Reception to Honor Military Service of Students, Alumni, Faculty/Staff

Pennsylvania College of Technology has scheduled an April 14 reception to honor current and former students, alumni, faculty and staff serving in the armed forces.

During the event, which will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Thompson Professional Development Center on the main campus, a banner signed by current students and alumni serving with the Pennsylvania National Guard in Afghanistan will be formally presented to the college administration. The presentation and remarks will begin at 4 p.m.

The event also will include information about an upcoming session at the college for education benefits associated with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Active-duty and veteran students, alumni, faculty and staff are urged to attend.

In June 2008 at the request of current students and alumni serving in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan a Penn College banner was sent as a memento of home. The banner was displayed there, signed by the guardsmen and returned to the college, where it is to be displayed in recognition of the service they provided to their country.

During the April 14 event, Penn College President Davie Jane Gilmour and Senior Vice President William J. Martin will welcome Spc. Robert A. Miller, a student enrolled in the information technology: web and applications development concentration major, who will introduce other current and former students who signed the banner while serving in Afghanistan. Miller also will present the college with a framed military coin.

Besides Miller, current and former Penn College students who signed the banner in Afghanistan are:

• Staff Sgt. Edward T. Bendas Jr., landscape/nursery technology (attended 1996-2000)
• Spc. Guston J. Bird, information technology: network specialist concentration, (current student and 2007 graduate in information technology: network technology emphasis)
• Cpl. Michael A. Johnston, welding technology (current student)
• Sgt./E-5 Bryan N. Laubach, heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis (2007 graduate)
• Spc./E-4 Trevor A. Sheleman, building construction technology (current student)
• Cpt. Jeffrey T. Tudor, welding and fabrication engineering technology (1996 graduate)

For more information about Penn College, visit online , e-mail or call toll-free (800) 367-9222.