Tag: RealWorldRelevant

Like many his age, Pennsylvania College of Technology student Joseph C. Lusk grew up admiring YouTubers, dreaming of becoming a celebrity by posting clips of his video gaming. But combining his YouTube fascination with another passion – racing – gained him his first experience abroad, practicing his favorite activity behind the wheel of a late model race car in Australia.

Well before he started watching YouTube vloggers play video games, Lusk, of Linden, watched NASCAR races on television with his dad on Sundays.

“I was drawn to that, and it was my favorite thing,” said Lusk.

So when he was 3, his parents, Hal and Cathy Lusk, bought him a go-kart for Christmas.

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Juggling full-time college classes by day and full-time emergency medical technician work by night, Brooke M. Strubel is earning her Bachelor of Science degree in emergency management and homeland security in just two and a half years. For a young woman who recommends getting out of your comfort zone to achieve your highest potential, this past year, intensified by a global pandemic, has offered an ideal environment in which to enhance her people-centered skills.

“I never thought that I’d be working during a pandemic … but it’s an experience that I won’t forget,” said the soon-to-be Pennsylvania College of Technology graduate from Strasburg. “Challenges get you out of your comfort zone, and that is the area in which you will find yourself, your passions, your strengths and, yes, even your weaknesses. This is the area in which you will thrive and improve. Everything you learn advances your knowledge and leads to personal and professional growth.”

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A Pennsylvania College of Technology senior was commissioned as an Army second lieutenant in an outdoor ceremony held Saturday morning at the college.

Joined in person on the Bush Campus Center patio by family members and online by livestreaming well-wishers, Andrew Placencia, of Reading – a Bald Eagle Battalion ROTC cadet earning a degree in automotive technology management – will be branched into the Army Ordnance Corps.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s horticulture department delivered 450 poinsettia plants to UPMC Susquehanna on Thursday for distribution to health care workers.

The plants are annually grown in the Schneebeli Earth Science Center greenhouse for a holiday sale, but ongoing COVID-19 concerns prompted the traditional event’s cancellation. Instead, senior administration agreed that the poinsettias should be donated to front-line workers in hopes of bringing some seasonal cheer in the midst of their selfless service.

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In January, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s paramedic program will launch a hybrid instruction option that combines in-person and online learning.

Designed to provide flexibility for EMTs who want to complete a paramedic education program while continuing to work, the lecture portion of the paramedic coursework will be both livestreamed and recorded for later viewing by those who use the hybrid instruction model. For students who prefer the traditional experience, lectures will continue to be held in-person.

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The addition of two automation degrees is powering a new electronics lab at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Located in the Center for Business & Workforce Development, the 906-square-foot space is accommodating about 60 students per semester who are seeking an automation engineering technology baccalaureate degree in either mechatronics or robotics.

“Industry was telling us that they liked what our students were doing, but they were looking for more because of the growth of automation in industry,” said Stacey C. Hampton, assistant dean of industrial and computer technologies. “We looked at what we already had and how we could expand on that. When we expanded the program, we needed to expand the space. Now that we put stuff in there, I don’t know if it’s big enough!”

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A Pennsylvania College of Technology graduate helped to lead a high-profile metro Washington construction project that recently received honors from Associated Builders and Contractors.

Jordan Way, ‘16, was the assistant project manager for Belfast Valley Contractors Inc. as the company completed concrete work on the seven-story Hyatt Place luxury hotel on the waterfront in National Harbor, Maryland. Way holds an associate degree in building construction technology: masonry emphasis, and a bachelor’s degree in applied management.

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Carhartts and coffee were among the blustery-day necessities as a group of Pennsylvania College of Technology construction students, accompanied by faculty and cheered by representatives of a Williamsport nonprofit, erected a pavilion for grateful residents of a personal care home.

