Pennsylvania College of Technology was third in this year’s North Eastern Athletic Conference Presidents’ Cup rankings, the Wildcats’ highest finish since joining the conference in 2014.
Lancaster Bible College won the cup for the third straight year, while Keuka College finished second.
This is the fifth year that the NEAC has determined its Presidents’ Cup winner by utilizing the core values of NCAA Division III. In addition to calculating athletics success, which was the only factor taken into consideration when awarding the conference’s Presidents’ Cup in the past, the NEAC now also takes into account academics, sportsmanship and community service.
A partnership with Nationwide Insurance Co. has resulted in the loan of six damaged vehicles to Pennsylvania College of Technology’s collision repair labs.
The seeds of the agreement were planted a year ago, when the college’s Collision Repair Advisory Committee discussed the shortage of late-model cars for students’ hands-on instruction. Committee member Brian A. Moore, a Nationwide claims manager, immediately recognized the need and strategized with colleagues on how to meet it.
A public celebration of the life of Veronica M. Muzic – a life that included a half-century of devoted service to the college, its students and her co-workers – will be held from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27, in Penn College’s Student & Administrative Services Center.
The first 90 minutes will allow guests an opportunity for informal gathering and to visit “Veronica’s Garden” on the second floor, where a Williamsport Symphony Orchestra quartet will perform. Remarks will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by impromptu reminiscences from the floor. “Business casual” attire is suggested.
Muzic, who died June 18 at the age of 82, joined Williamsport Area Community College as an English instructor in 1968 and was awarded its first “Master Teacher” award in 1982. Her years of teaching and administrative leadership culminated in her retirement as vice president for academic affairs/provost, part-time service as a special assistant to the president and induction into the company of emeritus faculty members.
This summer, members of the Student Occupational Therapy Assistant Club at Pennsylvania College of Technology contributed their expertise to outfit a new play structure at the Lycoming County Sensory Garden.
A wooden “teepee” was added to the garden in 2018 by Montoursville Area High School junior Colton Ulmer as part of his Eagle Scout requirements. It is framed by debarked white pine poles, and walls are made of hemlock slabs. Working with input from garden volunteers, Ulmer planned the structure for easy accessibility by wheelchairs and with large windows that allow parents to see what’s happening inside. Ulmer’s work, completed with the help of 12 volunteers, took 283 man hours.
Pennsylvania College of Technology is this year’s recipient of the North Eastern Athletic Conference Senior Woman Administrators’ Cup, which annually recognizes community service completed by conference institutions.
The selection, announced Monday, marks the first individual cup for the Wildcats since Penn College joined the NEAC in 2014.
“I am incredibly proud of how the Penn College student-athletes and athletic department have embraced what community service is, and how else we can leave our mark besides just in competition,” said Jackie Klahold, the college’s Senior Woman Administrator and chair of the NEAC SWAs. “Four years ago, we began establishing ideals of what it means to be a Penn College Wildcat, knowing community service and giving back was a major part of our culture. Our student-athletes have continuously strived to not only challenge each other, but also explore the many different opportunities to better the surrounding community.”
Students gather around one of Geisinger’s Life Flight helicopters after it touches down on the library lawn.The Life Flight crew supervises as students strap a classmate onto a stretcher, detailing the protocol for loading a patient onto a helicopter.
Students in the emergency medical services and paramedic technology majors received a hands-on lesson in air ambulance operations when a Geisinger Life Flight crew landed one of the medical system’s nine helicopters on the Madigan Library lawn Tuesday. The crew taught the Penn College students about Life Flight services and safety protocols when on the scene of a medical helicopter landing. The experience was part of the course Operations and Rescue Practices for the Paramedic. During the summer course, students learn about crime scene awareness, medical incident command and emergency vehicle operations. With the help of area emergency professionals, they experience water rescue, vehicle rescue, rope rescue, confined-space rescue and more.
Natascha G. Santaella (center), a Connections Link (and applied management major) from Puerto Rico, places the safest bet of the summer: that incoming students will return home more prepared for their first semester at Penn College.The action heats up the summer night, as the Rose Street Commons courtyard is converted to a “Manhunt” arena.Comedian Michael Dean Ester, helping launch students’ dreams through years of Penn College orientation programs, keeps the tradition alive in Dauphin Hall.After a day of ice-breakers and information, Connections guests unwind with a video game in the lounge.
Penn College’s essential Connections program continues through the summer, giving students and their families a comprehensive summer entrée to the exciting new experiences – and the inevitable challenges – of campus life. Daytime programs help in navigating textbook purchases, meal plans and financial aid, while the evening gives way to less-stressful (but no less beneficial) pursuits. Photos by Tim Wegman, student photographer
A foundation promoting manufacturing careers awarded one-third of its recent scholarships to Pennsylvania College of Technology students.
A dozen Penn College students were among 36 nationwide who received manufacturing scholarships from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs. The scholarships, valued between $1,500 and $2,500, are for Fall 2019.
