Community gathers for Dream Week Lunch & Learn

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s recent Lunch & Learn brought more than 60 community members, alumni, students, faculty and staff together for an afternoon of connection, reflection and dialogue. The event was part of the city’s annual Dream Week, which honors the life and legacy of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s “Mission Possible 2” theme aimed to build community and unite the nation in a nonviolent way through service opportunities, worship services, children’s events and a peace walk.

Organized by Nate Woods Jr., executive director for student well-being & inclusive excellence, the Lunch & Learn featured spoken word to complement a week filled with meaningful activities and opportunities.

“Providing American history through poetry was a light way to cover hard topics,” Woods said. “I wanted to do a spoken word segment of the event, but while researching poems, I came across the Poetry Foundation. I picked the poems I thought would be most impactful with the audience.” 

Woods shared the podium with several speakers, weaving historical events from 1954 through 1970 with song and poetry performed by students, staff and community members.

Chuck D. Crews Jr., assistant director for secondary partnerships, closed out the afternoon by challenging attendees to consider what strategic advice they would give to King on how to effectively protest in 2026.

“My goal was to bring people together from different walks of life, create a compelling environment to learn about American history and celebrate our differences in a respectful way so we can continue coming together,” Woods said. “The event was a success. The level of connections between our students and community members was the highlight. We have evidence of students earning internships and employment because of their interactions with community members during Lunch & Learns. Not to mention, we’re not forgetting our American history, the good and the bad. We can do more in and for our county when we come together.”