The Sanatoga Post

Honor society key

BLUE BELL PA – Twenty-three students from the Pottstown area – and another 27 from Limerick, Royersford, Collegeville, Phoenixville, Mont Clare and Spring City – were among a total of 183 recently inducted for the fall 2011 semester into the Montgomery County Community College chapters of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of two-year colleges.

To be eligible for membership, students must maintain a grade point average of 3.5 and must have completed at least 12 credits.

The list of inductees announced Friday (Jan. 6, 2012) by the college includes those from:

• Pottstown: Jeff Beattie, Daniela Bonanno, David Brey, Donald Brooks, Kyla Dengler, Michael Eggers, Jane Evans, David Hicks, Megan Hydutsky, Solange Jacques, Patricia Kennedy, Pamela Kisch, Anya Lafferty, Sarah Lucidi, Merecedes Luteman, Irene Monger, Kristin Ploshay, Miranda Smith, Brittany Stephen, Jessica Stewart, Bethany Tornetta, Chelsea Waisanen, Galina Wise
• Royersford: Theodore Chao, Karen Fuerst, Colin Larimer, Jessica Lehman, Melanie Mahaney, Eric Marble, Christina Robertson
• Spring City: Nicola Caldwell-Macelree, Jillian Freese, Christine Snyder
• Collegeville: Nancy Eisenhardt, Harless Jones, Emily Litka, Juan Munoz, Denise Naylor, Patty Nazzaro, Benjamin Shew, Kenneth Vincent Lopez
• Limerick: William Murphy
• Mont Clare: Mary Odira
• Phoenixville: Kristen Arney, Paul Celentano, Paul Gretzer, Katja Kracht, Elizabeth McCarty, Kelsey Pacell, Nicole Siuta

Also named were those from:

Birdsboro: Christopher Bickings
Boyertown: Debra Vroman
Douglassville: Sarah Johnson, Charles Mearhoff, Sarah Mearhoff
East Greenville: Anna Folk, Crystal Schirmer
Gilbertsville: Ryan Kohn, John McKillip, Nicholas Murdoch, Elizabeth Strickland
Green Lane: Sarah Carpenter, Ciara Marble, Andrew Rittenhouse
Pennsburg: Amelia Kulp
Red Hill: Amanda Grube, Mark Singleton

A sign Saturday outside the college's Pottstown campus announces availability of casino training

POTTSTOWN PA – A free information and registration session on learning to become a casino dealer, which potentially could lead to a job at the Valley Forge Casino Resort scheduled to open next spring in King of Prussia PA, will be held Thursday (Jan. 5, 212) from 7-9 p.m. in the South Hall community room at the West campus of Montgomery County Community College, College Drive, Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The college has partnered with the resort, located at the Valley Forge Convention Center complex on the east side of U.S. Route 422 at First Avenue, to train its dealer candidates. Attendance at the informational session is required to be considered for employment, the college said Thursday (Dec. 29, 2011) on its website.

A similar session is being held in the grand ballroom of the convention center’s Valley Forge Radisson Hotel, 1160 First Ave., King of Prussia. Advance registration is required for either information session; call 215-641-6550 or use an online form here.

Those accepted into the program will “learn everything (they) need to know to become a dealer and begin a potentially lucrative career in the exciting casino industry,” the college promotional material claimed. Its classes are scheduled to begin Jan. 12.

The college said it created a “state-of-the-art mock casino training center, equipped with 14 tables,” where students can “acquire the gaming skills leading toward obtaining a dealer license.” Its courses include Introduction to Table Games, Blackjack and Carnival Games, Craps, Roulette, Mini Baccarat, and emergency cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

Candidates for the courses and employment must be 18 years or older. Obtaining a course Certificate of Completion does not guarantee employment with the casino, the college warned.

MCCC plans a fall career expo at its Pottstown campus

POTTSTOWN PA — The annual fall career expo at Montgomery County Community College’s West Campus is scheduled for Oct. 26 (2011; Wednesday) from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the college’s South Hall Community Room, 101 College Dr., Pottstown PA. More than 50 area employers are expected to recruit for part-time, full-time, temporary and seasonal employment, as well as for internships.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The fair is free of charge and is open to the community.

Businesses and organizations interested in participating should contact Cindy Murphy in the college Office of Career Services; call 610-718-1802, or send her an e-mail, here.

Photo from Clipart.com

CONSHOHOCKEN PA – Tonight (Tuesday, July 26, 2011) will be big for 38 firefighters in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties, who officially graduate from the Montgomery County Fire Academy’s first Summer Essentials class that teaches entry-level fire-fighting skills. About a third of them are members of area departments, including one from the Sanatoga Fire Company.

Summer Essentials, a day-time training program that offers four specialized courses over five weeks, is new this year at the academy, which worked with Montgomery County Community College. Its goal, instructors say, is to offer fire training in a format that allows college students to train as firefighters during their summer break.

The ceremony opens at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Campus, 1175 Conshohocken Rd., Conshohocken PA.

Among the graduating firefighters, who represent 26 different companies, are:

• Donald Patton, Sanatoga Fire Company;
• Gerald Zepp, Trappe;
• Michael Speck, Phoenixville;
• Edward Henninger and Troy Yingling Jr., Gilbertsville;
• Greg Pinney and Matthew Dougherty, Schwenksville;
• Jennifer Horn and Benjamin Lerman, Upper Frederick;
• Sarah Bretz, King of Prussia; and
• Joel Zimmermann, Valley Forge.

