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Educating A Lion’s Share Of Students

The original column appeared in the Tribune-Democrat, written by Dr. Steve Nunez. Click here to see original sourced column.

If you have read my columns before, you know I am a product of a community college and have worked for community colleges my entire professional career.

I even earned a doctorate in community college leadership.

I have always been drawn to and appreciate the community college mission, which is to provide affordable, accessible, and quality educational opportunities to the communities that we serve.

When I am asked to speak to local, state or federal legislators, economic development organizations, or civic-minded clubs – I get really excited.

Community colleges are my passion, and I cannot wait to share my personal experiences and to discuss why community colleges are the best higher education “invention” ever.

Honestly, I have a tough time being succinct when I am given a pedestal to talk about community colleges.

I recently had the pleasure of enjoying the company of members of the Johnstown West End Lions Club. We spent the first hour together “breaking bread” and getting to know each other before I was asked to give some comments. I will freely admit that Lions Clubs and Rotary Clubs are friendly rivals, but ultimately both clubs strongly believe in community service and giving back to those in need.

If you visit the Lions Club website, the word “kindness” is found throughout – that is the type of civic organization that I admire and respect. And I would become a member, but I am a Rotarian so – you know, the friendly rival thing.

I have given many presentations in my career, but a trick of the trade is to find a way to actively engage your audience to increase participation and focus. A new tool for me is to engage an audience using trivia questions – in this case, questions about community colleges. And so off I went peppering the Lions Club members with community college trivia.

• How many community colleges are there in Pennsylvania? 15.

• How many community colleges are found in the United States? 942.

• How many students are served annually by community colleges? Around five million.

And you know you have their interest when they begin asking questions in return.

• Will your college credits transfer to a four-year university? Yes.

• What is Penn Highlands’ service area? Mostly Cambria, Somerset, Huntingdon and Blair counties, but we serve other counties in central Pennsylvania, too.

• What is dual enrollment? High school students dually enrolled in a high school class (for high school credit) and simultaneously a college class (for college credit). Some Penn Highlands students earn their associate degrees before they earn their high school diplomas.

And so it went, until I realized that I had held the Lions Club hostage for about an hour. My community college passion put me into a fevered state, and I had lost track of time.

However, the Lions Club was gracious. We took a couple of pictures, they handed me a nice certificate of appreciation, and sent me on my way with handshakes and smiles.

Ultimately, I left a happy man who was well fed, had made a few new friends, and felt reenergized by speaking about my passion to a great group of people. It was a terrific way to end the evening.

See you at Penn Highlands.

Written By Dr. Steve Nunez, College’s Fifth President. This monthly series appears in The Tribune-Democrat, and will allow Dr. Nunez to provide his perspective on the value of education and of a community college.

MLB® Jr. Home Run Derby Competition Hosted By Ebensburg Student Activities Club Set For May

On Sunday, May 22nd, at Carrolltown American Legion Park, the Penn Highlands Community College Ebensburg Student Activity Club will host a free Major League Baseball® Jr. Home Run Derby™ Competition for area youth beginning at 12 PM. MLB Jr. Home Run Derby allows participants to swing for the fences in a fun and free competition that allows hitters the opportunity to advance through three levels of competition culminating at the 2022 All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

Boys and girls are divided into three age divisions: 12U, 14U, and 15 – Senior in High School. Participants in 12U and 14U will have the chance to advance to the Regional Level. The 15+ age division is not eligible to advance; however, prizes will be given to the winner of each age group.

All participants must pre-register online.

• To register for the 12U or 14U division: https://pennh.cc/HRDerby22
• To register for the 15+ division: https://pennh.cc/HomeRun22

All participants must bring age verification (copy/picture of birth certificate or similar) to the competition. Additionally, the American Legion Park will be raising funds to benefit the mother of Maverick Baker and her future plans to honor her son by holding a basket raffle and 50/50. The concession stand will also be open.

For questions concerning the competition or to donate a basket, please contact Robert Sekerak, Local Coordinator and Penn Highlands Regional Center Director, at 814.471.0013 or rsekerak@pennhighlands.edu.

To learn more about this event, click here.

Forging Classes Now Offered In Partnership With The Center For Metal Arts

Beginning this August, through a collaboration with the Center for Metal Arts, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College will be offering four courses in the forging craft.

Throughout the development of humankind, forging has played an important role in the advancement of society and technology. Despite “blacksmithing” being an ancient craft, it has ushered us into and through the industrial revolution, and it is still being performed on an industrial scale today. Few things have had a stronger impact than the creation and use of tools, the discovery of metals, and the forging process.

While forging classes can be taken on their own, the forging classes offered through Penn Highlands serve as technical electives within the College’s Entrepreneurship (A.A.S.) degree. This means that a student enrolled in forging can use the course credits they earned towards an associate degree designed to help individuals start a business.

