NYC Kids Get 'Fresh' Taste of Postsecondary Possibilities

Published 07.07.2015

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A group of New York City youngsters, finishing a seven-day visit to Williamsport arranged through the Fresh Air Foundation, this week tasted the uniquely amazing opportunities of a Penn College degree. A rewarding experience for both the youngsters and their local host families, Fresh Air gives urban boys and girls a peek into life outside the city, and enticed Monday's group with a higher-education option they might have thought was well beyond their reach. In an age-appropriate agenda fashioned by admissions representative Emily A. Weaver, the kids started their day with a brief video showcasing three Penn College students. "They were having fun while working toward their goals," one boy noted, surprised that college isn't all studious drudgery. A campus tour followed, then lunch in the Keystone Dining Room. The guests also visited the automotive restoration/collision repair and welding labs before burning off excess steam on the basketball court. The verdict? Unqualified success ... and the wide-eyed promise by some to enroll as students within the decade.

– Photos by Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday

Michael J. Reed, interim dean of science, humanities and visual communications, welcomes children to campus with an enticing preview of the excitement and opportunity that lay ahead. His family was a Fresh Air host and among those accompanying the group on Monday's tour.

Admissions representative Emily A. Weaver challenges the perceptions of her young audience - many of them getting their first exposure to a college campus.

A Madigan Library walk-through includes a stop to check out Jay Leno's autograph on a Bugatti.

Inquisitive participants pause to appreciate The Victorian House gardens and gazebo.

Having heard repeated references to "hands-on education," the group sees a stunning example: the welded "Student Bodies" installation along the campus mall.

Not unlike anyone who sees it, the latest guests are captivated by the one-of-a-kind Verrill Wolf Wagon.

Jamir and Henry climb aboard a 1902 Nash.

In a lab full of priceless automobiles being restored by Penn College students, the visitors are allowed several supervised violations of the "look, but don't touch" rule. The youngsters take turns cranking a Ford Model T coil tester, generating enough voltage to illuminate a small light bulb.

Ten-year-old Monroe takes his turn starting a vintage automobile engine, helped by collision repair instructor Roy H. Klinger.

Welding lecturer Michael K. Patterson holds up a baseball glove, being replicated on a much larger scale in a metal sculpture to be installed at Williamsport Hospital.

Watching Patterson work, their eyes shielded from the intensity of the arc light

Eyes alive with enthusiasm and mind brimming with questions, 8-year-old Noel satisfies his curiosity in the welding lab.

With seemingly boundless spurts of energy, the young guests shoot hoops with Wildcat soccer coach Tyler S. Mensch and (not pictured) Lizze A. Robinholt, secretary/receptionist for athletics.