Taking part in the off-campus outreach at West House Inc., 616 W. Edwin St., were students Jake B. Campbell, of Scranton; Dane T. Landes, of Ottsville; Stephen K. Lee, of Bethlehem; Will E. Marconi, of Chadds Ford; and Zach Spearly, of Bellefonte. Marconi is a building construction technology major; Lee is enrolled in residential construction technology and management; and Campbell, Landes and Spearly are in the residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration.

They were joined in the project by Levon A. Whitmyer, instructor of building construction technology, and D. Robert Cooley, associate professor of anthropology/environmental science – the initial liaison between West House and the college.

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A partnership with Sodick, a global EDM manufacturing leader, is supporting Pennsylvania College of Technology’s acquisition of innovative electrical discharge machines for instructional purposes.

Through the collaboration, Sodick, a Japanese company with North American headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, is providing four VL400Q High Performance Linear Motor Drive Wire Cut EDM units for use in the college’s Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center.

Penn College students and faculty in the machine tool technology, automated manufacturing technology and manufacturing engineering technology majors will benefit from the new high-tech equipment.

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In 2018, a record number of employers indicated that finding qualified employees is the single most important issue affecting their companies. Addressing skills gaps is in Penn College’s DNA. “The workforce needs Penn College,” says President Davie Jane Gilmour. “And we deliver.” Learn how Penn College and its partners are preparing tomorrow’s workforce leaders – and fostering economic growth and innovation – in the 2018-19 Impact Report.

A Pennsylvania College of Technology student recently wrapped up an internship that helped to inform the community about a hardworking nonprofit organization and to raise funds for its work.

Stevie A. Petrison, a business administration: sport and event management student from Landenberg, helped the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation to organize the group’s fourth annual Farmapalooza, a music festival in Oxford.

The foundation honors the life of McDonough, who battled leukemia, septic shock and other complications for nearly six months before he died on July 14, 2007, at the age of 14. His B+ blood type became a motto for his family and friends: always be positive. The organization, headed by his father, Joe, provides financial and emotional support nationwide to families of children with cancer, and it funds childhood-cancer research.

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The Northeast PA Manufacturers & Employers Council and Pennsylvania College of Technology have announced a partnership and a scholarship opportunity for YES (Your Employability Skills) Northeast Program graduates.

YES, which is administered by the council, is a 120-hour, one-credit, year-round elective course that addresses the shortfall of basic skills that employers say are lacking in many job applicants.  The course covers 38 modules in all, including communication, team building, interview/resume/cover letter writing, completing a job application, personal finance, conflict resolution, and time management.

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Standing 6-foot-5 and dressed in a dark blue lab coat accessorized by purple latex gloves and safety glasses, the Pennsylvania College of Technology graduate resembles a bookish superhero rather than a federal contractor.

Daniel J. Ravizza’s appearance is appropriate for his domain. All sorts of aircraft representing various eras of aviation extend from the ceiling of the hangar-like facility. An old Eastern Airlines plane is stationed behind him. A short walk from his lab counter reveals the Space Shuttle Discovery in all its glory.

His duties reflect the unique environment. One day, Ravizza moves Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit. The next, he examines clothing belonging to famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. Later, he handles unopened cans of space food, once belonging to cosmonauts.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology students provided dental care to more than 2,000 patients in the college’s Dental Hygiene Clinic during the 2018-19 academic year.

The college’s state-of-the-art Dental Hygiene Clinic is open to the public and provides low-cost services that include cleanings, exams, X-rays and sealants.

Since many patients require more than one visit, the students provided a total of 4,138 patient appointments.

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Students in instructor Shaun D. Hack’s Introduction to Non-Structural Collision Repair Applications class got a hands-on visit Thursday from Daniel L. Maloney Jr., national sales manager for Dent Fix Equipment. The industry guest showed freshman collision repair/automobile restoration majors how to use the Aluspot Deluxe DF-900DX aluminum dent-repair station donated last year and a new EZ Nitrogen Plastic Welder DF-EZN1 under consideration for College Avenue Labs.
Photos by alumna Vanessa Mathurin, toolroom attendant for collision repair