News about Students

Alexanders Donate Model T to Automotive Restoration Program

Aubrey Alexander (front row, left) and brother Adam (front row, right) deliver a 1926 Ford Model T to students and faculty outside College Avenue Labs, home to Penn College’s automotive restoration and collision repair majors.

A 1926 Ford Model T, traded to Alexander Nissan in 2013 by its Picture Rocks owner, has been passed on to Pennsylvania College of Technology students for use in a variety of automotive labs.

Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships donated the historic vehicle that was recently offloaded onto main campus, accompanied by brothers Adam and Aubrey Alexander.

“We appreciate this gift to our automotive restoration program from the Alexanders. In addition to value for our students in their curricular work, it serves as a way to engage prospective students in the restoration major,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “Our goal is to foster the interest in antique cars and the restoration industry among young people.”

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This Week’s Makerspace Topic: 3D Printing, Scanning

3D printing and scaningWeekly trainings at The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College continue Thursday with instruction on use of a 3D printer and scanner. The demonstrations will be from 5-6 p.m. in Room 104 of the Carl Building Technologies Center. No reservations are required for the sessions, which run through Nov. 15 (with the exception of Oct. 18).
Next week: polystyrene models

Five Employers Coming to Penn College This Week to Meet You!

Five employers, looking for students and alumni in majors that span four of Penn College’s six academic schools, have scheduled information sessions this week:

For more information, check out Career Services’ flyer: Employers Visiting Campus

Journey to the Winner’s Circle: Kentucky Derby Is a Culinary Marathon for Students

Culinary arts and systems student Jacob W. Parobek, of Seltzer, joins classmates to watch the storied Kentucky Derby from a rainy rooftop.

On Wednesday, three days before the Derby, students, from left, Bridget M. Callahan, of Pottsville; Bailey L. Frey, of Watsontown; Bethany R. Taylor, of Moosic; and Stephanie C. Myers, of Catawissa, step away from the kitchens to take in the world-famous track.

From the Fall 2018 Penn College Magazine: Penn College writer/video editor Tom Speicher embedded with hospitality students as they traveled to the 2018 Kentucky Derby. For a quarter century, Penn College students have joined the Derby’s culinary team. Read “Journey to the Winners’ Circle.”

Civil-Rights Documentary to Launch ‘Constitution Week’

"Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot"Constitution Week kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Monday with a showing of a civil-rights documentary in Penn College’s Bush Campus Center. “Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot,” relating the nonviolent March 1965 battle to win voting rights for African-Americans, will be shown in Penn’s Inn. The 40-minute documentary tells of a courageous group of students and teachers who marched 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, achieving one of the most significant victories of its era. The screening will be preceded by a brief overview of the civil-rights timeline from 1868 to 1965 and followed by small group discussions facilitated by faculty members from the School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications: Katrina A. Sinclair, assistant professor of humanities; John F. Chappo, assistant professor of history/history of technology; and Craig A. Miller, assistant professor of history/political science. The full Constitution Week schedule, which includes daily opportunities for voter registration at convenient campus locations, is available here: Constitution Week 2018

Memorial Blood Drive Among Donor-Recruitment Successes

Mindy J. Colony, first-shift custodian, and Charles J. Stopper, carpenter/maintenance worker, pay valuable tribute to their late friend and GS co-worker during a blood drive in his honor. (Photo by Carl L. Shaner)

Donors were in the spotlight at two recent Bush Campus Center events: a Sept. 5-6 blood drive in memory of Patrick M. Breen, a longtime General Services employee who died June 25 at the age of 58, and a Sept. 5 “Be the Match” effort to find compatible volunteers for bone-marrow donations or cord-blood transfusions.

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Forestry Students Tour Pallet Company

Don Remmey provides an overview of his pallet-making operation for Penn College forestry students ...

... and takes them on a tour of the manufacturing floor.

Instructor Erich R. Doebler’s Forest Products class visited Remmey, The Pallet Company, in Beaver Springs on Monday, gaining firsthand insight into secondary manufacturing and use of low-grade product. Owner Don Remmey provided a tour of the facility, explained the process, and discussed with the class the tribulations of manufacturing products for domestic and international transport. “It was a great opportunity to see potential employment for the students,” said Doebler (who also provided the photos), “and also a way for students to see where the low-grade lumber is utilized here in Pennsylvania.” Remmey manufactures and produces about 2.2 million pallets each year out of its Beaver Springs and Lehighton plants.

From Workout to ‘Light’s Out’

Worthing (left), of New Brighton, and Josh E. Rosenberger, of Chambersburg, show off their Outdoor Weekend accommodations.

