Winged victory

Published 10.08.2020

News
Forestry
Student News
Engineering Technologies

Preparing for liftoffBurke's kite hitches a ride on the fall breeze.Rising against the windA blue sky beckons.Forest technology student Lyssa C. Burke took advantage of Wednesday afternoon’s wild winds to fly a stunt kite on the Madigan Library front lawn. A native of Montana, Burke grew up in Idaho and moved to Williamsport a few years ago with her mother; together, they enjoy the great outdoors. Burke’s hobbies also include photography, fishing, skiing, writing and drawing her many characters. (“I never leave home without a sketchbook,” she said.) Burke enrolled at Penn College after enjoying its Autism Spectrum Post-Secondary Interest Experience in the summer of 2018. Through ASPIE, she says she found a supportive environment with the help of the college’s Connections Links (student orientation leaders) and Dawn M. Dickey, director of disability services, who continues to assist Burke in her college experience. Also in high school, Burke engaged in the Wildlife Leadership Academy as a student and a team leader. Based in Lock Haven, the academy aims to empower high school youth to become conservation ambassadors. With the goal of becoming a game warden or conservation officer, Burke says enrolling in Penn College’s forest technology major (and a criminology course) offers an ideal path to her dream occupation.