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Penn College Calendar

For a list of all events on campus, go to the Calendar.

Workforce Development to Be Showcased During PM Exchange

Workforce development to be showcased at chamber's PM Exchange.

Experience the innovative ways companies are bridging the skills gap during Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Workforce Development PM Exchange from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21.

Together with the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, Penn College will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Center for Business & Workforce Development, 1127 W. Fourth St.

“A great deal has changed in the past decade with new infrastructure, significant technology upgrades and vastly expanded program offerings,” notes Shannon Munro, vice president for workforce development. “Penn College assists companies nationwide to improve competencies in topics such as business, industrial, plastics, computer, energy and health care.”

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National Poster Show Exhibited at Penn College

Posters line a wall in The Gallery at Penn College for the National Poster Retrospecticus, on display through Oct. 11.

An internationally traveling poster show that has graced the walls of exciting venues like The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is on exhibit at The Gallery at Penn College through Oct. 11.

The National Poster Retrospecticus (NPR) features hand-printed posters made by prominent designers from around the world. The display of 100 posters at Pennsylvania College of Technology offers a comprehensive and eclectic mix of posters, including “gig posters” created for musical performances, as well as prints celebrating America’s national parks.

“Our students are very excited, as am I, about the NPR show,” said Nicholas L. Stephenson, graphic design instructor. “Poster shows like this one are important because they articulate both the designer’s personal artistic vision and because they are representative of the times in which they are created. This is a great show for anyone who is interested in design, music and/or art. It’s a rare opportunity to see work close up from some of today’s most important and influential graphic designers and illustrators.”

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A Helpful, Cordial ‘Hello’ to Fall 2017

Campus View RAs can’t contain their excitement!

With their loved ones providing an emotional, 11th-hour nudge toward an exciting and imminent tomorrow – and their new Penn College family sharing the reassuring voice of experience – Fall 2017 students greeted the academic year during traditional Welcome Weekend activities. After checking into their apartments on Saturday (and hitting area stores for those “must-have” items that weren’t on the list), the newest members of the campus community processed into the Rose Street Courtyard to celebrate their official arrival. More activities and acclimation followed, culminating in the start of classes Monday morning.

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International Expertise Abounds at Rotomolding Workshop

Matthew Jackson, of Tennant Co., Minneapolis, a participant in a recent Rotational Molding Workshop at Penn College, attaches a radio telemetry system to a rotational mold to measure internal air temperature.

Scores of industry professionals gathered at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Plastics Innovation & Resource Center this summer for advice about rotational molding from well-versed – and well-traveled – authorities in the field.

A total of 42 participants from 26 companies – representing 16 states, as well as Canada and Mexico – attended the ninth annual Hands-On Rotational Molding Workshop on the college’s main campus in June.

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Penn College Extrusion Workshop Proves Popular

Adam C. Barilla, instructor of plastics and polymer technology at Penn College, demonstrates tensile testing to participants during the 19th annual Extrusion Seminar & Hands-On Workshop at the college’s Plastics Innovation & Resource Center. (Photo by Tia G. La, student photographer)

Nationwide plastics industry professionals converged at Pennsylvania College of Technology’s renowned Plastics Innovation & Resource Center for the 19th Annual Extrusion Seminar & Hands-On Workshop.

Forty-three participants, representing 20 companies and nine states, attended the three-day event led by extrusion experts Chris Rauwendaal and Kirk M. Cantor. Rauwendaal is president of Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering Inc. in Auburn, California; Cantor is a professor of plastics and polymer technology at Penn College. Combined, the duo has approximately 70 years of experience in plastics.

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Sun-Kissed Grads Revel in August Achievement

Stunningly framed on campus following the ceremony is Cynthia M. Wilt, of Hughesville, a surgical technology graduate.

Pennsylvania College of Technology held its Summer Commencement on Saturday at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport. Michael R. Harer, of Williamsport, who received an Associate of Applied Science degree in surgical technology, was the student speaker for the 11 a.m. ceremony. Nearly 250 degrees were conferred by President Davie Jane Gilmour and state Rep. Garth Everett, a member of the college board of directors. During the ceremony, the college also presented an Alumni Achievement Award to Kevin A. Hickman, a 2008 graduate of the physician assistant program.

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Last updated August 5, 2017 | Posted in Alumni, Events, Faculty & Staff, President, Students | This gallery contains 59 photos. | Tagged as | One Comment

College’s 10th Annual PFEW Inspires Budding Businessfolk

The blues and greens of an ideal summer day add to the success of an interactive hunt for answers ...

... that led PFEW participants on a competitive cross-campus adventure.

Students fill the floor of the ACC Auditorium ...

... for a motivational speech by award-winning life coach Jeff Yalden.

Students form competing companies as a staple of PFEW business camp, complete with corporate numbers-crunching and strategy meetings.

For the 10th consecutive year, The Foundation for Free Enterprise Education held Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week at Penn College. From July 30 through Saturday, 400 young women and men stayed in student housing, ate meals in the Keystone Dining Room and spent most of their time in presentations and activities in the Klump Academic Center. In addition to brainstorming their way to forming companies and getting a hands-on taste of entrepreneurship, the students heard from inspiring mentors, participated in a scavenger hunt-style quiz game that took them into several college buildings and labs, enjoyed a residential peek at campus life and (of course) formed fast friendships.
Photos by Tia G. La, student photographer

Vital Blood Drive Set for Sept. 6-7 in Penn’s Inn

Red Cross blood drive scheduled for Sept. 6-7It’s a terrible scenario for patients and doctors alike: An emergency team rushes a patient to the hospital for lifesaving treatment only to find that there isn’t enough blood on hand. In an emergency when every second counts, a delay in the delivery of blood could potentially mean very bad news for someone in need. The Penn College community can help prevent such an awful situation and end the current nationwide Red Cross shortage, which is worsened by regular blood donors’ fewer appointments during the summer. Join College Health Services and the American Red Cross from noon-6 p.m. Sept. 6-7 in Penn’s Inn (Bush Campus Center, second floor). Online appointments to contribute to this crucial mission are available, and each donor will receive a $15 gift certificate redeemable online with hundreds of popular merchants.

