First-year diesel instructor honored as Caterpillar ‘Pathfinder’

A diesel instructor at Pennsylvania College of Technology has received Caterpillar Inc.'s Pathfinder to Excellence Faculty Award in just his first year of teaching.

A plaque was presented to Andy S. King, a member of the diesel equipment technology faculty at the Schneebeli Earth Science Center, during an advisory committee meeting of Caterpillar dealer representatives at the college’s Thompson Professional Development Center.

King, a Rebersburg resident who joined the faculty in August 2022, is a 2011 alumnus in heavy construction equipment technology: technician emphasis. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in applied management.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment that Mr. King received this award during his first year of teaching at Penn College.  He’s adapted to the diesel equipment technology department so quickly that it seems as though he’s been here for years,” said Justin W. Beishline, assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources, a Pathfinder honoree in 2011. “I’m grateful that he decided to join our team and is making a great impact on student learning.”

Presented over the past two decades, usually in conjunction with a campus Career Fair, the Pathfinder to Excellence award recognizes a faculty member who “develops effective teaching techniques, enhances learning materials, demonstrates a keen sensitivity to student needs and maintains high academic standards.”

Among comments from King’s student nominators:

• “He is willing to help everyone in the shop. He shares helpful tips and teaches a good class. He is very easy to relate to.”
   
• “He has taught everything I now know, and did a great job for it being his first year at Penn College."
   
• “Andrew King has taught me in a way no other teacher could have ever taught me. He taught me, not by the book, but how he has learned and the way I will learn in the field of study. If I did not understand something, he would find another way to put it for me and my classmates to learn it. (He) knew how to make learning fun, but also educational. He is the greatest teacher I have had the privilege of being in a class with.”
   
• “Mr. King always strives to make learning fun and creative, while ensuring academic standards are met. In his classroom and in the labs, Mr. King makes sure each student has what they need to succeed. On several occasions, Mr. King made himself available for students for personal conversations and advice. Mr. King has demonstrably shown his commitment to Penn College and the diesel program during the Fall 22 and Spring 23 semesters.”
   
• “He has done a very good job at teaching his classes so that students get the most out of them.”
   
• “Made learning fun and easy, always there to help and be a listening ear. He made my first semester of college 100 times better.”

For information about Penn College's diesel, heavy equipment and power generation majors, call the School of Engineering Technologies at 570-327-4516.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.