Decade's final grads take a 'bough' amid holiday greenery

Pennsylvania College of Technology held its Fall Commencement at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport. Stephanie A. Petrison, of Landenberg, who received a Bachelor of Science in business administration: sport and event management concentration, was the student speaker. Also addressing December's class was Ryan P. Good, assistant professor of welding, who was presented with the Veronica M. Muzic Master Teacher Award in May. Degrees were conferred by President Davie Jane Gilmour and state Sen. Gene Yaw, chair of the Penn College Board of Directors, and a Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to 2004 business administration graduate Clint Cullison, a senior associate with Greenlee Partners.

– Photos by Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor; Cindy Davis Meixel, writer/photo editor;
and Kimberlee R. Rusczyk, manager of social media/online marketing

While spectacular in all seasons, the Arts Center seems to glow more brightly during the holidays.

The alumni honoree's youngest son meets President Gilmour.

Robin A. Rader-Edkin, a Penn College Dining Services worker, with granddaughter Kennedy, the daughter of President’s Award Winner Nathan A. Rader-Edkin and Bailey Frey (at center), ’19, baking and pastry arts

Drama, music and dance suitably adorn the Arts Center's lobby decor.

Power walking to commencement

Carol A. Lugg (left), dean of construction and design technologies, with another successful graduate: Christy S. Phillips, applied technology studies

The range of majors in construction and design is personified (from left) by Zachary T. Lambert, residential builder; Kc H. Welkom, civil engineering technology; and Austin T. Dowrick, heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology.

Holiday-inspired podium flowers enhance an already joyful day.

Faculty award-winner Good urges graduates to become comfortable with failure ... and offered quotes from "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and (like the student speaker) the aforementioned Pooh Bear.

Petrison, acknowledging that her third college was the charm, said she found a home at Penn College. She also shared words of wisdom from Winnie the Pooh – not the only time that scholarly source was cited Saturday!

Noted for his role in beneficial legislative victories, Cullison expresses gratitude to Penn College for smoothing his road to success.

After turning Petrison's tassel, the president warmly embraces the class representative.

Servicemen and women in the fall Class of '19 stand for acknowledgement from a thankful audience.

Graduating veteran James A. Dansereau – earning degrees in electromechanical maintenance technology and electrical technology – accepts Gilmour's sincere gratitude and best wishes.

Rader-Edkin, recipient of the President's Award, strides toward his big moment.

Any elves in the house?

The satisfied smile speaks for itself.

Dancing to her destiny, this graduate stepped lively across the stage en route to shaking the president’s hand.

Jonathan G. Vasconcelos is ready to head home to New Hampshire to work. He earned associate degrees in heavy construction equipment technology: technician and operator emphases.

The final graduate to cross the stage: the student speaker, who then enjoyed a photo op with the president and board chairman. (Michael J. Reed, vice president for academic affairs and provost, is seated at right.)

Deftly juggling responsibilities, Cullison joins his fellow alumni in rising to sing the Penn College alma mater.

"A right jolly old elf" – Marc E. Bridgens, associate professor of HVAC technology – exits the stage at ceremony's end, wearing a Santa hat and toting the college mace.

The big show!

Pride

She’s got the whole world in her hands! Samantha-Jo M. (Bradley) Rynearson savors a photo op with her daughter. She added an applied management degree to the baking and pastry arts diploma she earned in 2014.

A congratulatory balloon floats above the crowd outside the CAC.

In the crush of the post-ceremony crowd outside, fans of Emily L. Tashner-Thompson flash the high sign to alert her to their whereabouts. A nursing grad, Tashner-Thompson received the Shirley Novosel Memorial Award.

Jake W. Sharrah, a 2018 diesel technology alumnus, joins his parents in celebrating his applied management degree ...

... and sports a tassel marking him and his classmates as the last Penn College grads of the 2010s.

Making a sparkling memory, Caitlin A. Dauberman shares a special moment with her grandfather. Dauberman tacked a bachelor's in applied health studies: radiography concentration to her August associate degree in radiography.

'Tis the season for green! Kendra S. Brown and son pose for photos; she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration: management concentration.

Stephen J. Kreitzer, who earned a welding and fabrication engineering technology degree, had a beloved relative on his mind: He graduated with his late grandfather’s photo inside his cap.