“I couldn’t be prouder,” said David R. Cotner, dean of Penn College’s School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies, which is home to the recipients’ majors. “To have the college dominate a national scholarship list speaks volumes about the quality of our students and our various academic programs.”
Nine students from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s SkillsUSA team earned medals in six categories – three silvers and three bronzes – during the National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 24-29.
“The students represented themselves and the college well, and it showed with the number of medals we returned home with,” said SkillsUSA adviser James N. Colton II, an assistant professor of welding. “I look forward to next year and the students that we will have competing.”
A building construction technology major at Pennsylvania College of Technology has received an Outstanding Student Award from the Pennsylvania Builders Association’s Endorsed Trade Program.
David J. Foreman, of Duncansville, was nominated for the honor by instructors Barney A. Kahn IV and Levon A. Whitmyer.
A uniquely collaborative learning experience at Pennsylvania College of Technology, dubbed the “Soccer Ball Experiment,” helped civil engineering technology and surveying technology students and members of the Wildcat women’s soccer team acquire useful professional tools during the spring semester.
When weather finally allowed, the civil engineering technology and surveying technology students used a variety of instruments – including small unmanned aerial systems (drones), the Global Positioning System, total stations, a tape measure, an accelerometer and smartphones – to collect data while the student-athletes and their coach took turns striking a soccer ball on Penn College’s Madigan Library lawn.
The data was used to measure the accuracy of ball placement with respect to targets on the grass and to describe the dynamic properties (such as position, velocity and acceleration) of the launched ball. In addition to using technical skills to acquire that information, the students completed a reflection assignment that required them to assess how they employed their own collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills.
Shoulder-to-shoulder and ready to serve, Links congregate on the porch of The Victorian House. From left are Ferguson, Conklin, Santaella, Mills, Wiest, Highland, Murren, Eaton, Becker, Harriman, Decker and Morrin.Anthony J. Pace, director of student engagement, delivers a Health and Safety primer in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium.Families enjoy a Keystone Dining Room brunch.Hey! Let’s take a photo with Herbie! The Links are literally “bug”-eyed with enthusiasm in Madigan Library.Joining the Links as their orientation intern is a familiar face – David A. Gadalla (front center), who earned his bachelor’s in aviation maintenance technology last month. Gadalla is serving as an orientation intern, the first alumnus to do so, before he heads to graduate school in Pittsburgh this fall.
Incoming Fall 2019 students and their families attended the first of the season’s Connections sessions this week, getting their lay of the Penn College landscape before the glorious swirl of Welcome Weekend. Following an itinerary that will echo throughout the summer, college employees and student assistants – called “Links” in recognition of the relationships they forge – provided invaluable information on college life, in and out of class. This summer’s Connections Links are: Janelle R. Becker, of Fort Loudon, culinary arts and systems; Emily K. Conklin, Port Allegany, dental hygiene: health and policy administration concentration; Lacey A. Decker, Emporium, pre-dental hygiene; David Eaton, Harrisburg, web and interactive media; Patrick C. Ferguson, Williamsport, business administration: marketing concentration; Hallie S. Harriman, Mifflinburg, information technology sciences: gaming and simulation; Michael E. Highland II, Slatington, electronics and computer engineering technology; Shawnee M. Mills, Waldorf, Maryland, plastics and polymer engineering technology; Joey M. Morrin, Morrisville, graphic design; Alaina M. Murren, Aspers, dental hygiene; Natascha G. Santaella, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, applied management; and Sophia G. Wiest, Butler, entrepreneurial innovation. Ferguson and Conklin are serving as “Lead Links.” The campus will greet another five orientation groups next month, including one session (July 8-9) that is already full and a one-day program solely for adult learners (July 22). Second and third photos by Tim Wegman, student photographer
The email contained a stark message for the transfer student. After a year of subpar grades, Pennsylvania College of Technology had to place her on academic probation.
Jacqueline M. Westervelt repeatedly scanned the message, hoping that the words would change. They didn’t.
Her dream of earning an information technology degree – already delayed for two years – was in jeopardy. Self-doubt, fueled by past struggles in school, flooded her mind. Tears flowed as she thought that the people who told her she wasn’t college material were right.
A new branding spot, featured on Penn College’s YouTube channel, puts “tomorrow” within reach of prospective students interested in taking on high-demand careers, mastering practical skills and putting technology to the test. “The time is now,” the 30-second video reminds them. “The future is in your hands!”
Baseball, soccer, hockey, bowling, kickball and surfing are among the competitive sports that draw participants from around the country and world. Still more gather on the sidelines to cheer for their favorite athletes and teams. Nowhere do Americans more intimately connect to sports than in their hometowns.
Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Madigan Library, in cooperation with the World of Little League Museum, will celebrate that connection as it hosts “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America” from June 30 through Sept. 8. An opening reception for the traveling exhibit will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 30, on the first floor of the library.
