A. Lugg, dean of construction and design technologies; building construction technology instructor Levon A. Whitmyer; Christine A. Limbert, of Curwensville, enrolled in architectural technology; and Lucas Vandergrift, a sophomore at Wellsboro High School who was among the day’s 929 students from nearly 30 high schools and career and technical centers.