Pennsylvania College of Technology nursing graduates again exceeded state and national pass rates on national board examinations.
Penn College offers degrees for those pursuing registered nurse and practical nurse licensure eligibility.
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing recently released the pass rates for the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses) and the NCLEX-PN, for practical nurses. Results are for those who took the exams between Oct. 1, 2018, and Sept. 30, 2019.
A celebratory ceremony Monday honored the 18 students who completed the seven-week LEAD-PCT program this semester.
Led by Allison A. Grove, interim director of student engagement, the initiative provides participants the opportunity to learn a variety of leadership skills and apply them by proposing a social change project that directly benefits the Penn College community. At the close of the event, held in the Thompson Professional Development Center during Finals Week, Grove announced two winning projects that will each be funded with $100 awards.
Santaella (left) and Kreitzer stand with the stunning tile wall.The final touches to the piece: triangle toppingsRelief sculptures in clayArtwork awaits stair strollers.Infinite tales in tiles
Over 500 students and more than 500 ceramic tiles in the making, another stunning example of Penn College art is complete and ready for rave reviews and views. Adorning a wall in the north stairwell of the Bush Campus Center, the ceramics sensation was started in Fall 2013 by David A. Stabley, instructor of ceramics and wood sculpture, after he received permission from administration. “It was my idea to have students make something to leave behind as part of a permanent art piece,” Stabley said. “It’s an interesting idea of working on a group project over such a long period of time. And it’s nice to decorate a plain stairwell area to give it some life!” With the help of two Ceramics III students – Amber Kreitzer, of Port Trevorton, and Natascha G. Santaella, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico – Stabley recently placed the finishing touches on the CC stairwell project: ceramic triangles topping the tile wall. Kreitzer and Santaella earned associate degrees in baking and pastry arts in 2018 and will graduate this month with Bachelor of Science degrees in applied management. Stabley and smaller groups of students have installed the Centennial Mosaic on a wall of the Physician Assistant Center and mosaics in Capitol Eatery. The artist has also crafted solo mosaics in the atrium of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center and on an exterior wall of the Hager Lifelong Education Center. Stabley’s inspiring artwork can also be found in downtown Williamsport.
ACH112 students, during a pause in their walking tour
Students in Rob A. Wozniak’s Architectural History course, an art elective that attracts students from a variety of majors, recently closed out the semester with a brisk stroll among downtown Williamsport’s rich selection of buildings and styles. The course is typically taught in the spring, but Wozniak (an associate professor of architectural technology) kept the same schedule for the fall term – which meant “a bit of a chill.” The class followed an informative pamphlet compiled several years ago, traversing a self-guided loop that encompasses 23 structures within a one-mile area. Among the historic buildings are the First National Bank Building at 21-25 W. Third St., the city’s first “skyscraper;” the former county prison at 154 W. Third St., built shortly after the Civil War; the Ulman Opera House at 2 E. Third St., where Mark Twain promoted “The Innocents Abroad” on New Year’s Eve in 1869; and the much-beloved James V. Brown Library at 19 E. Fourth St. “If you’re looking for something to do, bundle up as the students did,” said Wozniak, who also provided the photo. “Or put it on hold for the warmer days ahead.”
Placencia hangs this year’s addition to the tree.Silhouetted against a red, white and blue sky, Beaver and Peluzzo add another strand to the holiday spruce.Stars pay tribute to more than 300 veterans and active-duty servicemen and women at Penn College.Peluzzo, Jones and Beaver (from left) form a time-saving triangle.The veterans tree shines at dawn’s early light.
Bundled against a brisk and unforgiving wind, members of Penn College’s military family finished decorating the Veterans Holiday Tree outside Madigan Library. The evergreen was lighted earlier in the season and, Wednesday afternoon, was additionally adorned with stars and other ornaments. Making quick work of the year-end tradition were three Veterans Affairs work-study employees – Cutter M. Hall, a construction management major from Erie; Emily J. Jones, an accounting student from Avis; and Gina M. Peluzzo, a Philadelphian enrolled in civil engineering technology – as well as Chet Beaver, coordinator of veterans and military affairs, and veteran Andrew Placencia, an automotive technology management student from Reading. Alongside aptly patriotic lights, the tree contains 322 stars (courtesy of the School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies’ machining lab) representing the institution’s identified service personnel. It also holds five dated glass balls containing ribbons purchased during the annual Giving Tree fundraiser for the Fisher House Foundation, which tends to veterans’ families while their loved ones undergo medical treatment.
Samantha J. Morningstar, of Lewistown, trims a study model, which is an exact replica of the athlete’s mouth. The study model is then used as a form to make the custom mouthguard.A newly vacuum-formed thermoplastic mouthguard is ready for trimming.Lacrosse team members show off their custom mouthguards.
Second-year dental hygiene students and faculty developed a program to provide professional-grade athletic mouthguards for members of the Penn College lacrosse team as part of the students’ Dental Materials and Specialties course. The multiweek project began with taking impressions of the athletes’ teeth to create exact replicas of their mouths. This model was then used, along with specialized equipment, to fabricate the mouthguards. The students were directed by faculty members Barbara K. Emert-Strouse and Marie Y. Stewart, both assistant professors of dental hygiene. The athletic mouthguards play a critical role in contact sports in the prevention of concussions and injuries to teeth.
A pair of ol’ reliables – therapy dogs in Madigan Library and Midnight Breakfast in the Keystone Dining Room – reappeared on schedule this past week to help students navigate any end-of-semester turbulence.
