Students

Emergency Medical Services/Paramedic Nursing & Health Sciences Students

Rescue readiness, downstream and high aboveground

Aboard a Williamsport Bureau of Fire rescue boat, piloted by the bureau’s Kenny Smith, fire engineer, students pull classmate Marissa L. Davis from the water. Davis is from Trafford.

Students in paramedic majors were led through a variety of hands-on rescue operations and tactical paramedic activities to wrap up the summer. The two-week training, led by the Central Area Fire Chiefs Association, included vehicle rescue and ropes rescue operations at the CAFCA training facility, confined-space rescue at Frito-Lay, and water rescue on Lycoming Creek and the Susquehanna River. “The goal of these sessions is to make these future paramedics more aware of the challenges and intricacies associated with the many aspects of vehicle rescue in an effort to make them better prepared to treat both the patient being rescued and the rescuers who may be injured during these often-dangerous activities,” said Christopher T. Boyer, director of Penn College’s paramedic technology programs.

Faculty & Staff Nursing Nursing & Health Sciences Physician Assistant Students Surgical Technology

Simulated medical cases guide students toward real-life care

Scott A. Geist (right) director of surgical technology, leads physician assistant students through a simulated surgery to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Outside the surgical technology lab’s mock operating room, PA students fulfilling the roles of emergency room and hospital staff members observe the work of their classmates.

Physician assistant students recently visited the surgical technology lab for the last of three simulated patient cases that allowed them to participate as care providers in the emergency room, as operating room assistants and as hospitalists. Students in the ER role encountered the patients, portrayed by nursing students. They diagnosed their patient’s malady and recommended treatment. In the surgical technology lab, Scott A. Geist, director of surgical technology, led OR students through a hands-on simulation of the recommended surgery. Students acting as hospitalists then provided follow-up care.

Electrical Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students

Penn College adds electrical construction degree

Pennsylvania College of Technology is introducing a new path for career success in the electrical field. Applications are being accepted for the electrical construction associate degree, which will begin in Fall 2020.

The degree reflects the college’s time-honored commitment of adjusting curriculum to address workforce needs, as identified by faculty with strong ties to industry and advisory committees of in-field professionals. The college has a 95% three-year graduate placement rate.

Electronics & Computer Engineering Technology Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies Students

Penn College introducing new automation technology degrees

Students will be working in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s mechatronics lab as part two new baccalaureate degrees: automation engineering technology: mechatronics, and automation engineering technology: robotics and automation.

For more than a century, Pennsylvania College of Technology and its predecessor institutions have adapted to industry needs, so students are prepared to be tomorrow makers upon graduation.

That tradition continues with two new baccalaureate degrees: automation engineering technology: mechatronics, and automation engineering technology: robotics and automation. Applications are being accepted for the majors, which will begin in Fall 2020.

“We are very pleased to offer these new degrees. Both programs reflect the growing demand for advanced skills in automation,” said David R. Cotner, dean of Penn College’s School of Industrial, Computing & Engineering Technologies. “We take great pride in being responsive to industry, and we are confident that our students and employers will benefit from the majors.”

Alumni Events Heavy Equipment Nursing Nursing & Health Sciences Sports Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Penn College Summer Commencement to be held Aug. 10

Summer 2019 Commencement at Penn College is set for Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.

A total of 275 students have petitioned to graduate following Pennsylvania College of Technology’s summer sessions. A commencement ceremony is set for Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Community Arts Center.

The student speaker for the 11 a.m. event will be Dylan Gary Otis, of Wyalusing, who will be presented with Associate of Applied Science degrees in heavy construction equipment technology: technician emphasis and heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis.

Nursing & Health Sciences Physician Assistant Students

PA Class of ’20 makes milestone move

Physician Assistant Club President Timothy A. Bradley addresses the audience and his classmates.

Amber DelVecchio adds a physician assistant pin to the white coat of Daryl V. Nash, of Cogan Station, who was joined on stage by all four of his sons.

Students Breica N. Beck, of Mountville; Danielle N. Bilger, of Hollidaysburg; Brielle N. Blanchard, of Towanda, and Cera N. Blunk, of Schuylkill Haven, recite the Physician Assistant Oath.

The class laughs during remarks by student speaker Nicholas A. Kilpatrick.

Students Heidy C. Fernandez (left), of Bethlehem, and Michael L. Hutchison, of Williamsport, smile at the words of speakers.

The physician assistant Class of 2020 celebrated its transition from classroom study to clinical rotations during the program’s annual White Coat Ceremony on Saturday. After being accepted into the professional phase of the program, students spent a full year – the Fall 2018, Spring 2019 and Summer 2019 semesters – in classroom study. Following final exams and service at the Little League Baseball World Series, the students will spend the next year working directly with patients in a variety of fieldwork settings, under the supervision of clinical preceptors. Heather S. Dorman, instructor of physician assistant, was selected as faculty speaker. Brian M. McKeon Sr., assistant professor of biology, served as master of ceremonies. Students Timothy A. Bradley, of Williamsport, and Nicholas A. Kilpatrick, of Muncy, served as student speakers. Allyson M. Rothrock, of Williamsport, led the class in reciting the Physician Assistant Oath.

Emergency Medical Services/Paramedic Nursing & Health Sciences Physician Assistant Students

Little League World Series provides learning opportunity

Kavitha R. Kolangaden and Jaclyn L. Casey, who graduated from Pennsylvania College of Technology with degrees in physician assistant in 2018, volunteer at the 2017 Little League Baseball World Series. Thirty-two Penn College students pursuing careers as paramedics and physician assistants will help provide health care at the 2019 LLWS.

