The Telly Awards has named the latest episode of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s career awareness series, “degrees that work.tv,” as a bronze winner in the 34th annual international video competition.Natural gas careers are featured in the episode. The 30-minute program follows three diverse alumni whose Penn College bachelor’s degrees are working for them in the burgeoning industry: Brandon J. Howe, class of 2001, information technology: data communications and networking (now information technology: network specialist); Douglas Martin, class of 2008, electronics engineering technology (now electronics and computer engineering technology); and Westley A. Smith, class of 2009, welding and fabrication engineering technology.
Howe, senior IT systems analyst, and Martin, automation technician, are employed by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in Williamsport. Smith is a welding engineer for Appellation Pre-Fab in Montoursville.
The episode explores their individual career paths and current duties. In addition, the basics of natural gas drilling and production are described with a visit to a typical well site in northcentral Pennsylvania.
The “degrees that work.tv” series is a public-service initiative that connects young people to workforce needs and rewarding career paths. Following a story-driven approach, the program highlights the technologies, educational foundation and opportunities within career clusters. Free educational materials designed for K-12 classroom use are available for each episode. The series is a joint production with WVIA Public Media.
“Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions of our lives, and yet many young people and adults who are considering a career change have a very limited understanding of the wide variety of careers that are available,” said Elaine J. Lambert, director of college information and community relations at Penn College. “The goal of the ‘degrees that work.tv’ television series is to increase public awareness of real workforce opportunities in Pennsylvania.
“The natural gas industry is one example of a field that offers diversified opportunities – from applied technology to information technology to management positions. We are pleased to partner with WVIA to bring this kind of important career information to our public television audience.”
The series airs on WVIA-TV in northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania and is available for viewing on Penn College’s YouTube channel; the show’s website; and WVIA’s on-demand channel.
Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs; the finest video and film productions; and online commercials, video and film.
Winners represent the best work of advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators and corporate video departments throughout the world. This year, the Telly Awards received nearly 11,000 entries. The “degrees that work.tv” series won its award in the Information Program category.
Several past editions of “degrees that work.tv” also have received Telly Awards. Like the natural gas show, all the honored episodes have been produced, written and edited by Christopher J. Leigh, the college’s video production coordinator, and Thomas F. Speicher, writer/video editor at the college.
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