Pennsylvania College of Technology was again among the participating partners in Dream Week, which annually celebrates the passionate life and peaceful mission of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The college joined STEP AmeriCorps, Lycoming College, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and United Churches of Lycoming County in offering a number of opportunities for community involvement, starting with a downtown Peace Walk during the Jan. 16 observance of the federal MLK Day holiday. Campus activities included a seed-planting program (co-sponsored by Penn College's horticulture department and The Potting Bench in South Williamsport); an eye-opening poverty simulation in the Thompson Professional Development Center; and a Unity Day festival during Friday's basketball doubleheader in Bardo Gymnasium.
– Photos by Cindy Davis Meixel writer/photo editor; Jennifer A. Cline, writer/magazine editor;
Alexis M. Burrell, student photographer; and Tom Wilson, writer/editor-PCToday
Warren and Lee Robinson, of Trinity Episcopal Church, plant some of the vegetable seeds that will eventually be added to one of three community gardens in Williamsport: at Trinity Episcopal, James V. Brown Library and West End Christian Community Center.
Elisa Dallo is among Lycoming College students who ventured to Penn College's Bush Campus Center to help plant seeds.
Savannah J. Zook, a human services & restorative justice student from Lewistown and an intern in the Student Engagement Office, helps to guide participants in starting vegetable plants – and lends her hands to the cause.
Game & simulation programming student Hunter B. Hockman, of Accident, Md., adds cantaloupe seeds with the assurance that they will provide a welcome treat on a hot summer 2023 day.
Sowing the seeds of community
Future menu ingredients for individuals and families who face food insecurity
Kayleigh A. Miller, a business administration student from Sayre, labels her starter pots.
The Market Square statue of baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson (part of a Bases Loaded project that includes the likeness of former President George W. Bush, left) was a fitting starting point for Monday's walk.
Williamsport Mayor Derek Slaughter and Nate Woods Jr., Penn College's special assistant to the president for inclusion transformation, were among the day's keynoters. Woods offered opening remarks; Slaughter later spoke outside the James V. Brown Library.
Woods delivers an inspiring kickoff speech, as retired faculty member Phil Landers listens in the background.
Woods' older son, Nathaniel, is interviewed by WNEP's Chris Keating.
Blue skies and high spirits
A community member listens to Woods' words of wisdom.
Phi Mu Delta brothers heed the call for interconnectedness. From left are Brandon M. Malchano, Jacob M. Pusateri, Levi E. Hosey and Daniel J. Duncan.
A sign of peace
Among the walkers: Carlos Ramos, director of strategic marketing, and his wife, Michele D. Lucas, whose Penn College degrees include a 2013 bachelor's in graphic design.
“Unity in the Community,” indeed!
The marchers make their way up Basin Street toward Lycoming College. (STEP AmeriCorps manager Carrie Campbell Bruning is in sunglasses at center, behind the banner.)
Capturing illumination in the sunshine, participants listen to Sophia Stabley, director of community service and involvement at Lycoming College, during one of the stops along their 1-mile loop.
A long line of peacemakers travels from Lycoming College back toward the city’s center.
At right is Jessica Nicole Ray, a first year pre-radiography student at Penn College. The Williamsport resident is a four-year alumna of AmeriCorps and an information assistant at STEP Inc.
A Penn College family steps up to the plate! Katie L. Mackey, assistant director of disability and access resources, and husband, Jon W., a senior in emergency management & homeland security, enjoy a winter day in the sun with their sons.
Sunny smiles of brotherhood are exhibited by (from left) Phi Mu Delta's Duncan, Pusateri, Malchano, Chard R. Cort and Jared S. Patten.
Phi Mu Delta representing!
An information table for the sponsoring Central Pennsylvania Food Bank welcomes PDC guests. The local nonprofit provided a dinner prior to the simulation, and hosted two food-packing events during Dream Week as service opportunities for members of the Penn College community.
Unsurprisingly in the midst of activity is Krystle J. Richardson (in Carhartt hat), a heavily involved human services & restorative justice student.
Representatives of the Admissions Office were among those assisting at the service tables, including associate director Jen M. Cullin-Hetrick (at center, looking toward the camera) ...
... and Ashlee C. Felix-Taveras (foreground), counselor and recent human services & restorative justice grad.
Lining up in hopes of employment
Another campus leader aiding the cause is applied management student Kellor A. Schooley (right foreground), of Turbotville.
Jennifer McLean, dean of students, shepherds arrivals to the homeless shelter.
A "fate card" is tossed into play, making clear the way in which real life can suddenly derail one's dream.
Faculty member Rob Cooley (at center, in vest) – associate professor of anthropology/environmental science – is an acknowledged advocate of activities that resonate with students.
Ackels also started a Community Jar of color-coded sand, laying down a layer of supportive yellow that pledged the campus' compassionate response to whatever followed.
Disability & Access Resources provided a number of hands-on activities ...
... as well as an ample supply of encouragement and affirmation.
... ensuring that giveaway recipients could quickly embrace the spirit of the event.
Ivy M. Baker, a human services & restorative justice student from Williamsport, signs the national anthem for an appreciative crowd ...
... and Heidi E. Roupp, disability and access resources specialist/staff interpreter, helps to introduce team lineups for the women's game.
Calli R. Ackels, wellness education coordinator, was popular from the get-go, attracting these young sand artists.
The Office of Student Engagement enlisted Caribbean Touch, a local mobile caterer, for a palate-pleasing array of food ...
Ashlee E. Massey, of Williamsport, a human services & restorative justice student, staffs the BSU table.
... that attracted a parade of hungry Wildcat fans during a break in the action.
Grown-ups, too, joined in the creative fun. Pictured are cheerleaders Nicole M. Embick (left), North Bend, nursing, and Madelynn R. Muench, Sugar Run, pre-nursing.
Event assistants Kellor A. Schooley and Maya A. Lawton handily handle the T-shirt table near the entrance to the gym ...
As off-screen dancers perform to "HandClap," the energetic trio of (clockwise from left) Caila Flanagan, Rose Street Commons coordinator; Samir K. Pringle, Connections program student assistant; and Nat G. Santaella, coordinator of student engagement, joins the fun from the opposite end of the court.
The Wildcat Dance Team plays to the bleachers during a halftime appearance.
Both schools' teams, as well as all of the campus organizations involved in the special night, gather at midcourt between games. (The Wildcats prevailed in both contests, each by a five-point margin.)
President Michael J. Reed and spouse Christina talk with members of the Human Services and Restorative Justice Club (from left): Gabe F. Hockman, of Bath; Cody R. Englehart, of Williamsport; and Krystle J. Richardson, of Linden. Also on hand were the college's Black Student Union, Disability & Access Resources, Inclusion Task Force, PC Alliance, Student Government Association, and Wellness Education.
To help spectators better empathize with the Deaf community, including the visiting teams from Gallaudet University, men's basketball coach Geoff B. Hensley calls for a "Silent Game" – no talking, no clapping, no cheering – until Penn College scored its 10th point. And in further comment to the various student organizations represented on the west end of the gym, as well as to their audience of allies in diversity, equity and inclusion, the coach said: "We see you. We hear you. We support you. We love you."