News about College Transitions

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation has made an Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program contribution that will cover fees for 15 high schools and career and technology centers that are participating in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s dual enrollment program, Penn College NOW.

The Penn College Foundation is approved as an Educational Improvement Organization under EITC, which is administered by the state Department of Community & Economic Development.

Penn College NOW enables academically qualified high school and career and technology center students to take tuition-free courses for college credit. Last year, 1,701 students earned 6,893 credits valued at more than $3.8 million through Penn College NOW.

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A new $200,000 gift from The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation of Harrisburg brings the foundation’s total scholarship support to Pennsylvania College of Technology students to more than $3 million.

The scholarship endowment, the largest at Penn College, provides student recipients with $5,000 per year for up to four years.

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First National Bank, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation, is donating $8,000 to Pennsylvania College of Technology to assist with Penn College NOW, a dual enrollment program.

The FNB donation is being made through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program administered by the state Department of Community & Economic Development. The Penn College Foundation is approved as an Educational Improvement Organization under EITC.

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PPL Electric Utilities is donating $8,000 through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program to Pennsylvania College of Technology in support of Penn College NOW, a dual enrollment program.

The Penn College Foundation is approved as an Educational Improvement Organization under the EITC program administered by the state Department of Community & Economic Development.

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Despite canceling the May 18 tours and hands-on workshops that are part of the traditional twice-yearly Career Day that Pennsylvania College of Technology hosts for middle school and high school students, the College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office provided a “Career Day – The Virtual Way” resource for Pennsylvania K-12 educators to share with their students.

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SEKISUI SPI, a Bloomsburg-based thermoplastics company, sponsored three days of opportunity for young learners to experiment with polymers via a visit from the Society of Plastics Engineers’ PlastiVan. PlastiVan educator Elizabeth Egan talked with Penn College NOW students from seven high schools who visited over two days. Penn College NOW is the college’s nationally accredited dual-enrollment program, which provides Penn College classes to high school students in their schools, where they receive both high school and college credit for the courses. While on campus, Egan taught the high school students about the history, chemistry and uses of plastic through fun experiments. The students also toured the college’s plastics education facilities, where they interacted with faculty and students, and the campus. The PlastiVan also spent a day at the annual Science Festival on campus Wednesday.

More than 1,500 fifth-graders from local and regional school districts took part in Wednesday’s ninth annual Science Festival at Penn College, encouraged by presenters, sponsors and vendors to dive hands-first into a sea of possibility. Inquisitive girls and boys witnessed a variety of campus demonstrations in Klump Academic Center, Bardo Gymnasium and the Field House during the day, exploring the fertile fields of science, technology, engineering and math. In addition to enlightening the youngsters in attendance, the event – a precursor to an evening session for families – generated front-page coverage in Thursday’s Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology, Lycoming College and the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce invite area elementary and middle schools and their families to a hands-on Science Festival in the Penn College Field House on Wednesday, March 4.

The festival, scheduled 5 to 8 p.m., is intended to make learning fun and features activities designed to spark excitement about science, math, engineering and technology.

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Middle school and high school educators got a close-up view of the offerings at Penn College on Friday, courtesy of the College & Career Readiness Conference, hosted by the college’s College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office. The educators, many of them school counselors who serve as an important resource for students as they consider their futures, toured Penn College’s academic facilities and attended sessions geared toward middle school educators, high school educators, and the skills gap in advanced manufacturing.

Career Day brought hundreds of ninth-12th graders to campus on Thursday to explore more than 30 activities offered by employees and students to help high-schoolers learn about the wide variety of career options available to them. The event is coordinated by the College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office.

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Students this week took note of Penn College’s place in the global community, from cultural celebration to international study. Tuesday’s Hispanic Heritage Dinner, a collaboration of Student Engagement and Dining Services in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15), filled Capitol Eatery with authentic cuisine and live music. On Wednesday, in a Global Experiences Expo facilitated by College Transitions & First Year Initiatives, faculty and students who have traveled abroad answered questions outside the Keystone Dining Room about their experiences.
Photos by Juvy A. Orillaza, student photographer

The National Science Foundation recently rewarded Pennsylvania College of Technology’s commitment to tomorrow’s cybersecurity workforce by extending a grant for an additional year.

The grant – “Improving the Pipeline: After-School Model for Preparing Cyber Defense and Information Assurance Professionals” – facilitates interaction between information technology faculty and high school students to introduce rewarding career possibilities in cybersecurity.

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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.

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More than 400 high school students, all enrolled in Penn College classes at their respective high school or career and technology center, visited campus on Friday. A visit to campus is a required part of every course offered through the college’s Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program. The program offers Penn College classes at more than 50 partner secondary-education facilities throughout the state. College Transitions and First Year Initiatives hosts visits for participating schools throughout the year. To ensure that courses offered through Penn College NOW maintain the same rigor as those offered on campus, secondary teachers work with Penn College faculty liaisons who train them to teach the course curriculum, visit each school at least once a year, and grade high school students’ final projects. In addition to hosting Penn College NOW student visits – including a March 19 trip, also documented in this photo gallery – College Transitions and First Year Initiatives conducts frequent group visits for other secondary students, providing college and career exploration, including a campus tour. On April 2, Lycoming Career and Technology Center plans to bring 200 students to campus for sessions with Career Services, the Academic Success Center and more.

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Five area school districts who have students taking Penn College courses through the Penn College NOW dual enrollment program brought students to campus to gain a lesson in polymer chemistry from the Society of Plastics Engineers’ PlastiVan. They also toured the college’s plastics and polymer facilities. Feb. 19 brought a visit from the Jersey Shore High School and Sullivan County Middle School – which also attended a special session exploring personality types – and on Feb. 22, students from Montoursville Area High School, Central Mountain High School and Troy Middle School visited. The PlastiVan’s visit was sponsored by Sekisui SPI.