College Transitions

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Families invited to Science Festival on Feb. 21

Local businesses, colleges and other organizations will provide fun, hands-on STEM activities for elementary and middle school students during a Feb. 21 Science Festival in Penn College’s Field House. The free, public event is scheduled from 5-8 p.m.

Elementary and middle school students and their families are invited to a Science Festival on the Pennsylvania College of Technology campus on Thursday, Feb. 21.

The festival is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. in the college’s Field House and features hands-on activities designed to spark excitement about science, math, engineering and technology.

The Field House will be filled with fun activities and demonstrations presented by local organizations that include businesses, high school and college faculty and students, and the Society of Plastics Engineers’ PlastiVan. The event is intended to make learning fun.

College Transitions Events Faculty & Staff Students

Career Day focuses teens’ attention on tomorrow’s potential

Students from North Penn-Mansfield High School have fun with therapy tools in the occupational therapy assistant lab.

Approximately 600 students from high schools across the state attended Career Day on Thursday, trying their hands at Penn College’s “degrees that work.” Faculty, staff and several students, giving up time from the Fall Break, provided 34 options for tours, demonstrations and hands-on activities. In addition, employees, students and vendors engaged another 800 high-schoolers in “PA Build My Future” activities.

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Hundreds of secondary students attend PA Build My Future

Drilling five wood screws into a board, a student from Northern Tier Career Center attempts to “beat the clock” in a timed Pennsylvania Builder Association contest.

PA Build My Future – coordinated by Penn College’s Building Construction Technology Department, College Transitions, and the School of Construction & Design Technologies – hosted approximately 800 secondary students and their chaperones on campus Thursday. The day was designed to allow scores of businesses to engage the students through hands-on activities that display the breadth of opportunities in the construction and design industry, from skilled trades to management. Indoor exhibits were in the Carl Building Technologies Center, Hager Lifelong Education Center and Lycoming Engines Metal Trades Center; outdoor exhibits were offered on campus parking lots. WNEP’s Kristina Papa visited campus for the event, which is an outgrowth of a Homebuilding Education Leadership Program grant through the National Housing Endowment. Her report aired during Thursday evening newscasts, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

College Transitions Faculty & Staff

Seasoned Administrator Named to Dean Position at Penn College

Pennsylvania College of Technology has named Randy J. Zangara dean of college transitions and first year initiatives.

As dean, Zangara is responsible for coordinating and aligning first-year programs and services and the development of a collegewide retention plan. He also oversees the Penn College NOW dual enrollment program; K-12 outreach; new student testing, advising and scheduling; and recruitment and retention of identified populations, including veteran students. Additionally, he oversees all aspects of international programming at the college.

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PPL Gift Supports SMART Girls, Penn College NOW Programs

PPL Electric Utilities representatives Mary Baker (left), a forester for the company, and Tracie Witter, regional affairs director, gather with a team of campers who show off the robot they built during Penn College’s annual SMART Girls summer camp. PPL supported SMART Girls and the college’s dual-enrollment program through a $4,000 donation. Joining the group is Elizabeth A. Biddle (back row), director of corporate relations for the college.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s SMART Girls summer camp, which encourages high school-aged girls to continue challenging themselves in math and science at an age when many lose interest or confidence, convened last week.

Among supporters of the weeklong program was PPL Electric Utilities. PPL donated $4,000 to the college through the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. The funds are used to support both SMART Girls and the Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program.

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College Captures ‘Telly’ Award for Informational Video

A video promoting a program in which high school students earn college credit garnered honors for Pennsylvania College of Technology in the 39th annual Telly Awards competition, representing the best work from advertising agencies, television stations, production companies and publishers worldwide.

A Bronze Telly in the “Non-Broadcast – General-Information” category went to a news video titled “High Schoolers Earn Free College Credits with Penn College NOW,” which showcased the Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program.

College Transitions Events Faculty & Staff

Spring 2018 Career Day

A student from Midd-West Middle School prepares a mold in a session led by Franklin H. Reber that taught them to make concrete stepping stones.

The College Transitions Office hosted its Spring Career Day on Monday, welcoming 1,283 seventh- to ninth-graders from across northcentral Pennsylvania. Faculty provided more than 40 sessions in Penn College’s labs to help the visitors explore careers and learn about college expectations. Schools attending were Mifflin County Middle School, North Penn-Mansfield Jr./Sr. High School, Cowanesque Valley Junior-Senior High School, North Penn-Liberty Jr./Sr. High School, Milton Middle School, Midd-West Middle School, Jersey Shore Area Middle School and Canton High School.

College Transitions General Information

Penn College NOW Dual-Enrollment Program Reaccredited

Plastics and polymer engineering technology student Sapphire E. Naugle, who earned 18 Penn College credits while a student at Jersey Shore Area High School, leads a group of Central Mountain High School Penn College NOW students and others through the college’s rotational molding lab.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program – which provided $2.7 million of college credits free to Pennsylvania high school students in 2016-17 – received reaccreditation from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, the organization announced on May 2.

Penn College NOW was established by the college in 2005 to provide Penn College courses to high school students at their schools or career and technology centers. In 2011, it became the first dual-enrollment program in the state to receive accreditation from NACEP, the sole national accrediting body for concurrent-enrollment partnerships. Today only two Pennsylvania dual-enrollment programs are nationally accredited.

College Transitions Faculty & Staff

Administrator to Present at PDE Workshop on Student Retention

Paul R. Watson II, dean of academic success at Pennsylvania College of Technology, has been asked to speak at a Pennsylvania Department of Education workshop about best practices for a performance indicator related to student retention or transfer.

