Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning Articles

Ellyn A. Lester, assistant dean of construction and architectural technologies, recently received a Pennsylvania Impact Award from City & State Pennsylvania. The awards honor 50 socially responsible citizens from across the commonwealth whose work and leadership make a meaningful impact in their professions and their communities.

For the third consecutive year, Pennsylvania College of Technology is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from Johnson Controls that aims to support students seeking in-demand careers.

Pennsylvania College of Technology and Lancaster-based Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology have formed an articulation agreement benefiting students pursuing careers in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry. The agreement enables graduates of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning & refrigeration associate degree at Thaddeus Stevens College to transfer credits seamlessly into one of two four-year majors at Penn College.

Work at a Habitat for Humanity home being built largely by students on Fifth Avenue, just north of campus, continues to progress. The college and Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity staff hosted a cookout and open house at the site on Thursday, inviting those who worked on the home over the past three semesters to see the current progress.

Three Pennsylvania College of Technology students recently joined Friends in Action, International, for a one-week work trip to assist Ethnos360 at a training center in Missouri.

Representatives from University of Kansas visited Penn College recently to learn more about its heating, ventilation & air conditioning degrees. The university is the lead institution in a new National Science Foundation Gen-4 Engineering Research Center named the Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub. For almost two years, Penn College has been part of a consortium of technical schools involved in the NSF proposal to develop a new Engineering Research Center based on HVAC innovation.

A home on Fifth Avenue hosted its first backyard picnic to close out the first of two years of service learning at the site. The Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity home is being built largely by Penn College students on land donated by the college. The three-bedroom structure, started in Fall 2024 and expected to be completed in Spring 2026, will provide a safe, sustainable home for a deserving family.

Pennsylvania College of Technology and Greater Lycoming Habitat for Humanity joined on Thursday at the site of a Habitat home to observe the national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at 100 years old. The nonprofits, working together to build a three-bedroom home at 508 Fifth Ave., lowered a U.S. flag at the building site in memory of the late president. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were longtime Habitat for Humanity volunteers.

Pennsylvania College of Technology presented Jeffrey C. Comitz with an Alumni Achievement Award at its Fall 2024 Commencement ceremony, held Dec. 21 at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport. Comitz, of Montoursville, is director of operations at Thermal Product Solutions, New Columbia.

The fourth profile to be shared this week, during the “Give Thanks, Paw It Forward” celebration, is one of Penn College’s Corporate Tomorrow Makers – Weather Engineers, Inc., a 60-year-old company providing residential and commercial HVAC solutions in northeast Florida. Daniel E. Towers, a 1994 graduate of Penn College’s heating, ventilation & air conditioning technology major, is vice president of operations for the company. Towers enjoys recruiting Penn College students and alumni.