Snowman luminaria fashioned from glass jars add a festive touch.President Davie Jane Gilmour (who was joined at the brief ATHS proceedings by Patrick C. Ferguson, president of the Student Government Association) announces the fans’ favorite creations.With piping bags full of icing, Wildcat Events Board students eagerly staff the cookie-decorating table. From left are David Eaton, of Harrisburg; Shaqira S. Drummond, of Williamsport; Madison N. Bower, of Muncy; and McKenna N. Myers, of Northumberland.The campus family’s inventiveness shines through the brisk pre-winter night.With diets moot until the new year, cake pops and cookies tempt attendees.
The holiday cards displayed along the Penn College mall were lighted Wednesday evening in a seasonal ceremony that included the announcement of winning entries, as well as a cookies-and-crafts attraction inside the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center. Women in Construction finished first among student organizations in the card competition, enriching its club account by $200. The Occupational Therapy Assistant Club was second ($150) and Cru, third ($100). Among campus offices and departments, first prize went to the Veterans and Military Resource Center, participants from which will be treated to lunch at Le Jeune Chef. Madigan Library claimed second place and Dining Services finished third; representatives from each of those winning groups will enjoy breakfast at the restaurant. Winners were chosen through online voting by 612 employees and students. Photos by Juvy A. Orillaza, student photographer
An appropriately outfitted Bottorf (far left) explains ground rules to (from left) Bret A. Yetter, a surveying technology student from Liverpool; Evan J. Spickard, of Danville, enrolled in information technology: network specialist concentration; and Daniel J. Kahle, a construction management major from Oil City.Human services major Sierra M. Kunig, of Pennsylvania Furnace, prepares for launch …… arcing her ball toward one of the trash-can “cups” in play.With all eyes on the follow-through, Spickard sends a volleyball toward its 44-gallon target.
Students enjoyed a life-size pong game in the Field House this past week, trading pingpong balls and plastic cups for volleyballs and lined trash cans. In the double-elimination tournament, according to Jeremy R. Bottorf, coordinator of campus recreation, players had five minutes to clear all of the large “cups” (or the largest number of them) in the quest for prizes. Tie scores resulted in sudden death, with the player who eliminated the first “cup” moving on. In addition to intramural attire for the winners, everyone received a promotional basketball hoop and ball for participating. Competitors were invited to wear “ugly holiday sweaters,” Bottorf said, although the timing of this year’s event – falling before instead of after Thanksgiving – meant that students didn’t have the opportunity to grab their favorite yuletide eyesores from home. Bottorf proved a good sport, however, choosing an apt example from his own collection! Photos by Tim Wegman, student photographer
Courtesy of a generous donation from Larry A. Ward, an engineering drafting technology alumnus, the Machining Technologies Lab will receive all new equipment, paint, lighting and fixtures. Ward’s leadership gift will be permanently recognized, with the Machining Technologies Center being renamed in his honor.
This gift is also sparking a Tomorrow Makers contest, in which Pennsylvania College of Technology students are encouraged to help in designing a fitting sign/sculpture/artwork that includes the name “Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center” and tells the story of what takes place within the building. Students may work individually or in teams of up to five.
On a team-building mission, the group moves along the historic watershed trails.Stopping amid landmarks of the past are front row (from left): Veronica J. Rayer, of Woodlyn, and Tatiana M. Hinaman, of Jersey Shore. Back row (from left): Caitlin C. Brubaker, of Ohiopyle; Madison L. Gift, of Waynesboro; Kerschner; Karen I. Palko, of Northumberland; Kierstan M. Heizman, of Lititz; Juvy A. Orillaza, of Carlisle; and Cooley.
Volunteer outreach by faculty member D. Robert Cooley – a five-part trial orientation to strengthen bonds between Penn College classmates and cohesiveness within academic programs – met with rave reviews by the student participants who requested the activity. Cooley, associate professor of anthropology/environmental science, recently accompanied nine occupational therapy assistant students and director Jeanne M. Kerschner on a nature hike through the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority grounds. “The students recognized the value of these events and even requested that we continue these team-building sessions next semester,” Kerschner said of the group, which was undeterred by rain. Photos provided
Self-identifying with specific words and personality traits, students move among work stations to dish the dirt about leadership posts.
Resident Assistant Joey M. Morrin organized a “Weed ‘Em Out” event this past week at Dauphin Hall, aimed at convincing underclassmen in first-year housing to apply for student leadership positions on campus.
“The idea of the program was simple,” explained Morrin, who designed and planned the activity as part of his monthly RA program requirements. “A table full of succulents was labeled with words* describing the qualities of various leadership positions on campus. Interested participants could pick one of these plants based on a word they thought best described them.”
Student Development Assistants from the office of Institutional Advancement engaged the campus community in various “give thanks” initiatives throughout the month of November.
They teamed up with Dining Services encouraging peers to “paw” it forward at various campus eateries by donating their flex or declining meal-plan dollars, all in support of The Cupboard and the battle against hunger.
A pair of traditional events helped kick off the holidays Thursday: a festival of Fall Family Fun at the Dunham Children’s Learning Center and Penn College’s annual free Thanksgiving dinner. Parents and grandparents attended the center’s celebration, held each fall in joyful appreciation as the semester draws to an close. A short distance away in the Keystone Dining Room, students enjoyed an employee-served menu that included turkey, filling, gravy, corn, mashed potatoes, beverages and dessert.
Student Wildcats of Robotic Design recently hosted its Fall Fights 2019, attracting 51 combat robots – fashioned from a variety of materials, both by students and the general public – for daylong competition in the Field House.
