From the ground up

Published 04.13.2022

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All lined up and ready to workWork completed, safety restoredSpring projects are in full bloom for Pennsylvania College of Technology's concrete science and building construction technology students, who recently completed several improvements at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood and the institution's General Services building along Reach Road.

Spearheading the work were three faculty members in building construction technology: Garret L. Graff,  assistant professor; and instructors Barney A. Kahn IV and Franklin H. Reber Jr. no strangers to advancing Penn College students' skills through hands-on betterment of their surroundings.

Under the mentorship of Reber (bending over at center left), the eye-pleasing concrete-stamping begins.A portion of the footbridge takes shape.Taking a quick breather during headway on a roof project

At the ESC:


  • Kahn's class is constructing a roof that is needed over the fuel containment area to prevent water from mixing with the fuel and to keep sunlight from degrading the fuel hoses.

  • Graff's students replaced the framework and repaired the top section of the footbridge that leads to the Idea Garden. The bridge, which needed to be repaired due to age and decomposition of framing materials, is now safe for pedestrian traffic.

  • Reber's class installed a new, stamped-concrete sidewalk that leads to the Idea Garden (a unique area where horticulture students display their botanical creativity). The sidewalk replaced a brick-paver walkway that exhibited many trip hazards.

... and facilitate relocation of a fuel tank.At General Services' off-campus headquarters – the nerve center for maintenance, enhancement and preservation of college facilities – students upgrade a sidewalk ...


At GS:


  • Reber's students replaced a portion of sidewalk that was in disrepair at the front of the building, and installed a new concrete pad after the necessary removal of a diesel tank in the fuel area.


Photos provided by Andrea L. Dildine, General Services horticulturist/grounds and motorpool manager