News about Students

Warm holiday happenings take the chill off

Student artistry extended beyond the cards – well beyond, in fact – as automotive restoration and metal fabrication majors created a jaw-dropping 12-foot toy soldier.

A pair of campus holiday traditions dovetailed near dusk Wednesday: the fifth annual decorating of the Veterans Tree outside Madigan Library and the lighting of the oversized greeting cards on the mall. Chet Beaver, coordinator of veteran and military services, mustered a hardy troop of helpers to hang 399 stars fabricated in the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies to represent Penn College’s veterans and active-duty servicemen and women. As a blustery day gave way to a briskly brutal evening, the card-lighting ceremony took place at the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center. In the office/department category, Dining Services placed first, Financial Aid was second and General Services finished in third place. Among student organizations, Cru topped the vote-getters, Women in Construction was second and the Veterans Club placed third.

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Both Penn College teams place in regional student competition

The second-place Design-Build Team that represented Penn College is (from left) David H. Guarriello, Bethlehem; Adam Z. Hutchinson, Greensburg; Chekota J. Newhart, Troy; Lauren S. Herr, Litiz; Rachel E. White, Doylestown; and Derick S. Gower, Sunbury.

Two teams of Pennsylvania College of Technology students finished strongly among the 22 institutions in the 29th annual Associated Schools of Construction Region 1 Student Competition held Nov. 8-10 in Albany, New York.

The college’s Design-Build Team, charged with developing and constructing a STEM expansion at one of New England’s premier boarding schools, placed second. Its Commercial Team, challenged to provide a new Development Center on the Providence College campus, placed third in the competition.

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Penn College nursing grads top national licensure pass rates

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Tushanna M. Habalar, instructor of nursing, guides student Lindsay C. Dunkelberger (left), of Centre Hall, in placing an IV in SimMan, a wirelessly controlled patient simulator.

Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing graduates again exceeded state and national performances in passing national board examinations.

Penn College offers degrees for those pursuing registered nurse and practical nurse licenses.

One hundred percent of Penn College students who earned bachelor’s degrees in nursing and took the National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for the first time between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018, passed the exam on that first attempt. During the same period, 97.14 percent of Penn College associate-degree nursing graduates passed the exam on their first try.

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Students work alongside celebrity chefs at Breeders’ Cup

Pennsylvania College of Technology was part of the culinary team at the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Championships at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. From left, baking and pastry arts student Amanda M. Brandt, of Etters, York County; Chef Takao Iinuma, of Genji Sushi; and Penn College’s Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, work alongside Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto during a demonstration in “The Mansion” at Churchill Downs.

Pennsylvania College of Technology hospitality students worked alongside some of the nation’s top chefs as part of the culinary team preparing food for guests of the 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

The annual November event is the unofficial culmination of the thoroughbred horse racing season. The two-day extravaganza attracts the best horses, trainers and owners from across the globe, along with its share of celebrity fans.

This year, the event was held at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Sixteen Penn College students made the trip to the Bluegrass State to spend three days in the kitchens that serve the Downs’ most high-end venues.

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Penn College Fall Commencement set for Dec. 22 at Arts Center

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Fall 2018 Commencement ceremony will be held Dec. 22 at the Community Arts Center in Williamsport.

A commencement ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 22, for the nearly 320 Pennsylvania College of Technology students who have petitioned to graduate following the Fall 2018 semester.

The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. in the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., Williamsport, with 235 students expected to march.

The student speaker will be Katherine Lynne Mertes, of Williamsport, who will be awarded a bachelor’s degree in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration.

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OTA majors broaden understanding through service, hands-on learning

Students join Matt Emmerling, of Sizewise Durable Medical Equipment Co., who brought bariatric equipment to campus for students to try.

Occupational therapy assistant students have had a variety of opportunities for hands-on learning and service this month. Matt Emmerling, of Sizewise Durable Medical Equipment Co. in Altoona, visited the OT Practice Skills course for a session on “The Overweight and Obesity Epidemic 2018: Bariatric Medicine.” He demonstrated a number of pieces of bariatric equipment. Students were given the opportunity to try the equipment as well as an obesity suit to gain a better understanding of what the bariatric population experiences on a daily basis.