It’s all in the family for David J. Henry, an emergency management technology graduate.

Justin W. Beishline, assistant dean of transportation and natural resources technologies, connects with Celeste G. Moquin, of Port Matilda, who graduated in on-site power generation and received the Pathfinders to Excellence Award.

Among those preparing to process into the theater are Sandra L. Richmond (foreground), dean of nursing and health sciences, and Valerie A. Myers, assistant dean of nursing.

Friends to the end ... and to a new beginning

Taylor M. Bickhart, an applied management graduate from Middleburg, adds a festive finish to her cap. She also holds a degree in baking and pastry arts.

Jaid T. Smeltzer, an individual studies graduate from Avis, adds up the milestones on her cap.

Gathering in a Genetti Hotel ballroom before the ceremony are Taylor M. Bickhart, of Middleburg, applied management; Amber A. Kreitzer, of Port Trevorton, applied management; Janaya B. Bartholomew, of Williamsport, business administration: management concentration; and Jaid T. Smeltzer, of Avis, individual studies.

Grads of the heavy construction equipment and diesel technology majors offer a smile as they wait for the Registrar’s Office to call their numbers for lineup.

The Genetti Hotel lobby provides a seasonally merry backdrop for the graduates to stage before departing for the Community Arts Center.

Jacob A. Metricarti, of Royersford, and Edmund E. Anyzek III, of Wenonah, N.J., both heating, ventilation and air conditioning technology, join Austin T. Dowrick, of Olney, Md., heating, ventilation and air conditioning design technology, and Kc H. Welkom, of Catawissa, civil engineering technology, in the lineup.

Allison F. Chapman, of Montoursville, information assurance and cyber security, sends a secret message on her cap. Want to decode it? Google “shift cypher 3.” Spoiler alert: We’ve decoded it for you! “Knowledge can only carry you so far. It’s up to you to take the first steps.”

The Fonz would approve of this “thumbs-up” expression.

Trae M. Tudor, an automated manufacturing technology graduate from Titusville

Graduates warm their chilly December procession with smiles.

Sometimes, a smile says it all.

This smile spells contentment and hope.

A jubilant expression to match the sentiment of the day

“Nurse Kalee” offers a skeletal “victory” sign on her cap.

Camaraderie among classmates during their final collegiate activity

Ready to “commence” to the next milestone.

A graduate looks down the processional line.

Oceana R. Copley, landscape/horticulture technology: plant production emphasis, appropriately decorates her cap with flora.

Greenery greets grads as they enter the Community Arts Center.

Graduates rise to turn their tassels.

Faculty from the Earth Science Center form a greeting line in the Community Arts Center lobby to offer their students a final congratulations.

Nursing graduates Kalee M. Hart, of Bloomsburg; Daria Datsenko, of Lewisburg; and Genevieve F. Guzman, of Pottsville, stick together after the ceremony.

Sandra L. Karnes, assistant professor of speech communication-composition, receives thanks from newly minted graduates.

Rynearson, of Washington, with husband, Tom (a 2016 residential construction technology and management grad), and daughter Jade (who was also celebrating a lost tooth!)

Benjamin H. Eischeid, an accounting graduate from Williamsport, receives loving congratulations from his family.

Nathaniel M. Barbolish, center, of Nicholson, residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration, captures a memory with Glenn R. Luse, left, instructor of building construction masonry, and Peter Kruppenbacher, assistant professor of building construction technology.

Aniah T. Ellerbee, a building construction technology graduate from Tannersville, commemorates the day with her family.

Ethan I. Smeigh, New Bloomfield, celebrates a degree in building science and sustainable design: architectural technology concentration with his grandparents.

A young fan – and future photographer? – captures Lindsay M. Fox, a surgical technology graduate from Williamsport, with her friends and family.

Cody R. Lenhardt, of Drums, heavy construction equipment technology: technician emphasis, poses with the truck that, in the summer, serves as a water feature, but was made equally attractive for the holidays by the college’s horticulturalists.

Erin M. Beaver, a welding and fabrication engineering technology graduate from Winfield, poses with evergreen gnomes. The award-winning metal sculptor is a fan of these clever creations of the college’s horticulture crew.