Comments from skilled-trades advocate Mike Rowe are included in a video newly added to Penn College’s You Tube channel, documenting the institution’s first-time participation at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo in Washington, D.C. The three-minute video incorporates footage from the college’s 1,000-square-foot booth, which featured a virtual welder, an electric Camaro and cars controlled by tablet computers – all focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers. “The single biggest challenge is finding people who are willing to learn a new and useful trade. That’s the trick,” said Rowe, creator and host of the “Dirty Jobs” TV series and a widely recognized commercial spokesman. “The (skills) gap doesn’t close until that happens … and that doesn’t happen until perception around work starts to change.” The video makes the case for that societal shift through a winning lineup of interviews with Jeffrey Wilcox, vice president of engineering for Lockheed Martin; former NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus; youngsters who visited the college’s 1,000-square-foot display; and several Penn College representatives: Dennis L. Correll, associate dean of admissions and financial aid; Joseph J. Balduino, director of recruitment; and students Jackson S. Walker, an automotive technology major from Lancaster; and Patricia A. Hintz, a welding technology major from Muncy. “The STEM conference was a great opportunity to showcase Penn College’s majors, faculty and students,” Correll said. “Everyone who came to our booth was excited to see the dragster, practice welding and race an Android-controlled car. We were able to impress a lot of visitors, including industry representatives that were there for the event.”