Forging classes include:

• Introduction to Forging (FRG 101)
• Intermediate Forging I: Power Hammer (FRG 150)
• Intermediate Forging II: Joinery (FRG 200)
• Advanced Forging: Design and Execution (FRG 250)

All forging classes will be held at the Center for Metal Arts, located in downtown Johnstown at 106 Iron Street, Johnstown, PA 15906. The Center for Metal Arts believes in preserving and growing the history and craft of high-quality forged ironwork and offering a world-class environment for learning.

These classes aim to give students a hands-on experience in the craft of forging. Starting with the basics, students receive a solid foundation on which to grow their skills and forging practice. By the end of all four classes, students are focused on design, the aspect of the craft that creates the most attractive and functional forge work. Design and execution work together hand in hand, creating harmony and some of the most striking and innovative forge work.

Skills learned in these classes will help successful students start their own businesses, add forging components to an existing business, or will translate to any other hands-on job.

Contact a Penn Highlands Admissions Representative at 814.262.6446 to learn more.

Community Colleges Are Worth The Investment

The original column appeared in the Tribune-Democrat, written by Dr. Steve Nunez. Click here to see original sourced column.

As I have stated many times before, I am a product of a community college. I graduated with my associate degree in 1990 from Southwest Virginia Community College.

That experience and that degree set me up for the rest of my life. I soon transferred to Virginia Tech to earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in biological sciences and then spent the rest of my life working at community colleges because I believe so much in the mission.

The number of community colleges exploded in the 1960s and 1970s, and were built on a funding model that kept tuition relatively low, and therefore, kept education accessible to many if not most of the population being served.

This funding model, sometimes referred to as the three-legged stool approach, provides revenue to community colleges through local community support, state appropriations, and student tuition and fees.

Penn Highlands Community College is lucky to have Cambria County as a sponsor – thanks to the Cambria County Commissioners and to Cambria County taxpayers.

The College receives additional funding from the state of Pennsylvania and through state and federal grants. Our local legislators are community college advocates and friends of Penn Highlands.

I’m thankful that they “get it” and am appreciative of their efforts to support the College and its mission.

However, most of the College’s revenue is generated through tuition and fees from our students, so revenue streams are tied closely to enrollment.

As our nation and our state climb out of a global pandemic, community colleges are as important – or even more so – than ever before to the economic development of our region and to raising the quality of life of our residents.

Penn Highlands Community College provides accessible, affordable, and quality educational opportunities to the residents of Cambria, Somerset, Blair, and Huntingdon counties (and others). But continued robust financial support from the state is a necessity in order for the College to accomplish its mission.

Central to that mission is providing degrees and classes that easily transfer to our four-year higher education friends, where a student can earn a bachelor’s degree. Or by providing degrees and short certificates that quickly prepare a student for the workforce as a highly-trained professional.

And, our customized training programs that we have in place for local business and industry are key to keeping employees trained for 21st century work. Community college education is more relevant than ever to our communities.

Community colleges are built to be responsive to the needs of our communities and you will continue to see innovative, quality programming being produced at Penn Highlands as the College unveils its police academy, the Johnstown culinary program, and additional programming opportunities in the Ebensburg and Altoona areas.

I get it – I’m biased. But I truly love and relate to the community college mission.

Community colleges are worth the investment.

See you at Penn Highlands.

Written By Dr. Steve Nunez, College’s Fifth President. This monthly series appears in The Tribune-Democrat, and will allow Dr. Nunez to provide his perspective on the value of education and of a community college.

College Earns 2022-2023 Silver Military Friendly® School Designation

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College announced that it has earned the 2022-2023 Silver Military Friendly^® School designation.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly^® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey with 665 earning special awards for going above the standard.

The 2022-2023 Military Friendly^® Schools list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly^® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement or Transfer), and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

“Penn Highlands is committed to providing military service members, veterans, and their families with the best opportunities available,” stated Dr. Steve Nunez, President of Penn Highlands Community College. “All veterans in our region, and everywhere, should be valued for their service. We are dedicated to meeting their needs for education and training.”

Kayla Lopez, National Director of Military Partnerships for Military Friendly^® stated the following. “Military Friendly^® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process. Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the Military Community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard.”

For more information about Penn Highlands’ student veteran programs, visit the College’s website at www.pennhighlands.edu.

About Military Friendly^® Schools (www.militaryfriendly.com)
The Military Friendly^® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly^® Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria, and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate.

About Viqtory (www.viqtory.com)
Founded in 2001, VIQTORY is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) that connects the military community to civilian employment, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities through its G.I. Jobs^® and Military Friendly^® brands. VIQTORY and its brands are not a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Dept of Defense or any federal government entity.