Rewarding career opportunities await for graduates of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s electrical programs: associate degrees in electrical technology and mechatronics and a bachelor’s degree in building automation technology. All three majors blend theory with considerable hands-on lab experience to produce graduates who are real-world ready. In fact, as noted in a new video on the college’s YouTube channel, many students secure jobs prior to graduation. “I think Penn College is doing a great job of introducing … students to the high level of technology within our industry,” says Matt Holbert, director of engineering for NRG Controls North. “Students coming out of there are sharp.”
News about Students
Students
Seeking a student leadership post? Apply by Feb. 6!
Students interested in joining Penn College’s paid leadership staff are encouraged to apply online by Tuesday, Feb. 6. The Student Leader Staff Selection process hires for five categories of compensated leadership posts, represented in posters depicting some of the students who hold the positions:
- Community Peer Educator – Tasia A. Werkmeister, Altoona, health arts: practical nursing emphasis
- Connections Link – Christine A. Limbert, Curwensville, architectural technology
- Presidential Student Ambassador – Nathan A. Rader-Edkin, Williamsport, plastics and polymer engineering technology
- Resident Assistant – Josh E. Rosenberger, Chambersburg, residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration
- Student Development Assistant – Jordyn M. Kahler, York, dental hygiene
Additionally, SLSS allows students to learn more about themselves as potential leaders and to better appreciate the student leadership expectations at Penn College.
To learn more about these job opportunities, click the “LEAD” button on the myPCT student portal.
Faculty & Staff General Information Students
College reopens; LEC remains closed
Pennsylvania College of Technology reopened at 6 a.m. Thursday; however, due to some remaining issues with the delivery of electrical power and heat (caused by a broken pipe in a sprinkler system) the Hager Lifelong Education Center (LEC) remains closed through Sunday.
All classes scheduled in the LEC for Thursday, Friday and Saturday are canceled.
Other areas affected include the Keystone Dining Room, the Dunham Children’s Learning Center and Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, all of which remain closed through Sunday.
All other classes, in all other buildings on campus, will proceed as scheduled beginning Thursday morning – including those held in the adjacent Bardo Gymnasium and the Carl Building Technologies Center – as well as all courses offered online.
Alumni Corporate Relations Events Faculty & Staff Sports Students
Alexander dealerships recognized for all-star support of students
The Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships, with 18 locations that employ a number of Penn College alumni, was honored Wednesday for its inspiring generosity and ongoing dedication to Wildcat Athletics. Through scholarship support, mentorship and other substantial contributions – including new scoreboards in Bardo Gymnasium – the Alexander family’s financial commitment was noted by the Wildcat Club as “creating lasting impact for our student-athletes and the athletic facilities they call home.” Among those on hand for Corporate Partner Day during a basketball doubleheader against the College of Saint Elizabeth was Aubrey Alexander, a 2009 business administration graduate and member of the Penn College Foundation Board of Directors.
Events Faculty & Staff Students
Downtown walk ushers in ‘Dream Week’
Penn College students and employees are encouraged to participate in “Dream Week” activities centered around the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, beginning with a Peace Walk through downtown Williamsport on Saturday, Jan. 19.
The walk will form at First United Methodist Church, 604 Market St., at 10 a.m.; transportation will be provided from the Bush Campus Center Loop at 9:30. Refreshments and a musical celebration, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” will follow in the church.
Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students Welding
SkillsUSA video features college’s all-female welding team
Produced by SkillsUSA, a “Diversity in Manufacturing” video features the state champion Penn College welding team of Erin M. Beaver, Joelle E. Perelli and Natalie Rhoades. The welding and fabrication engineering majors are helping to change America’s outdated ideas on what manufacturing is and what kind of person can find success, security and satisfaction in a manufacturing-related career. The video, added to the college’s YouTube channel, also includes insights from Volvo Construction Equipment North America.
