News about Students

Advice from industry partners led to the creation of the Human Services & Restorative Justice Coffee & Conversation series this past semester at Pennsylvania College of Technology, and plans are underway to continue the initiative in the fall. Hosting three speakers across three months of Spring 2022, the sessions provided candid conversations on hot topics impacting the HSJ field.

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A group of Penn College students, visiting three distinct regions of Italy to study their hospitality culture, were the subject of a May 24 article in Italian online news publication Estense.com. “Estense” is the Italian term for people from Ferrara, in northern Italy. The publication featured the students’ visit to a farmers market in the city. Local representatives talked with students about the market; how it facilitates the use of fresh, in-season foods and a short supply chain; and typical products of the region, including rice, pasta, sugar, garlic, wine, cold cuts, Ferrara peanuts and rice biscuits. The students are enrolled in a study abroad course titled Global Food & Hospitality: Cuisine, Culture and Perspectives, taught by Chef Mary G. Trometter, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts. Watch PCToday for more about the trip (and other college-sanctioned Global Experiences).

​More than 400 prospective students and their guests attended Wednesday’s first Open House of the summer season, which featured weather as warm as the welcome they received from accommodating faculty and staff. Attendees got an informative “sneak peek” at what awaits Penn College’s Tomorrow Makers, including tours of instructional space and various aspects of student life. Visit the Admissions Office to register for one of the season’s remaining Open Houses: Sunday, June 26; Saturday, July 23; and Friday, July 29.
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Student life is about so much more than hands-on learning and late-night study sessions. As much as Wildcats love their labs, they also enjoy relaxing with friends. A fast-paced 72-second video offers a glimpse of what it’s store at Penn College on any given day: from dog hugs to disc golf … hoops to hatchets … and a jam-packed calendar of campus events.

The Spring 2022 dean’s list has been issued at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

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Haley M. Kalvin-Gold, who earned an associate degree in architectural technology during the spring semester, is profiled in a new video posted to WVIA’s “Careers That Work” playlist. Kalvin-Gold, an architectural technician with Anthony H. Visco Jr. Architects in Williamsport, takes viewers through a day in the life of a drafter – a career that supports architecture, civil engineering, electrical work, manufacturing and construction.

“We do a range of things,” says Kalvin-Gold, who will return to campus in the fall in pursuit of a bachelor’s in building science and sustainable design: architectural technology concentration. “From projects and visits and field measuring to drafting, modeling in 3D and 2D, and creating hand sketches.”

Visco, who also appears in the video, earned his associate degree in architectural technology from Penn College predecessor Williamsport Area Community College and is a member of the School of Engineering Technologies’ Architectural Technology Advisory Committee.

More than 40 Pennsylvania College of Technology students obtained valuable industry certifications related to engineering design in 2021-22, including one student who became the first in school history to earn certified SolidWorks expert status.

Benson P. Weaver, an engineering design technology major from Lititz, passed four advanced topic tests (sheet metal, drawing tools, surfacing and weldments) before successfully completing the most challenging SolidWorks exam: Certified SolidWorks Expert in Mechanical Design.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology recently welcomed its fourth annual class of student-athletes into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society: 23 inductees representing nine teams, 14 distinct majors and an average GPA of 3.64.

“Induction into Chi Alpha Sigma is a distinctive recognition of the exceptional gifts, talents, skills and positive energy our student-athletes bring to our campus, classrooms and contests,” said Tom Zimmerman, chapter adviser and faculty athletic representative. “We are honored and proud to recognize them and their achievements.”

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For a decade, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team has placed among the nation’s elite in grueling endurance races. After Baja SAE Tennessee Tech, the team reigns supreme.

Penn College topped a 72-car field in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Sunday to win the endurance race for the first time, besting the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Cornell, Rochester Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Auburn and Texas A&M. The four-hour race, consisting of rugged terrain and tight turns, is Baja SAE’s marquee event.

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Two Pennsylvania College of Technology students were the first to take the National Center for Aerospace & Transportation Technologies/ASTM International examinations at the college’s Lumley Aviation Center, obtaining certifications that reflect recent adjustments to the college’s four-year aviation maintenance technology major to more closely align with industry standards.

Teagan M. Low, a junior from Richmond, Vermont, and Kevin Pradel, of Bloomfield, New Jersey, who graduated May 14, were the first two students to take the NCATT/ASTM examinations under the college’s recent authorization to administer the testing on-site. (Prior to receipt of that permission, students needed to search for an external facility authorized to conduct the testing.)

Both were successful, earning the basic certification (Aircraft Electronics Technician), the Radio Communication systems endorsement and the Dependent Navigation Systems endorsement. Pradel went on to pass an additional test, by which he earned the Autonomous Navigation Systems endorsement.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology has chosen Neslihan “Nesli” Alp as its vice president for academic affairs and provost, the highest-ranking academic officer at the institution, a special mission affiliate of Penn State.

The Penn College Board of Directors approved the selection of Alp at a special meeting today. Her starting date is expected to be Aug. 1. She succeeds Michael J. Reed, who is set to become the college’s new president on July 1, following the retirement of Davie Jane Gilmour, who retires June 30 after 24 years as president.

Since 2018, Alp has been at Indiana State University, where she has served as dean and professor for the 2,000-student College of Technology. In that role, she led five departments, the Flight Academy, and Air Force and Army ROTC, overseeing 80 faculty and 20 staff.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology held three ceremonies May 13-14 for the nearly 750 students who petitioned to graduate at the end of the Spring 2022 semester – the last of 135 commencement exercises to be held under President Davie Jane Gilmour. “My life is better for all of the students I’ve dealt with, interacted with, shook hands with for the last 24 years,” said the president, who is retiring June 30. “I am so proud of you and what you’ve done, and I want you to remember one thing: If you make yourself proud every day, then we will be Penn College Proud. And no matter where you go or what you do, you will always have a home at Penn College.” Bittersweet and joyful, nostalgic and raucous (with cowbells, air horns and confetti cannons), it truly offered moments to cherish, and not just for the 20,000th graduate to cross the stage and receive one-on-one congratulations.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology has presented student achievement awards to its Spring 2022 graduates. 

Nearly 750 students petitioned to graduate at the conclusion of the spring semester, and three commencement ceremonies were held May 13-14 at the Community Arts Center. Penn College is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University. 

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A building construction technology student is Pennsylvania College of Technology’s first graduate in its alliance with The Brook J. Lenfest Foundation Inc., which funded a $1.8 million scholarship program for underserved populations from the commonwealth’s southeastern neighborhoods. The distinction belongs to Isaiah S. Robinson, of Philadelphia, who received his associate degree during commencement exercises on May 14 and will begin working in the field the following week.

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It was meant to be the somewhat routine continuation of a 25-year campus ritual, President Davie Jane Gilmour’s proud presentation of Penn College Awards to kick off the commencement weekend that hectically (yet happily) ends the spring semester.

The awards were first distributed in 1997 to recognize graduating students who have made outstanding contributions to Pennsylvania College of Technology through their involvement in campus life, the leadership positions that they have held and the service that they have provided to the college community.

But the opening remarks from Elliott Strickland Jr., vice president for student affairs – who billed this season’s event as “an evening of astonishing stories” – held a curveball that would both respect and redefine that enduring tradition.

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