News about Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications

Students’ Africa-influenced art featured at CAC

A work by John A. Gondy, of Glenmoore, enrolled in residential construction technology and management: architectural technology concentration

On display through Dec. 22

Abstract artistry by Nowell H. Covington, a construction management student from Benton

Stabley's craftsmanship

Inspired by African tribal masks, artwork by students in wood sculpture classes taught by Penn College art faculty David A. Stabley and Brian A. Flynn is on display at the Community Arts Center through Dec. 22. Each student delivered a presentation and made sketches, then created a small-scale model in clay or Plasticine. They then hand-carved their masks out of pine blocks with mallets, gouges and rasps, encouraged by faculty to incorporate the principles of form, texture, color and pattern into their abstract designs.

Early Educators Club shares holiday warmth with YWCA residents

From left: Students Rebecca L. Helminiak, Williamsport, and Rachel L. Hafer, Boyertown; Dawn Linn, YWCA chief exectuive officer; Amy Rutherford, Liberty House case manager; student Leigh A. McCarty, Williamsport; and Anna Thompson, the YWCA's communications and development director.

Overflowing gift baskets, bound for local YWCA residents, surround the facility's tree.

Students from Penn College’s Early Educators Club made the holidays brighter for residents of the YWCA Northcentral Pennsylvania, delivering more than 20 laundry baskets brimming with donations. Members filled each basket with a blanket, various hygiene items, gloves and children’s toys.
Photos provided

After a splash of winter, an overdue celebration of fall

An art project marks the season.

The busy-ness of families at play

Bonding in the food line

Photo props add to the fun ...

... but who's that hiding behind the mask?

Two weeks after it was postponed by snow, an autumn festival recently filled the Dunham Children’s Learning Center with sunshine and smiles. Parents helped their children make turkey “Thank you” cards, and children fashioned their own masks to wear into a photo booth that was added for the occasion. Early childhood education students Ophelia G. Arnold, of New Oxford, and Rachel L. Hafer, of Boyertown, assisted with the crafts.
Photos by Rachel A. Eirmann, student photographer

Emergency management instructor honored for advocacy

David E. Bjorkman

David E. Bjorkman, instructor of emergency management/social science at Pennsylvania College of Technology, was honored by the Keystone Emergency Management Association at its inaugural Emergency Preparedness Conference, held recently at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona.

Bjorkman received the Spirit of KEMA Award. The award was established by the KEMA Board of Directors to recognize KEMA members who have worked tirelessly to advance the association, promote its mission, advocate on its behalf and forge partnerships that seek to elevate the emergency management profession.

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Students bring societal crisis down to personal level

Applied human services majors LaTricia M. Scutching (left), of Plymouth Meeting, and Estee E. McLaughlin, of Muncy, stand before a treeful of encouraging and motivational messages.

Seth Fredericks, a certified recovery specialist with the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission, shares his personal journey and his professional experience.

Student organizers, in T-shirts of advocacy and outreach, command the floor.

Morgan L. Keller, of Shermans Dale, invited mother Stacy to the event that her class so diligently planned.

Among the presenters is Lycoming County President Judge Nancy L. Butts, who, with her colleagues on the bench, effects a coordinated court response.

Human services students at Penn College collaborated on a successful opioid awareness event Saturday night in Penn’s Inn, invoking positivity and compassion in helping the community understand dependency’s insidious impact. PCT HOPE, organized by the Service Learning in Sociology class in cooperation with the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission, aimed to “Help Open People’s Eyes” through accessibility and lack of judgment. “I feel we succeeded at spreading awareness, hope and empathy in a unique way that I don’t think has been attempted here in Williamsport before,” applied human services major Jernae A. Drummond said. DJ Choices (Bryon Carey, a board-certified recovery specialist) donated his time to the effort; Lycoming College alumna Kaitlin Lunger screened “No Limits, No Boundaries,” her documentary about three local individuals – a recovering addict, an addict’s daughter and a Williamsport Bureau of Police officer – dealing with opioid abuse; and the class presented an interactive exhibit that put a human face on addiction and its scope. “I thought the students did a fantastic job,” said D. Robert Cooley, associate professor of anthropology/environmental science. “The event was polished, flowed well, and did a great job of engaging visitors with resources, information and personal stories on the part of the presenters.”
Photos by Rachel A. Eirmann, student photographer

Silenced voices echo through survivor’s search for ‘normal’

The emergency management technology student fields a question from the audience.

An emergency management technology major who is a survivor of last year’s Las Vegas shooting shared her story with fellow Pennsylvania College of Technology students and faculty Monday night in the Student & Administrative Services Center’s Presentation Room.