Seven students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s emergency medical services/paramedic program, and 25 students in its physician assistant program, are set to be part of the health care team at the 2019 Little League Baseball World Series, just 3 miles from the college campus.

The nationally televised series runs Aug. 15-25 and draws tens of thousands of spectators each day to the Little League World Series complex in South Williamsport.

Faculty & Staff Human Services & Restorative Justice Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students

Sex trafficking survivor makes Penn College part of her journey

For the Introduction to Human Services course, the content was standard. For Lynaugh H. Bobst, the class discussion on appropriate family dynamics was personal. For her, the topic generated more than copious notes and highlighted text in a book. It led to an awakening.

Bobst didn’t finish the course or any of her other classes that semester. Instead, she left school to begin a journey. Seven years later, that journey has returned Bobst to Pennsylvania College of Technology for a revised major that she hopes will amplify her new lease on life as an advocate to prevent child sex abuse.

“I remember sitting in that intro class thinking, ‘Wait a second. What I experienced wasn’t normal.’ It really took me back,” she said.

Back to the darkest of places.

Art and Graphic Design Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications Students

Pittsburgh design competition recognizes Penn College talent

The talents of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s graphic design students have been honored by AIGA Pittsburgh’s Context: Student Design Competition 2019.

For its Context competition, the Pittsburgh chapter of AIGA, a national professional association for design, fields four real-world design projects previously completed for clients of Pittsburgh design agencies. This year’s projects focused on the Rachael Ray Nutrish Furever Home Donation Program benefiting animal rescue organizations and three Pittsburgh-based ventures: the Game Day Program for the Pittsburgh Steelers; PGH365, an annual design competition held by AIGA; and Piazza Talarico, a small, family-owned, Italian restaurant.

Alumni Events Faculty & Staff President Students

Heartfelt commemoration keeps alive a powerhouse legacy

"I will continue to brag that I am Veronica Muzic's daughter," Laycock proudly admits, adding a special wish for her mother: "I hope Part II of your 'new adventure' is the trip of a lifetime."

A “life celebration” of Veronica M. Muzic, an inspiration to students and colleagues throughout nearly five decades as a faculty member and administrator, was held Saturday in Penn College’s Student & Administrative Services Center. The three-and-a-half-hour gathering attracted a cross-section of those who benefited from Muzic’s no-nonsense counsel and dedicated leadership – family, faculty/staff, former students and community members – and who marked the day with remembrance, reverent and otherwise, sprinkling their anecdotes with laughter and honest tears. Among those offering remarks were Marcianne Muzic Laycock, one of the honoree’s two daughters; niece Lisa Halberstadt, who read “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou (a March 1987 visitor to Williamsport Area Community College as part of a Women’s Series initiated by Muzic); President Davie Jane Gilmour; and Lynn Hanson, now a professor at Francis Marion University and co-director of the Baruch Institute for South Carolina Studies. The event also included music from a Williamsport Symphony Orchestra quartet and informal tours of “Veronica’s Garden” on the building’s second floor. Muzic, who died June 18 at the age of 82, joined WACC as an English instructor in 1968 and was awarded its first “Master Teacher” award in 1982. She retired as vice president for academic affairs/provost, served part time service as a special assistant to the president and holds emeritus faculty status.

Admissions Students

Office hours extended to assist incoming students

In an effort to better serve incoming Penn College students and their families, offices within Enrollment Management – Admissions, Financial Aid, and College Transitions & First Year Initiatives – will be open until 8 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays through Aug. 15. Get your admissions, financial aid, placement testing and scheduling questions answered before the rapidly approaching start of the fall semester! Each of those offices is conveniently located on the first floor of the Student & Administrative Services Center near the college’s main entrance off Maynard Street, as well as available by phone:

Admissions – 570-327-4761 or 800-367-9222
Bursar (open until 6 p.m., on call until 8) – 570-327-4762 or 800-367-9222
Financial Aid – 570-327-4766 or 800-367-9222
College Transitions & First Year Initiatives – 570-320-8003 or 800-367-9222

Faculty & Staff Sports Students

Wildcats third in President’s Cup tally; highest finish to date

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.

Collision Repair & Restoration Corporate Relations Faculty & Staff Students Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies

Nationwide lends damaged vehicles for students’ benefit

Marking Penn College's partnership with Nationwide are (from left) Jamie R. Miller, associate director of corporate relations; Loren R. Bruckhart, instructor of collision repair; Donald Ashby Jr., Nationwide claims director; John G. Fawcett, claims associate director; and Brian A. Moore, material damage claims manager.

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.

Alumni Events Faculty & Staff Students

‘Life Celebration’ for Veronica M. Muzic set for July 27

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.

Nursing & Health Sciences Occupational Therapy Assistant Students

Students add play items to Lycoming County Sensory Garden

Pennsylvania College of Technology occupational therapy assistant students gather in front of a teepee that they helped to outfit with play items at the Lycoming County Sensory Garden. From left are students Kayla N. Kern, of Lock Haven, and Felicia Baker, of Mifflinburg; Master Gardener Linda Betts; Boy Scout Colton Ulmer; Master Gardener Sharon Kuriga; and students Madalyn Q. Engle, of Linden, and Devin M. Heimbach, of Milton.

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.

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