Wildcat Rotorfest doubles in size in second year

The second annual Wildcat Rotorfest, held recently at Pennsylvania College of Technology by the emergency management & homeland security major, doubled in attendance and participants. The interactive career exploration day was attended by nearly 500 K-12 students from 23 schools across the state.

Bringing together emergency response and aviation employers, the event gives Penn College’s emergency management & homeland security students the opportunity to plan and execute a large-scale event, utilizing their education in incident command, field management and security tactics. Rotorfest is also an opportunity for the college students to connect and interact with professionals in their career field.

“Rotorfest has grown tremendously in its second year, doubling in size in both participants and people attending the event,” said William A. Schlosser, instructor of emergency management & homeland security. “It continues to be a fantastic opportunity for our students to network and for first responders to network. It is a great experience for our students here at Penn College.”

“After spending many weeks learning extensively in class, it is amazing to be able to bring all of those skills together and see it in real life,” said Katie E. Martin, an emergency management & homeland security freshman, who served as Rotorfest’s Incident Command Team deputy. “With the knowledge and amazing guidance of Mr. Schlosser and students who had this experience last year, I think we have really put on something great here that holds amazing opportunity, and I can’t wait to see where we can take it in the years to follow.”

Adding another dimension of participation to the day, Martin’s parents, Jesika and Brian Martin, were among the students’ supporters. To watch Rotorfest unfold, the Martins drove from their home near Bethany Beach, Delaware, where they serve their community in firefighting and emergency medical technician capacities.

Emergency response units participating in the day were: U.S. Coast Guard, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Pennsylvania State Police, Williamsport Bureau of Police, Williamsport Bureau of Fire, Penn College Police, North Central Task Force, North Central Pennsylvania Unmanned Emergency Services, Clearview Asset Protection and FirstNet Communications.

Landing on the front lawns of Penn College’s campus were a U.S. Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter, two state Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopters, and a state police Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. The guard units, PEMA and the city fire bureau supplied a wide variety of ground support vehicles, parked in two nearby parking lots and along the college’s main entrance. Other participants displayed and demonstrated their range of equipment and technologies supporting emergency response.

For the K-12 schools and career and technology centers in attendance, the event offered ample opportunity to explore career options and gaze in awe at all the impressive gear.

“The Wildcat Rotorfest is a great way to expose K-12 students to the multitude of opportunities available to them,” said Chuck D. Crews Jr., assistant director for secondary partnerships. “While emergency management & homeland security is the driving force of Rotorfest, we are also able to showcase how aviation technicians, heavy equipment and nursing are important, just to name a few. This is just another event that makes us Penn College proud! Our attendees are already excited for next year’s event.”

Schools attending were: Benton Area High School, Canton Junior Senior High School, Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, Greater Altoona Career & Technology Center, Jersey Shore Area Senior High School, Kutztown Area High School, Liberty Valley Intermediate School (Danville Area School District), Midd-West High School, Mifflin County Academy of Science & Technology, Millville Area Junior Senior High School, Milton Middle School, North Penn-Liberty High School, North Penn-Mansfield High School, Northumberland County Career & Technology Center, PA Distance Learning Charter School, River Valley High School, St. John Neumann Regional Academy, Seneca Highlands Career & Technical Center, SUN Area Technical Institute, Sullivan County High School, Upper Dauphin High School, Warrior Run Junior/Senior High School and Wilkes-Barre Area High School.

“I just had one of our kids say, ‘I’m not gonna lie – I thought we would be sitting in a classroom. This is so much better!’ For the students to be able to go out and experience, touch things and do all the hands-on opportunities has been great,” said Amanda Capone, career pathways coordinator for the Southern Tioga School District, represented at Rotorfest by North Penn-Liberty and North-Penn Mansfield high schools. “We like to expose students to all careers, including emergency management and health care. It’s been a wonderful experience, and the presenters have been so engaging.”

Penn College offers a Bachelor of Science degree in emergency management & homeland security – with on-campus and online options. To learn more about the major, contact the School of Business, Arts & Sciences at 570-327-4521.

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