Emergency management, human services, nursing and emergency medical services/paramedic students were among those who listened intently and respectfully to Robyn N. Wolfe’s harrowing story. Her husband, William “Bill” Wolfe Jr., was the sole Pennsylvania fatality in the horrific mass shooting that claimed 58 lives and injured more than 800 people.

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Human services students see firsthand example of civic impact

Human services students and their chaperones gather outside the Hazleton One Community Center.

Human services students and faculty engaged in an enlightening educational outing on Friday with a visit to the Hazleton One Community Center, which was launched by Hazleton native and beloved Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon.

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Future-seekers meet their match at Fall Open House

Savoring an autumn outing and academic exploration

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.

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Human services students host ‘HOPE’ opioid awareness event

Preparing for their opioid awareness event, PCT HOPE, students in the Service Learning in Sociology class work together in The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College.

Human services students at Pennsylvania College of Technology are inviting the campus community and the public to attend “PCT HOPE,” a unique opioid awareness event to be held Saturday, Nov. 10, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Penn’s Inn on the second floor of the Bush Campus Center.

Standing for “Help Open People’s Eyes,” the PCT HOPE gathering aims to “humanize the local opioid epidemic.” The event is an outreach effort by students in the college’s Service Learning in Sociology class and is being organized in cooperation with the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission.

PCT HOPE will feature an interactive mural, speakers, information booths and giveaways. A “reaction tree,” where guests can post stories and their responses to the event, will also be a key feature – and one symbolizing growth.

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Book chat probes personal impact of global conflict

Zimmerman leads the discussion of Barry's acclaimed book ...

... which he said lends "a human face to what occurred in Ireland in World War I."

Chappo, assistant professor of history/history of technology, listens to a guest's observation.

A book club intimately convened Monday night in Madigan Library’s second-floor reading loft, where Tom Zimmerman, associate professor of psychology, led a review of Sebastian Barry’s “A Long Long Way.” Community members and college employees (active and retired) attended the collaborative exploration of the World War I novel, which heralds the next event in Penn College’s Technology and Society Colloquia Series. Summing up the evening, Zimmerman said: “We spent a full two hours discussing a range of topics both within and contextually related to Barry’s novel, including character development, poetic prose, the introduction of barbed wire and mustard gas in warfare (and the horrors both produced), conscription versus persuasive recruitment messaging, contributing economic and religious dynamics in Western Europe during the era, a reluctant W. B. Yeats who resisted composing a WWI poem in 1915 but penned a masterpiece in 1916 immortalizing the leaders of the Irish Rising, and, most importantly, the journey of the main character Willie Dunne as he and Ireland lose their innocence.” Several groups of students – including John F. Chappo’s Technology & Society (HIS262) and American History (HIS136) classes – were assigned the book this semester.

Morgan Foundation grant pushes scholarship fund past $1 million

A second gift of $500,000 from the Tamaqua-based John E. Morgan Foundation has boosted an endowed scholarship fund at Pennsylvania College of Technology to more than $1 million.

The John E. Morgan Scholarship gives first preference to graduates of Tamaqua Area High School who are pursuing “a degree that is not readily available from other institutions, at a comparable price, within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Examples of such programs offered at Penn College include, but are not limited to, culinary arts and systems, web and interactive media, building science and sustainable design, health information management, industrial design, plastics and polymer engineering technology, emergency management technology, and aviation maintenance technology.

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Start building a Penn College future at Oct. 28 Open House

The Madigan Library (left) and Bush Campus Center are two of the facilities that visitors to Pennsylvania College of Technology may tour during Fall Open House on Sunday, Oct. 28.

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.

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Weeklong celebration puts focus on CLC’s daily importance

Everyone's favorite mascot pays a visit to the Children's Learning Center.

Through a variety of activities this past week, Penn College’s nationally accredited Dunham Children’s Learning Center celebrated the services and support it offers to youngsters, families and the campus community. The center, which also serves as a learning laboratory for early childhood education students, joined its counterparts across the country in observing National Campus Children’s Centers Week (Oct. 8-12).

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Manhattan exhibition to feature Penn College professor’s art

David M. Moyer

Three works of art created by a graphic design faculty member at Pennsylvania College of Technology will be exhibited in Manhattan during November.

Wood engravings crafted by David M. Moyer, assistant professor of graphic design, have been selected for inclusion in “The Print Effect: Small Works/Big Impact” at Manhattan Graphics Center, 250 W. 40th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues in New York’s artistic garment district.

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Economics professor presents at state conference

Abdul B. Pathan

Abdul B. Pathan, professor of economics at Pennsylvania College of Technology, presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Economics Association, held recently at Penn State Altoona.

Pathan’s paper, “Make Principles of Economics Class Interesting to Your Students,” explored live demonstrations involving various economics topics and explained the need for utilizing diverse techniques in lecture delivery.

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Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State