Wednesday, July 22, 2026
photos by Alexandra Butler, photographer/photo editor, and Rob Hinkal, social media specialist. Others provided by the Secondary Partnerships Office.
Eleven summer camps brought 200 high school students to three Penn College campuses last week to explore their potential in a field of their choosing – while interacting with Penn College’s industry-experienced faculty and getting a taste of on-campus living.
Camp options were Automotive Technology; Aviation; Design, Build and Grow Landscape & Horticulture; Diesel Truck & Heavy Equipment; Future Restaurateurs; Graphic Design Summer Studio; Health Careers; Non-Destructive Technology; Polymer Innovators; Small Business Start-Up; and Wildcat Disaster Management Academy.
Non-Destructive Technology – which helped campers explore how engineers and technicians check the safety of airplanes, bridges, pipelines and vehicles without taking them apart, was a first-time camp offering, as was Small Business Start-Up, held in the Williamsport LaunchBox supported by Ken and Kristie Healy. The two-day camp for high school juniors and seniors exposed participants to the full cycle of innovation: brainstorming, prototyping, testing and pitching product ideas.
In addition, two rounds of My Tomorrow Camp took place in late June and early July, each welcoming 33 campers in grades 6-8 to explore a range of careers through interactive activities, faculty-led sessions and hands-on experiences. The day camp included visits to the college’s Lumley Aviation Center and Pneu-Dart’s manufacturing facility near Barbours. Pneu-Dart President/CEO Blair D. Soars and his family financially support My Tomorrow Camp, keeping the experience affordable for participants.
Small Business Start-Up campers participate in a “Lean Snowflake Startup” exercise in the Williamsport LaunchBox supported by Ken and Kristie Healy. The hands-on activity guided teams through running a profitable business creating and selling paper snowflakes.
Erin S. Shultz, manager of LaunchBox operations, reviews round one of the snowflake exercise with Small Business Startup Camp participants. The exercise included five rounds, each featuring planning, production and sales phases, during which students interacted directly with a “customer” (played by a volunteer).
In the Non-Destructive Technology Camp, participants learn how a Motoman robotic welding cell is controlled.
Michael R. Allen, instructor of welding, provides foundational background to Non-Destructive Technology Camp participants. Campers explored topics in welding, metallurgy, ultrasonic testing, radiographic testing, magnetic particle testing and robotics.
A camper tries the handheld controller for a robotic welding cell.
A landing by a Geisinger Life Flight helicoper on the Madigan Library lawn highlights Penn College's Health Careers Camp.
Williamsport Bureau of Fire personnel help Health Careers campers understand their role.
A Graphic Design Summer Studio participant showcases design solutions for the fictional Dragon Fire Amusement Park.
A participant's "Infinity Point Amusement Park" design work.
Campers show their takes on marketing materials for a space-themed Infinity Point Amusement Park.
Participants in this year’s first My Tomorrow Camp gather for a photo with the Wildcat.
During a visit to the college’s Lumley Aviation Center, campers test their paper airplane models …
… and explore the Aviation Center’s fleet – including one of the college’s largest hands-on learning “tools,” a Boeing 727 cargo plane donated by FedEx.
A camper shares his “zine.” Participants created the “self-published” booklets during an activity led by graphic design instructors Kathryn M. Anderson and Mark W. Wilson.
A camper works on her zine in a graphic design classroom.
William A. Schlosser, assistant professor of emergency management and homeland security, directs an activity in the Incident Command Center, where Penn College students practice emergency management skills.
Campers get a taste of MILO, a Multiple Interactive Learning Objectives theater, where emergency management & homeland security students get immersive practice dealing with heart-rate-raising scenarios.
The best part of any camp – hanging out with other campers!
A plasma ball and fluorescent light bulbs make physics learning fun in the radiography classroom. The activity was led by Joseph F. LeBlanc, assistant professor of physics.
Campers “gown up” in the surgical technology lab with Elizabeth S. Gizenski (fifth from left), director of surgical technology.
In surgical technology, campers practice using laparoscopic surgery tools to play the classic board game Operation.
Just like Penn College nursing students learning real-world skills, campers don dual-head stethoscopes.
A visit with the manikin babies in the nursing program’s obstetrics lab.
A camper watches the progress of a CNC milling machine at Pneu-Dart, a manufacturer just outside of Williamsport. Blair D. Soars, Pneu-Dart president/CEO, and his family financially support the My Tomorrow camps.
Just in time for lunch, campers watch a pizza-making demonstration led by Chef Todd M. Keeley, assistant professor of baking and pastry/culinary, and Christopher R. Kelley, dining services leader II …
… before getting hands-on experience crafting their own.
Career explorers demonstrate their Penn College pride.
In a teambuilding activity, campers help one another cross the line.
Campers test an infrared camera they learned about in the Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College. The activity was directed by Caleb A. Line, makerspace coordinator and industrial design student, who had the campers use the cameras to play bingo, finding and photographing objects on a bingo sheet.
During an activity led by Catherine J. Farr, deputy Title IX and student advocacy coordinator, a camper checks her fingerprint.
Campers take on a challenge to build a paper tower.
We all “heart” My Tomorrow Camp!
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