Three alumni honored at Penn College commencements

Pennsylvania College of Technology presented honors to three alumni during Spring 2019 commencement ceremonies, held May 17-18 at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.

John Estep, of Troy; Darryl Kehrer, of Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Kristina Wisneski, of Ardmore, were recognized for their exemplary achievements.

Estep, a 1974 associate degree graduate in mechanical drafting from Penn College’s predecessor institution Williamsport Area Community College, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the May 17 ceremony.

Estep is the founder and owner of E-Tech Industrial Corp., a global manufacturer of precision power-tool attachments for the aerospace and automotive industries. Among E-Tech’s corporate customers are Boeing, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford.

He worked at Ingersoll-Rand Corp. from 1974-99, and during his time there, he was awarded five U.S. patents. He formed a partnership to launch Lubbering Corp. in 1999. The company  was honored as Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission Business of the Year in 2003 and was named a finalist for the Pennsylvania Governor’s ImPAct Awards in 2012 and 2013. The business was renamed E-Tech Industrial Corp. in 2017. Approximately two-thirds of E-Tech’s employees are alumni of Penn College or WACC.

Estep’s civic affiliations include serving as a board member for Guthrie Troy Community Hospital, an advisory board member for Citizens & Northern Bank in Troy, and on the Advisory Committee for Northern Tier Career Center. He and his wife, Nanette, have three children and six grandchildren.

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus or alumna who has made significant contributions in his or her chosen field, demonstrated the importance of his or her Penn College education, participated in leadership roles within the community, and demonstrated a commitment to the college and community relations.

Kehrer was honored with the Humanitarian Award at the May 18 morning commencement.

After earning an Associate of Arts in liberal arts from WACC in 1972, he went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Arts in public administration from American University, in Washington, D.C.

A four-year U.S. Air Force veteran with three years of service overseas, Kehrer logged 34 years of public service to fellow military veterans, retiring in 2005 as staff director, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives. Upon his retirement, the committee acknowledged his “major contributions to the development and approval of the most important body of veterans’ legislation since World War II.”

Kehrer was named a Woodrow Wilson Public Service Fellow in 1992 by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

Co-author of “Across the Aisle: The Seven-Year Legislative Journey of the Historic Montgomery GI Bill,” he has served as a guest presenter in the art of legislative leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Syracuse University, Harry S. Truman Institute of Public Policy at the University of Missouri, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Kehrer has volunteered in youth athletics for 27 years and continues to do so in his retirement. He has served the Annandale-North Springfield Little League and the Annandale High School Athletic Boosters, both in Virginia. Each organization presents an annual award in his name.

In 2015, Kehrer and his wife, Dawn, also a 1972 graduate, established the Daniel J. Doyle Scholarship at Penn College in honor of their former history professor. The couple has two children and two grandchildren.

The Alumni Humanitarian Award is bestowed upon graduates of the institution who’ve provided distinguished community or volunteer service and presented themselves as dedicated and loyal alumni.

Wisneski was presented the Alumni Achievement Award at the afternoon ceremony on May 18.

A 2013 magna cum laude graduate who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in culinary arts and systems, Wisneski is executive chef at Amis Trattoria, in Devon, a Philadelphia Main Line suburb. The restaurant is a Vetri Family restaurant and part of the URBN portfolio of brands.

She was named a “Chopped” Champion on the popular Food Network show’s “Wonton Wonder” episode, which premiered in February.

Wisneski was earlier honored as one of “20 Sous-Chefs to Watch in Philly” by the Zagat restaurant guide when she was at Savona Restaurant in Gulph Mills earlier in her career. She has also worked with the Zavino Hospitality group, serving as executive chef at Enoteca Tredici in Bryn Mawr.

The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes an alumnus or alumna of Penn College from the past 10 years whose postgraduate life includes noteworthy professional accomplishments or dedicated volunteer service to the college and/or community, and who has demonstrated the importance of his or her Penn College education.

For information about Alumni Relations at Penn College, visit the office's webpage.

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free at 800-367-9222.