The first full week of September – and the final days of “PC3,” which annually welcomes fall with a stream of activity – invited students to commune with nature, explore their surroundings, share their heritage and make some noise! Among the events on the busy, busy calendar were the Glow Pound Party and Multicultural Lawn Party in the Field House, First Friday in downtown Williamsport, and the second annual Outdoor Weekend at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center.

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Surgical Technology Board Exam Pass Rate Beats National Average

Penn College student Anna G. Thompson, of Mount Carmel, practices assisting with a laparoscopic surgery in the college’s mock operating room. Over 91 percent of the college’s August surgical technology graduates passed the national certification exam for surgical technologists on their first attempt.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s 2018 surgical technology graduates passed the national Certified Surgical Technologist Examination on their first attempt with a 91.67 percent pass rate, which far exceeds the national average. The group of 12 graduated in August and took the exam the same month.

The Certified Surgical Technologist exam is conducted by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting.

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Local Walkers Part of National Movement to Fight Suicide

Walkers, many of them clad in Wildcat blue, fill the Penn College mall during 2017’s Ouf of the Darkness event. (Photo by Rachel A. Eirmann, student photographer)

Hundreds of people from throughout Williamsport are anticipated to take part in the 10th annual Greater Lycoming Out of the Darkness Community Walk hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Central Pennsylvania chapter and Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The event will be at Penn College on Saturday, Sept. 15, with registration starting at 4 p.m. and the 90-minute walk at 5.

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Newscast Features Students’ Work on Veterans Memorial

Papa tells the story in front of a group of Penn College students who just completed their work for the morning.

Luse displays plans for the project for WNEP photographer Tom Durant.

WNEP-TV reporter Kristina Papa spent Friday morning with a group of Penn College students whose class project honors the ultimate sacrifice. Approximately 25 masonry, site preparation and concrete students are working three days a week in helping to construct a wall of monuments at Veterans Memorial Park in Williamsport. The memorial will honor those who served in wars prior to World War I. Papa’s story includes interviews with building construction technology students Ian R. Myers, of Morrisdale, and Kurtis J. Klodnicki, of Danville, as well as instructors Harry W. Hintz and Glenn R. Luse.
Photos by Tom Speicher, writer/video editor

Opportunity Knocks, Indoors and Out

Part-time jobs, internships and co-ops are on the table

Penn College’s Part-Time Job Fair and Fall Fusion returned this week in and around the Field House, giving students a chance to interact with more than 100 potential employers and campus/community organizations. A near-record number of students registered for Tuesday’s conveniently combined events – 527, according to the official count provided by Dana R. Suter, Career Services’ assistant director.

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Penn College Awards Its First ROTC Scholarship

Kurt M. Maly, of Effort, is the first recipient of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Army ROTC First-Year Scholarship. He is flanked by Lt. Col. Jonathon M. Britton, professor of military science for Bald Eagle Battalion Army ROTC, and Carolyn R. Strickland, vice president for enrollment management and associate provost at the college.

Kurt M. Maly, of Effort, is the initial recipient of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Army ROTC First-Year Scholarship. The award covers tuition for Maly’s freshman year.

“We are proud to offer this scholarship for incoming ROTC students,” said Carolyn R. Strickland, vice president for enrollment management and associate provost at Penn College. “For several years, ROTC students at the college have distinguished themselves in and out of the classroom. We have every expectation that Kurt will continue that tradition.”

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There’s Plenty to See During ‘PC3’

A picture paints a thousand words ... and a couple of campus friends.

“PC3,” an event-studded kickoff to a new school year, has again provided students with a full schedule of activities by which to make friends and break from the rigor of academic assignments. Among the entertainment of recent days: a Paint Party on the PDC lawn, an outdoor movie on a cozy quad, an evening with the Williamsport Crosscutters in a historic off-campus venue, and a Field House dodgeball tournament among teams from Penn College’s First Year Experience classes.

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Corvette Club Initiates Another Scholarship Fund at Penn College

Members of the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club deliver a scholarship check and join the four latest Penn College students to receive awards from the fund. From left are Ray Harmon; students Jordan W. Boop, of Williamsport, and Logan K. VanBlargan, of Bloomsburg; Kim Walker; students Alex H. Romas, of Collegeville, and Brady K. Collins, of Catawissa; Al Clapps, chair of the club’s car show committee; Bill Alsted; Paul Butters; Jim Campbell; Dave Cappa; Ed Moore and Jack McDermott.

Students in a variety of automotive and collision repair majors at Pennsylvania College of Technology will be eligible for financial assistance from a second scholarship fund established by the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club.

Annual awards from the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund will be made to first-year students enrolled full time in the college’s automotive technology, automotive service sales and marketing, collision repair technology, or automotive restoration technology major.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special mission affiliate of The Pennsylvania State University