Pennsylvania College of Technology recently hosted an alumni reception at Larson Design Group, a Lycoming County business that counts among its 156 employees some 56 people who are alumni of Penn College or its predecessor institutions: Williamsport Area Community College and Williamsport Technical Institute.
The alumni at the Commerce Park Drive design firm represent a span of 48 years at the College (1953-2001): 36 who graduated from Penn College, 15 from W.A.C.C and five from W.T.I.
The gathering at Larson Design Group was the first such event being planned that will help the College stay in touch with its ever-increasing alumni population. More than 80 percent of Penn College's alumni remain in Pennsylvania after graduation.
"As a result of meeting with business recruiters at the College's Career Expo, we realized that businesses employ many of our alumni including those from W.T.I. and W.A.C.C.," said Barbara A. Danko, director of alumni relations. "The business-alumni event is a new and innovative approach to connecting with our alumni instead of off-campus social alumni events. We will continue to hold these events at a variety of businesses throughout the year. It is our goal to recognize the employers and their employees who are our alumni."
At the Larson Design Group reception, alumni employees sampled food and refreshments provided by the College, received gifts and spoke informally with Alumni Relations and Institutional Advancement staff.
The Penn College alumni at Larson Design include a husband and wife, Shane and Samantha Smith; and two father-and-son groups: Robert, Brad and Wade Pryor, and Gary and Ryan Beach.
In addition, Larson has hired four employees from the inaugural graduating class for the Civil Engineering Technology bachelor-degree major at Penn College: Ryan Beach, Aron Lantz, Dan Martin and Phil Stump.
For more information about alumni activities at Penn College, call toll-free, 1-877-PCT-ALUM (1-877-728-2586), or send e-mail.