Think Penn College is for you? You're right as rain!

– Photos by Juvy A. Orillaza and Tim Wegman, student photographers;
Kimberlee R. Rusczyk, manager of social media/online marketing;
and Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday

Early riser and tireless advocate, President Davie Jane Gilmour says "Good morning!" to attendees of the day's first General Information Session. Four such sessions were held in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium, providing an introduction to campus, academics, the admissions process and much more.

During an information overview of life at Penn College, admissions counselor Lee A. Dawson gives a nod to the industrial partners whose generosity keeps curriculum fresh and relevant.

Umbrellas drip-dry in a temporary storage area outside the auditorium.

Alumni greeters Kyle S. and Julie Ann (Schweitzer) Flook shone through the clouds in making ACC visitors feel at home. Kyle is a 2007 graduate in construction management; Julie holds degrees in office information technology: web design emphasis (2006) and technology management (2007).

Sue A. Kelley, dean of sciences, humanities and visual communications, answers audience questions about majors within the school during a session in the early childhood education wing.

Instructor Barney A. Kahn IV leads a tour of construction labs.

Visitors to the concrete science lab are enlightened by knowledgeable students Tyler M. Troup (left) and Joseph F. DiBucci.

Culinary arts and systems student Aaron Timmons, of Greencastle, preps baguettes for the oven during a kitchen demonstration.

A familiar face, artfully under foot in the Carl Building Technologies Center.

Todd S. Woodling, assistant professor of building automation technologies, gives one-on-one attention to Zackery Bowes, of Berwick, a student at Columbia-Montour Area Vocational Technical School.

With a break in the clouds and umbrellas closed for the day, Presidential Student Ambassador Travis J. Scholtz embarks on a much-drier campus tour than earlier.

Wayne R. Sheppard (right), assistant professor and department head for construction management, champions the program. Faculty and student members of the Construction Management Association handled additional visitors in the hallway and adjacent classrooms.

Rain Caldwell, a Coudersport High School student interested in Penn College's dental hygiene program, shares her Open House excitement outside Madigan Library.

Joshua D. Young, head coach of the college's esports team helps a visitor "suit up" in a library demo.

Enviable opportunities to study abroad are explained by Shanin L. Dougherty, coordinator of international programs.

An afternoon session in the Student & Administrative Services Center provides a convenient locale to "Meet the Deans" – including Brett A. Reasner, School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies.

In the Bardo Gym lair of the Wildcats, John D. Vandevere, director of athletics, shares the enthusiasm that accompanied the college's acceptance into NCAA Division III.

An array of majors is described by Brian D. Walton (left), assistant dean of business and hospitality, and Tom F. Gregory, associate vice president for instruction and the school's interim dean.

A campus dining unit boldly announces its availability to the lunch crowd.

A full house in the Thompson Professional Development Center listens to Philip G. Berry (left), coordinator of matriculation and academic operations for construction and design technologies, and Carol A. Lugg, dean.

A large tour group follows a student ambassador en route to the Bush Campus Center.

Replicating the real world of surgical technology

The School of Nursing & Health Sciences was among the areas that used friendly faces to combat dampened dispositions. Case in point? The physical therapist assistant major ...

... and the contagiously pleasant entourage in the occupational therapy assistant program.

Graphic design students provide valuable peer-to-peer assistance during well-attended information sessions.

Student organizations filled the Campus Center hallway with an alluring amalgam of options, from the Society of Plastics Engineers ...

... to the Wildcat Online Gaming Association.

Dauphin Hall is a popular gathering spot at Open House, with access to Capitol Eatery ...

... as well as on-campus housing tours.

Field House check-in brings shelter from the storm.

Elliott Strickland, vice president for student affairs, front and center for check-in

Questions? We've got answers!

Automotive instructor Eric D. Pruden (left), stationed at the collision repair paint lab.

Befitting its roadworthy projects, the collision repair lab gets a good deal of traffic.

John M. Good, instructor of automated manufacturing and machining, with a family in College Avenue Labs

A typically engaging presentation is served up by Thomas E. Ask, professor of industrial design.

Brad H. Lyon (second from left), an assistant professor of civil engineering technology, exemplifies the substantial college faculty with technical experience to match their academic background.

J.D. Mather, assistant professor of engineering design technology, takes attendees into the enticing world of 3D modeling.

With dual credentials as an instructor and an alumnus, Howard W. Troup credibly represents machining and manufacturing majors.

Boasting about Baja!

James C. Tanner (in blue shirt), is just one of the welding faculty members on hand ...

... to handle interest in existing labs and the expansive instructional space to be dedicated next year.

Among the campus' newest landmarks is this mascot in metal, rising above the grounds outside the expanded welding labs.

The mechatronics lab proves a fertile launchpad for interesting student projects, drawing an appreciative and inquisitive crew ...

... that included Michael J. Reed (left), vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Fall foliage, aflame under the return of blue skies, balances families traveling east from Rose Street Commons.

Joined at left by Tuna Saka (and other colleagues in the wings), architectural technology faculty member Naim N. Jabbour extols the student benefit of Penn College's small class sizes.

Katherine A. Walker, assistant professor of engineering design technology, oversees a hands-on lab activity.

All smiles beneath the morning's requisite accessory, men's basketball coach Geoff B. Hensley (left) greets a family near UPMC Field.

Faculty, staff and students keep pace with the check-in throng.

Surrounded by automobiles on which students hone their skills, automotive instructor Christopher A. Trapani ably meets a family's needs.

Second-year majors Emily K. Conklin (standing) and Jordyn M. Kahler talk with guests in the expansive, state-of-the-art Dental Hygiene Clinic.

♫ They're dancin' and singin' in the rain! ♫

A family joins Mary G. Trometter, assistant professor and department head of hospitality management/culinary arts, in Le Jeune Chef's dining room.

With Halloween just days away, instructor Joseph E. LeBlanc staffs an Open House favorite: the "haunted" physics lab in the Hager Lifelong Education Center.

... where students proudly show off their longtime "drag truck" project.

Justin Shelinski, a member of the horticulture faculty, walks guests through the greenhouses.

Laboratory assistant Seth J. Welshans assists a family touring the ESC's diesel facilities ...

Fashionably protected from the elements

As a downpour pelts West Third Street, an event sign beckons, "Come in out of the rain."

A father-son team reviews curriculum requirements with Anita R. Wood, associate professor of computer information technology.