Silver Anniversary, Golden Opportunity

Culinary giants joined forces to mark the 25th anniversary of the Visiting Chef Series at Penn College, an event celebrated in a new video on the college’s YouTube channel. “Louisiana’s culinary ambassador to the world” Chef John Folse, along with his renowned restaurant partner Chef Rick Tramonto, internationally heralded Pastry Chef Donald Wressell and Penn College alum Chef Elaine Gardner worked side-by-side in April with School of Business & Hospitality students to prepare an elegant, five-course fundraising dinner at the college’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant. “Nothing speaks success more than growth,” Folse says. “So when you see the growth at a facility – the growth of the kitchens; the growth of the student body; the quality of the instructors; the support of the community; tonight, we have another sell-out crowd – what does that say? That says that there’s real wonderful happenings here. … There’s just no doubt about it: There’s something great happening in culinary here at Penn College. I want to be here just to continue to see what’s gonna happen next!”

Campers Smile Their Way Toward Another School Year

When a lack of sun scuttled plans for Solar-Powered S'mores, the crowd moved inside the Field House ...

... for that joyously obvious camp favorite: dodgeball!

With a concrete canvas stretched before them, campers and their student assistants join forces on an expansive piece of self-expression.

The beauty of campus surrounds the Field House, "home base" for Camp ESCAPE's varied schedule of activities.

Sidewalk bonding, Boys of Summer-style

As the calendar and the back-to-school ads conspire to remind us, summer has entered the home stretch. But, oh, what a summer it has been for youngsters enrolled in Penn College’s Camp ESCAPE! Offering seven weeks of field trips, crafts, cooking, games and all manner of other seasonal fun, the popular camp ended this week – but not before one of PCToday’s most accomplished observers lent her artful eye to the proceedings.
Photos by Tia G. La, student photographer

Penn College Summer Commencement to Take Place Aug. 5

Penn College’s Summer 2017 Commencement is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.

Nearly 250 students have petitioned to graduate in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Summer 2017 Commencement ceremony, scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Community Arts Center.

The student speaker for the ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m., is Michael Raymond Harer, of Williamsport, who will be awarded an Associate of Applied Science in surgical technology. He will be presented with the Surgical Technology Outstanding Academic Achievement Award before commencement. Harer will be employed as a surgical technologist with UPMC Susquehanna following graduation.

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Antique Autos Motor Onto Campus During Regional Road Trip

Passing beneath a fitting banner, antique cars enter a campus at which the past is prologue.

Collision repair instructor Roy H. Klinger (with microphone) and automotive restoration technology student Teague W. Ohl, of Cogan Station, offer a hands-on demonstration in CAL.

Le Jeune Chef and Les Voitures Anciennes blend at the center of campus.

Part of the group venture to the library, where a pair of museum pieces – "Herbie," the Disney icon, and an 1899 Winton Phaeton – catch their collective eye.

Vintage Tour 2017 follows a scenic route to remember.

The Antique Automobile Club of America’s “Waterfalls, Mountains and Valleys” five-day tour of the Twin Tiers included a Friday stop at Penn College, home to one of the country’s few automotive restoration majors. About 100 drivers in 50 vintage vehicles converged on main campus to visit Madigan Library and College Avenue Labs and enjoy lunch before hitting the open road again.
First two photos by Becky J. Shaner, manager of student/alumni engagement and special events

Summer: An Open Season for Experiential Learning

Campers savor their summer experience.

While many of their compatriots enjoyed family vacations and time away from school, hundreds of curious young women and men from eight states and Washington, D.C., recently explored Penn College’s unique “degrees that work” during a series of fun, interactive and hands-on summer camps.

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Baseball Fans Score a Double at Camp ESCAPE

Campers cross the river for some interactive (and educational) Little League fun.

Crosscutters pitcher Kyle Young (left) and catcher James Lovett (since traded to the Arizona League's Seattle Mariners club) talk with campers in the college Field House ...

... and get in on the action at the makeshift ballpark.

Week Four of Penn College’s Camp ESCAPE carried a definite baseball theme,  featuring a trip to the World of Little League: Peter J. McGovern Museum in South Williamsport and a visit from two Williamsport Crosscutters. There are three more weeks of the camp, which includes a variety of field trips, cooking projects, games, and activities for youngsters aged 6-14.
Photos by Jeremy R. Bottorf, coordinator of intramural sports and campus recreation

STEM Careers Take Flight With SMART Girls

With the help of the Carnegie Science Center’s Mobile Fab Lab, Penn College’s SMART Girls program recently introduced 40 high schoolers to enriching careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The girls met the Quadcopter Challenge as they designed and built their own quadcopters to navigate an obstacle course. That process and related activities opened their eyes to vocational possibilities, flouting the “ridiculous” convention that young women lack the interest or ability to succeed in STEM fields. “If they just ignore those cultural norms of whatever they should be doing or anything like that, they are going to be doing what they are supposed to be doing, which is designing machinery, doing biomechanical engineering, doing mechanical engineering,” said Jon Doctorick, the mobile laboratory’s education coordinator.