Friday, July 26, 2024
Photos by Alexandra Butler, photographer/photo editor, with additional images shared by other college staff: Cindy D. Meixel, Shawn A. Kiser, Erin S. Shultz, Jennifer A. Cline & Marci M. Hessert
Penn College Summer Camps are all about gaining a unique perspective, and that was certainly the case at Aviation Camp where participants get an up-close view of the college's cargo plane, with the help of Korey T. Keyser (on steps), aviation maintenance instructor.
Summer Camps brought the heat and hands-on happenings to 215 high school students, from 10 states and the District of Columbia, who experienced Pennsylvania College of Technology’s campuses and labs July 14-20.
The week of inspiration and activity unfolded with 11 camps: Architecture Odyssey; Autism College Exploration Experience; Automotive Technology; Aviation; Design, Build & Grow Landscape & Horticulture; Diesel Truck & Heavy Equipment; Future Restaurateurs; Graphic Design Summer Studio; Have Your Cake & Decorate It Too; Health Careers; and Tinker Camp.
In addition to the home state, the overnight programs attracted students from California, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
“At least eight sets of siblings and cousins attended Penn College Summer Camps this year, along with lots of friends, schoolmates and neighbors,” said Deb B. Wescott, manager of events and guest relations. (And, of course, new friends were made along the way!)
Summer Camps provide a living-learning immersion (and the opportunity to earn up to $2,000 off Penn College tuition) for students entering grades 9-12. The mini-college experience lets kids combine hands-on time in Penn College’s amazing labs with a couple of days and nights in residence halls and dining areas.
Toss in two weeks of My Tomorrow day camps, engaging 62 middle schoolers, and the grand total of curious campers hosted by Penn College this summer was 277.
Knowledge takes flight in the cockpit of the Boeing 727 cargo plane, donated by FedEx Express. Keyser (at left) guides the campers.
Fast friends in the making!
In an electrical lab at the Lumley Aviation Center, Matthew D. Krepps (at left), aviation maintenance instructor, supervises an attentive group.
In the polymer engineering portion of Tinker Camp, participants mix household products to create long-chain molecules, known as polymers. In layman's terms, the result is a playful putty.
The college's well-equipped polymer labs offer an expansive array of opportunities for exploration.
Design dreams: imagining new logos for the 2036 Olympics in the Graphic Design Summer Studio
Campers create graphics and experiment with typography using industry-standard software.
Led by Kathryn M. Anderson (standing at left), graphic design instructor, participants make use of the Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College ...
... and see their Olympic logos come to life. Cheers!
Learning the critical skill of CPR in the Health Careers Camp
Assisted by Penn College students (on left), campers intubate a "patient."
The Health Careers Camp also features tours of local medical facilities, including an operating room at Geisinger Medical Center Muncy ...
... where campers watch a robotic surgery simulation ...
... are led by staff through a blood-typing exercise ...
... and gain first-aid skills, including how to place a tourniquet to "stop the bleed."
Health Careers campers receive an inside look at UPMC Williamsport's radiology facilities.
Reaching new heights during the Design, Build & Grown Landscape Horticulture Camp!
Assisting the climber is another camper on the ground.
Equipment operation is an essential skill in the landscape/horticulture industry. Carl J. Bower Jr., assistant professor, offers encouragement.
Looking like a pro, a camper enjoys the task at hand and the college's Schneebeli Earth Science Center greenery.
Starting with the basics in Have Your Cake & Decorate It Too ...
... as students experiment with the fine art of cake lettering.
During the manufacturing segment of Tinker Camp, a participant explores the Larry A. Ward Machining Technologies Center ...
... and crafts a keychain with his name on it.
Bryan C. Schaefer (in blue), maintenance mechanic/millwright specialist, engages a camper at the electrical discharge machines.
A bird's eye view in an engineering design lab (another part of Tinker Camp)
Leading a session during the Autism College Exploration Experience is Dawn M. Dickey, director of disability and access resources ...
... and Katie L. Mackey, assistant director of disability and access resources, conversing with parents and students.
In spacious new labs, the Architecture Odyssey Camp begins with studio drawing.
Hands at work! In addition to drawing, architectural software and off-campus tours are employed later to showcase the life of an architect.
The college's Heavy Construction Equipment Operations Site is a wide-open playground for the Diesel Truck & Heavy Equipment Camp ...
... where teens learn a range of important skills, guided by the likes of alumnus Evan R. Diehl (at right), a technician with camp sponsor Groff Tractor & Equipment Inc. Diehl graduated in 2011 with a degree in heavy construction equipment: technician emphasis.
A camper smiles during a tricky task.
Thankfully marking the moment, campers join Groff Tractor & Equipment employees in a photo op ...
... before breaking for lunch, served by the Farmstead Fusion food truck, owned and operated by Penn College alumna Skylar (Burke) Diehl, who earned a degree in culinary arts & systems in 2012.
At the Earth Science Center, the diesel component of the camp receives industry attention from a number of business partners, including Cleveland Brothers' Pat Bailor (on left) ...
... and Todd Heckathorn (at right) with Bergey's Truck Centers.
Williamsport Bureau of Fire’s John McCann, fire engineer, and Filicia Brewer, firefighter, talk with Health Careers campers about the bureau, the equipment and their work.
Penn College paramedic practice student and Susquehanna Regional EMS employee Joshua C. Wilk describes various aspects of a career in emergency medical services.
Wyatt Walters, a 2024 graduate of Penn College Workforce Development’s EMT training, gives campers a tour of the technology in an ambulance cab.
Future Restaurateurs create delicious delicacies in the college's baking lab.
Chef Charles R. Niedermyer II, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, works alongside a camper.
Developing those cutting-edge culinary skills
In Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, Future Restaurateurs campers and educators pause for a group photo.
Radiography students Heather L. Smith and Matthew P. Harbach, both of Jersey Shore, walk Health Careers campers through notable X-ray images.
In the radiography lab, a camper places letters to be X-rayed.
Physician assistant studies students, ready with supplies to make casts, welcome campers to one of the program’s recently renovated labs.
Health Careers campers cast one another, as Nicholas J. Kleman, a physician assistant studies student from Shamokin Dam, offers guidance.
Sparks fly in the welding lab during Tinker Camp.
Ella V. Meckley (at right), a senior in welding & fabrication engineering technology, gives safety instructions to a "new crew" of welders.
Timothy S. Turnbach (left), welding instructor, advises a camper as he crafts a metal palm tree.
At the end of production, a blow torch enhances a palm tree's colors.
One of two groups of Tinker Camp welders poses for a photo with Turnbach (center back), Meckley (center front) and Sophie M. Bittenbender (front left), a junior in welding & fabrication engineering technology.
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