Watson will present at the Perkins Central Workshop, to be held April 11 in Harrisburg. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 was enacted to enhance the skills of secondary and postsecondary education students nationwide who enroll in career and technical education programs.

In his presentation, Watson will focus on Perkins performance indicator 3P1, which involves student retention and transfer. Penn College exceeded the statewide performance for the indicator.

College Transitions Events Faculty & Staff Students

Scientific Success STEMs From Childhood

"SolarQuest" brings our favorite life-sustaining fireball down to Earth.

The pre-spring thaw – 50-plus degrees in the middle of February – sent a veritable Fountain of Youth flowing through campus, as a series of events introduced area girls and boys to a variety of exciting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math activities. On Feb. 15, a Science Festival was held in Bardo Gym and the Field House; two days later, Girl Scouts gathered for a STEM event that included video-game design, and Boy Scouts attended a third annual Merit Badge College across campus.

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Feb. 15 Festival to Excite Young Minds About Science, Careers

A Science Festival, featuring fun, hands-on activities geared to elementary- and middle-school students and their families, is slated for Thursday, Feb 15, in the Pennsylvania College of Technology Field House.

The event, scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m., is offered free to the community by Penn College and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

The Field House will be filled with hands-on activities presented by local organizations that include businesses, high school students, college faculty and students, the Society of Plastics Engineers’ PlastiVan, and the Carnegie Science Center, of Pittsburgh. The event is intended to make learning fun and to stimulate children’s interest in math, science, and exciting careers in related fields.

College Transitions Corporate Relations General Information

First National Bank Gift Supports SMART Girls, Penn College NOW

First National Bank recently provided a gift supporting two Penn College educational programs that serve high school students. From left are Don Breon, assistant vice president/treasury management; Daniel Hooper, vice president/ market manager; and Craig Muthler, senior vice president/commercial banking. From the college are Kyle Smith, executive director of the Penn College Foundation, and Tanya Berfield, manager of college transitions.

Two educational programs that serve high school students will benefit from a recent gift from First National Bank to Pennsylvania College of Technology.

First National Bank representatives recently delivered a $10,000 gift that will help support the college’s SMART Girls and Penn College NOW programs. The contribution was made through Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.

Accounting & Finance Art and Graphic Design Automotive Baking, Pastry & Culinary Arts Building Construction Business & Hospitality College Transitions Construction & Design Technologies Dental Hygiene Electrical Electronics & Computer Engineering Technology Emergency Management Engineering Design Technology Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Nursing Nursing & Health Sciences Occupational Therapy Assistant Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies Welding

Thirteen Students Selected for Penn College NOW Scholarships

Penn College presented scholarships to 13 first-year students who took Penn College NOW courses. From left are Tavor T. Wadsworth, of Williamsport; Vincent R. Keene, of Downingtown; Kayley E. Johnson, of Bloomsburg; Monica A. McCarty, Penn College’s dual enrollment specialist; Michael L. Gardner, of Williamsport; Warren E. Knipe, of Liberty; and Tanya Berfield, the college’s manager of college transitions. Additional recipients not in the photo are: Cheyenne N. Greene, of Jersey Shore; Deontae Z. Johnson, of Selinsgrove; Kylee E. Kelley, of Lock Haven; Tyler W. Miller, of Montgomery; Luke B. Walter, of Millmont; Brittany M. Weiskopff, of Blossburg; Clayton T. Welch, of Benton; and Jeremy M. Wolfgang, of Allenwood.

Pennsylvania College of Technology recently recognized 13 first-year students who received Penn College NOW scholarships.

The recipients completed Penn College courses during high school as part of the college’s Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. The group was honored during an Oct. 27 reception.

To be eligible, students must have successfully completed at least one Penn College NOW course, have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in Penn College NOW classes, enroll in Penn College as a full-time freshman student for the fall semester after high school graduation, and maintain a 2.5 GPA at Penn College as an enrolled student.

College Transitions Faculty & Staff

Administrator Named to Board of National Dual Enrollment Accreditor

Paul R. Watson II, dean of academic services and college transitions at Pennsylvania College of Technology, has been named to the board of directors of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.

Watson will chair the Governmental Relations Committee for the board. In that capacity, he will be responsible for developing and maintaining a positive image for concurrent enrollment programs and working to strengthen communication with policymaking federal and state governmental agencies.

NACEP, the sole accrediting body for concurrent enrollment partnerships, works to ensure that college courses offered by high school teachers are as rigorous as courses offered on the sponsoring college campus, sharing the latest knowledge about best practices, research and advocacy.

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‘Career Day’ Opens Doors of Exploration for Curious Teens

Automated manufacturing technology student Aren T. Way (right) of Jersey Shore, demonstrates an industrial-scale robot during a session on “Industrial Robotics, Hydraulics and Pneumatics, and CNC Machine Tools.”

More than 900 high schoolers, hailing from 28 school districts, spent Thursday on campus for the College Transitions Office’s Career Day. Faculty and students from all six of the college’s academic schools and all three campuses spent their Fall Break day off providing close to 50 career-exploration sessions for the visitors, exposing them to dozens of the college’s “degrees that work” offerings. A few of the districts traveled as much as two hours to attend. Among the highlights was a half-day session by the Penn College accounting, finance and business administration departments and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants that featured not only information about Penn College’s technology-laden degrees, but talks by guest speakers Michael Colgan, CEO of PICPA, and Joseph Siebert, president of PICPA, about future work in these fields as firms must protect clients’ financial information, and accountants can aid investigations via “forensic accounting.” Following the presentations and a Q&A with a panel of Penn College accounting and finance students, the 200 high school participants attended an etiquette lunch in the Field House.

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