Members of the college’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Club, with club adviser and program director Jeanne M. Kerschner, gather at the Ronald McDonald House Danville. The group prepared a meal for guests of the facility on Nov. 17.

On Nov. 17, students in the Occupational Therapy Assistant Club made and delivered an Italian dinner for about 30 guests at the Ronald McDonald House of Danville. Located near the Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, the facility provides families with sick children a warm, safe and comfortable place to eat and sleep, keeping them close to the care they need when they need it.
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Student Development Assistants engage peers in week of thanksgiving

Students join the Penn College Wildcat in the “One Tray at a Time” benefit, during which the campus community loaded vintage cafeteria trays with nonperishables for The Cupboard. From left are Perry R. Leslie Wheat, a graphic design major from Millheim; Jordan M. Scott, of Cogan Station, enrolled in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration; and Kory J. Zielinski, a manufacturing engineering technology student from Honesdale.

Using an oversized Post-it note as a visual and conversation starter, Student Development Assistants recently shared the impact donors have on their Penn College experience. They referenced the importance of financial support from donors to help students earn “degrees that work,” then asked their peers to put their gratitude in writing.

“We really want to engage our classmates in what philanthropy looks like on campus,” said Erin N. Shaffer, a graphic design major from Williamsport. “The oversized Post-it notes were a creative way to engage and share our thanks with donors.”

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Paramedic students join Penn State EMS at home football games

Pennsylvania College of Technology emergency medical services student Devon E. Smith, of Montoursville, is among Penn College paramedic students paired with Penn State EMS supervisors during 2018 home games in Penn State’s Beaver Stadium to provide standby medical coverage.

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s paramedic program have joined Penn State Emergency Medical Services to provide coverage at the university’s seven 2018 home football games in Beaver Stadium.

“Penn State EMS is charged with providing standby coverage at every home football game,” explained Christopher T. Boyer, director of paramedic technology programs at Penn College. “EMS providers are strategically placed throughout the stadium and respond to any medical or traumatic emergency that may occur both within and around Beaver Stadium. Considering Beaver Stadium is the second-largest football stadium in the country, seating 106,572 people, this is no small task.”

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Ford Thunderbird donated to college’s restoration major

Students and instructor Roy H. Klinger (second from left at rear) surround the Thunderbird in Penn College’s automotive restoration lab.

A 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible has been given to Pennsylvania College of Technology by a Monroe County man who owned it for nearly 50 years.

Paul Hoffman, of Saylorsburg, donated the vintage vehicle – in its original Peacock Blue – for use by automotive restoration technology students.

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Student-run event gives robots fighting chance

The theater of battle fills with participants and spectators.

Action heats up in the competition cage.

A steady hand on the controller ... and in capturing the contest on cellphone video.

The makings of a winner?

Penn College hosted battles of ingenuity during SWORD Fall Fights 2018 in the Field House. Approximately 45 combat robots, designed and built by Penn College students and members of the public, “fought” in the double-elimination tournament on Nov. 17. About 130 people attended the daylong event, which featured 1- and 3-pound weight classes. “In an event like this, students get to see engineering in action,” said Craig A. Miller, instructor of engineering design technology and adviser to the Student Wildcats of Robotic Design Club, which sponsored the event.  “They design, build and test their robots against other builders.  They see what works and what does not and make design improvements in an effort to make their robots more competitive.”

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Counting blessings, countering need

Service with a smile: Gayle M. Kielwein, student activities accounting assistant, delivers comfort food to thankful guests.

A free family-style Thanksgiving dinner was served to 620 students Monday night − the equivalent of three full seatings in the Keystone Dining Room! − and an earlier “Soup for the Soul” benefit helped ensure that such bounty could be shared by those struggling with food insecurity. Sponsored by the Student Engagement Task Force and served by a cross-section of campus employees, the traditional dinner with all the fixin’s was delayed from Thursday due to last week’s storm. CC Commons was the site for the Nov. 14 event, at which the first 50 registrants received a meal of chicken tortilla or cheddar broccoli soup served in handcrafted bowls made by Penn College ceramic students. Part of the college’s Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, both activities featured donations of cash and canned goods to The Cupboard, the college’s food pantry. Institutional Advancement added to the week of gratitude with its “Thank a Donor” and “One Tray at a Time” initiatives.

