WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Following an update to its own lab equipment, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s School of Engineering Technologies recently donated unused items to Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology. Forty students from the academy toured the electrical and mechatronics technology labs, where they accepted the donation of equipment.
Mifflin County Academy is a dual enrollment partner of Penn College, through which students can take college-level courses while still in high school to earn both high school and college credits. According to Eric L. Anstadt, assistant professor of electrical technology/occupations at Penn College, the academy has sent many students through the college’s electrical programs.
Anstadt, along with colleagues Kevin Yokitis, assistant professor of electrical technology/occupations, and Art L. Counterman, instructor in electrical technology/occupations, thought it would be a great idea to donate the equipment that is no longer being used to support secondary schools.
Included in the donation were B&K Precision dual trace analog oscilloscopes, B&K Precision function generators, B&K Precision digital multimeters and Tektronix digital oscilloscopes.
According to Tyler J. Snyder, mechatronics instructor for Mifflin County Academy, students can gain real-world experience and refine more than 40 tasks under the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s mechatronics task list by utilizing the equipment, which allows longer and more practical experience designing, wiring and troubleshooting motor control circuits.
“The partnership with Penn College is a significant benefit to students who are entering the workforce directly and those pursuing higher education,” Snyder said. “Over the course of three years, students in my program may choose to take up to 12 credits of higher education. That is equivalent to 12 credits or one semester of classes for which they don’t need to pay — a considerable cost savings in both the cost of tuition, as well as saving a semester on housing, food and transportation.”
Through the program, students transitioning directly into the workforce have been exposed to realistic labs and have learned valuable skills, such as reading blueprints, using a multimeter and operating an oscilloscope. Those skills will allow them to progress through various levels of production technology to reach a maintenance or engineering level, Snyder added.
“These foundations lay the groundwork for my students to gain employment and keep progressing through demonstrated knowledge, growing in responsibility and financially allowing them to lead fulfilling, successful lives,” he said.
Anstadt feels the partnership has been mutually beneficial.
“Mifflin Academy and other dual enrollment partners have supported our department over the years,” he said. “It is nice to be able to support them with some surplus equipment. We hope that this will better prepare their students for their future, whether it be here or in the workforce.”
Laura Hicks, administrative director of Mifflin County Academy of Science and Technology, said partnerships with postsecondary institutions like Penn College are crucial in flipping the narrative of the long-standing stigma of technical education versus college.
“Our partnership stands to focus on the idea that there is not and never should be a ‘versus,’” Hicks said. “The foundation of a hands-on learning environment only fosters a more solid pathway to a successful career, which includes postsecondary education. It is not an option; it is an essential part of developing an innovative, dependable and extraordinary workforce. That is the mission of MCAST — to be that foundation of success by creating opportunities for learning and fostering partnerships like the ones we have with Penn College.”
For information about electronics and computer engineering technology degrees and other majors offered by Penn College’s School of Engineering Technologies, call 570-327-4520 or visit pct.edu/et.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.