Alumni Events Faculty & Staff President Students
Freeze-framing a day to remember
Pennsylvania College of Technology held its Fall 2018 commencement on Saturday, Dec. 22, in the Community Arts Center, bringing down the curtain − as winter officially arrives and the new year nears − on another season of academic success. The student speaker was Katherine Lynne Mertes, of Williamsport, who was awarded a bachelor’s degree in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration. Also addressing the Class of ’18 was Joanna K. Flynn, associate professor of mathematics, who was presented with the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award in May. Civil engineering technology alumna Margaret A. Jackson received the Alumni Achievement Award during the ceremony, at which more than 300 degrees were conferred by college President Davie Jane Gilmour and Steven P. Johnson, president of UPMC Susquehanna and a member of the college’s Board of Directors.
Students
Student awards presented to Penn College graduates
Pennsylvania College of Technology presented student achievement awards to its Fall 2018 graduates.
A commencement ceremony was held Saturday, Dec. 22, at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.
Faculty & Staff Students
Children’s ‘Wish List’ fulfilled by college family
The generosity of Penn College employees and students will once again benefit the greater campus community, as the Wish List Tree generated 80 gifts for local children aged 3 months to 12 years. The Office of Campus and Community Engagement facilitated donations, which were collected in the Bush Campus Center for pickup by The Salvation Army. Community Peer Educator David A. Gadalla organized the ornament gift tags, decorated the tree and helped load the presents for their joyful delivery.
Photos by Katie L. Mackey, director of campus and community engagement
Business & Hospitality Construction & Design Technologies Faculty & Staff General Information Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Nursing & Health Sciences Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies
Farm Show offers ‘inspiring’ look at college’s varied majors
Throngs of visitors will soon converge on Harrisburg to celebrate the commonwealth’s agricultural prominence, and Pennsylvania College of Technology students and employees will be there to help honor the event’s 2019 theme of “Inspiring Pennsylvania’s Story.”
Baking, Pastry & Culinary Arts Business & Hospitality Business & Hospitality Management Students
Winners announced in Penn College Food Show
Pennsylvania College of Technology recently announced the winners of its annual Food Show.
The Food Show provides a venue for students to share their final projects in several courses and to gain feedback from industry professionals who judge their work. At the same time, it offers a learning experience for high school students interested in hospitality-related careers, who make a visit to the show as part of a daylong campus experience.
Building Construction Construction & Design Technologies Faculty & Staff Students
Concrete industry welcomes tomorrow’s workforce
Penn College construction majors traveled to Malvern this month for an eye-opening perspective on the commercial concrete industry. Instructors Franklin H. Reber and Harry W. Hintz Jr. accompanied students from their Concrete Construction (BCT238) classes on a visit to Forcine Concrete & Construction Co. “The company took a lot of consideration into the presentation of what they do,” said Josh E. Rosenberger, of Chambersburg, a residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration major. “We got our hands on everything from power trowels to pump trucks to total stations. We sat through several information sessions throughout the day pertaining to Forcine and its sister company, Durable Surfaces. Coming from a residential background, I was flabbergasted to hear that they pour over 1,000 yards of concrete per day with a crew of five or six.” Students were permitted to operate equipment – both at headquarters and at a nearby site where a pour had just occurred – and were given an extensive tour of the facility. “Forcine Concrete is very encouraged to finally have found a partner in Penn College that is teaching the next generation work skills that we can utilize in our growing industry,” said Derek Cressman, president of Durable Surfaces, who, given the caliber of students that visited, said company officials look forward to maintaining the relationship with the college. Of the students in attendance, five are enrolled in the concrete science technology major that began during the just-ended Fall 2018 semester (and can be completed in only one year beyond a building construction technology degree). The first cohort of students from the new major will enter their internship experience this summer.
Photos provided
Art and Graphic Design Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students
Students’ Africa-influenced art featured at CAC
Inspired by African tribal masks, artwork by students in wood sculpture classes taught by Penn College art faculty David A. Stabley and Brian A. Flynn is on display at the Community Arts Center through Dec. 22. Each student delivered a presentation and made sketches, then created a small-scale model in clay or Plasticine. They then hand-carved their masks out of pine blocks with mallets, gouges and rasps, encouraged by faculty to incorporate the principles of form, texture, color and pattern into their abstract designs.