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Too big to mail, but ‘just right’ in sentiment

Phi Mu Delta

Large-scale greeting cards created by student groups and campus offices, sending year-end greetings to their Penn College family in trademark hands-on fashion, were installed Tuesday on the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center lawn. The 43 cards will be lighted − and winners announced in both categories − at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28. (The first 35 entries pictured are from student organizations, followed by eight from college departments.) Students and employees can vote for their favorites through the myPCT portal.

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Student leaders impressively complete six-week ‘boot camp’

Three aviation students, who didn’t realize each other had signed up for the leadership series until their first boot camp class, enjoy the final festivities. From left: Brent H. Thomson, Kate M. Ruggiero and Kerelos M. Bekhit.

Moore delivers an inspiring talk on the initiative and persistence involved in being a leader.

Amanda J. Confer (left) receives her certificate from Bressler.

A graduation ceremony was held Monday evening for Pennsylvania College of Technology’s latest participants in Leadership Boot Camp, a six-week series designed to provide students with a set of skills that will enable them to assume leadership positions in the near future.

Twenty-seven students engaged in the optional offering for the Fall 2018 semester, covering a range of topics from effective communication to civility.

The event’s keynote speaker, Shelley L. Moore, director of career services, led students through a leadership discussion and challenged each participant to continue to identify tangible ways to build on the program’s foundation. Leadership Boot Camp facilitator, Allison A. Bressler, associate director of student activities for new student program leadership, congratulated her students for their initiative and presented each with a certificate and a professional portfolio.

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Routine learning experience leads to remarkable history lesson

Jennifer Nicholson, of Lock Haven, a Pennsylvania College of Technology radiography student and Navy veteran, arranged a visit to the aircraft carrier Intrepid, now a museum in New York, for World War II veteran Robert Grieb after learning about his story during a clinical education experience. Grieb served on the carrier.

A Pennsylvania College of Technology radiography student, finding common ground with a patient she met during a clinical experience at a local hospital, made a trip to New York City that she’ll likely never forget. Nor will the World War II veteran she accompanied.

Jennifer Nicholson, of Lock Haven, learned of the veteran while she was helping with a physician-ordered radiography exam for his son. Penn College radiography students receive their training on campus and in the radiology departments of affiliate hospitals.

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Home(made) for the holidays

Exhibiting the team-oriented play that is their organization's hallmark, members of the Wildcat Online Gaming Association work together with singular purpose.

Aided by a youthful band of helping hands, nursing instructor Sherry L. Hyland (in red); clinical director Tanae A. Traister (kneeling) and Jessica L. Bower, simulation laboratory coordinator, show off their work.

Participants gather in the spacious General Services for Wednesday's card-decorating party, among Penn College's familial holiday events.

Cru unveils its finished entry. Kneeling (from left) are Kimberly R. Masullo, of Effort, and Amber L. Way, of Port Matilda. Standing (from left) are Zachary L. Alexander, of Liberty; Natali J. Fargus, of Lock Haven; Kyrsten-Lee Baker, of Milton; and Nathaniel H. Lyon, of Fredericksburg.

Representatives of the Physician Assistant Club assemble their gingerbread-flavored treat. From left are Dhwani J. Patel, of Williamsport; Timothy A. Bradley, of Williamsport; Christine Szarko, of Manheim; Jordan E. Linder, of Pittsburgh; and Tia G. La, of Williamsport.

The General Services warehouse was awhirl with holiday cheer on the eve of the season’s first snowfall, as Penn College student organizations and college offices/departments crafted large-scale greeting cards to be installed this week on main campus. The traditional display of creativity will be lighted in a ceremony at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28, at the entrance to the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center.
Photos by Rachel A. Eirmann, student photographer

Penn College is a special mission affiliate of Penn State