Mentorship Award Presented to Social-Service Agency, Director

Pennsylvania College of Technology has presented a Mentorship Award to Snyder Union Mifflin Child Development Inc. and the agency's executive director, Sharon Koppel.

The presentation was made during a Dec. 19 commencement ceremony held at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.

The Mentorship Award recognizes alumni and/or businesses that have made significant or ongoing contributions to the education and development of Penn College students through mentoring opportunities such as internships, co-op placements, the hiring of graduates and professional input.

Snyder Union Mifflin Child Development Inc., based in Mifflinburg, is a private, nonprofit organization serving the needs of 3,000 young children and their families in five programs Head Start, Early Head Start, Community Child Care, Project PEEK (early intervention) and Child Care Information Services at 25 sites.

Among the reasons SUMCD was nominated for the award:

- It has provided employment for 19 Penn College early childhood education graduates.

- For many years, Penn College early childhood education students have fulfilled their field-experience requirements, including practicum placements, at SUMCD's high-quality, National Association for the Education of Young Children-accredited sites.

- The Lewisburg Children's Center, an SUMCD site, has hosted visiting groups of students from the college's Early Educators student organization, as well as from the staff of the Children's Learning Center at Penn College.

- SUMCD staff members have served as instructors for Penn College-sponsored noncredit workshops, and the agency has hosted Workforce Development & Continuing Education at Penn College workshops at its various facilities, allowing the college to serve practitioners in those counties.

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