The commencement speaker will be Michael Weider, who began his fire service career in 1979 as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Pennsburg PA. He now serves as associate director of Oklahoma State University ’s Fire Protection Publications, and executive director of the International Fire Service Training Association. Piper Bill Wilfong will lead the graduates into the auditorium.

Illustration from Google Images

Nicholas Natale

POTTSTOWN PA – When Pottsgrove High School student Nicholas Natale graduated in June (2011), he had already earned an associate’s degree in liberal studies from Montgomery County Community College, thanks to the college’s dual enrollment program.

“I was given the opportunity of a lifetime that I could not refuse,” Natale said. The college “advanced my education ten-fold, and has even given me career experience that I couldn’t have received anywhere else. I cannot even begin to think of where I would be today without MCCC.”

As a dual enrollment student, Natale started taking classes at the college’s West Campus in Pottstown when he was 15 years old. He starts classes this fall as a junior at Harrisburg University, where he plans to study software engineering and analysis. His goal: to earn a doctorate.

Natale’s commitment to academics and service earned him a spot as a member of the All-Pennsylvania Academic Team named by the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, USA Today and Phi Theta Kappa.

Parents and students interested in the dual enrollment program can visit its website, here, for more information and application and registration forms. High school students age 15 or older who meet pre-requisites for the course they want to take are eligible to apply. Classes can be taken at the West Campus in Pottstown, Central Campus in Blue Bell, or online through e-Learning.

POTTSTOWN PA – Residents of Sanatoga, Pottstown, Stowe, Limerick, Linfield, Royersford, Spring City, Collegeville, and Trappe are among dozens of students who were named Friday (July 1, 2011) to the Dean’s List for the spring 2011 semester at Montgomery County Community College.

South Hall on the West (Pottstown) campus of MCCC.

The Dean’s List recognizes the academic achievements of students who earned 12 or more cumulative credits and received a grade point average of 3.5 (of 4) or higher.

Among the honored are, in:

• Sanatoga: William Apple, Kaitlyn Kennedy, Ryan Sullivan
• Pottstown: Brittany Adamski, Karen Altschuler, Holly Auman, Sharon Barkhymer, Candace Benson, Stacy Bluhm, Samantha Boatman, Sara Christ, Jo Anne Crosby, Kyla Dengler, Ashley Dibiaggio, Jennifer Doukas, Andrew Feather, Daniel Free, Jennifer Freese, Ashley Galamba, Erin Gallagher, Brian Gallie, Courtney Gappa, Ashley Gilroy, Bethany Grandy, Jessica Harris, Alyssa Hartzman, Daniel High, Amanda Holloway, Paige Howard, Bryanna Kirlin, Dianne Krumm, William Lockhoff, Jade Maddux, Dominic Masciarelli, Bernadette McIntosh, Shawn Meidinger, Kevin Mercado, Alecia Messner, Ashley Miller, Brock Morgan, Jonathan Mullen, Leticha Nargane, Christina O’Brien, Tiffany O’Connor, Breelyn Parkinson, Joshua Porter, Chelise Reinhart-Wilkerson, John Rodenberry, Melanie Schappell, Eric Scott,Miranda Smith, Timothy Solomon, Kelly Spieth, Andrew Stephen, Emily Swavely, Jessica Vetter, Kim Weber, Devon Yocom, Jennifer Yost
• Stowe: Sherry Christman, Tera Lewiski, Regina Outterbridge, Rachel Palmer, Joshua Sperow
• Collegeville: Lisa Bassett, Bennett Bradley, Gregory Boyd, Kelly Brennan, Susan Brooks, Thomas Dempsey II, Nancy Eisenhardt, Alison Flood, Paul Goraczko, Nicholas Igbokwe, Jessica Judyski, Emily Litka, Kenneth Vincent Lopez, Danielle Morott, Juan Munoz, Jeffrey Neves, Gatrina Nolan, Jeanene Ott, Alexander Patterson, Kristina Popelarski, Adam Schubert, Nicole Shearn, Matthew Shirley, James Smith, Sienna Vetroano, Kyrsten Wilson, Tessa Wlodarczyk
• Limerick: Jessica DiFrancesco, Amanda Lozinak
• Linfield: Samantha Klinke
• Royersford: Jill Avans, Timothy Bergmaier, Brett Clark, Mark Cuevas, Matthew Daly, Jonelle Green, Carolyn Hennessy, Marissa Kaylor, Caitlin Norris, Hannah Thompson, Anna Trojan, Alyssa Viney, Erin Walker
• Spring City: Harmony Adam, Matthew Benjamin, Amber Berry, Alicia Butko, Nicola Caldwell-Macelree, Jilliam Freese, Lisa Hurley, Nicholas Jensen, Corey Trego, Paige White; and
• Trappe: Kyle Nolan, Ashley Witcraft.

POTTSTOWN PA – A Sanatoga resident, a well as nine from Pottstown, three in Royersford, and 10 others from Boyertown, Pennsburg, Collegeville and Phoenixville were among 71 students from Montgomery County Community College’s Class of 2011 were named last week to Who’s Who Among Students in American Junior Colleges.

The Who's Who Book

To qualify for Who’s Who, students must have graduated during the 2010-2011 academic year with a grade point average of at least 2.75 and must be nominated by a member of MCCC’s faculty or staff.

The honored group includes

• Maria Kelley of Sanatoga;
• Kerri Cruz, Juliet Kabatt, Joge Maddux, Nicholas Natale, Eric Scott, Kelly Spieth, Cristie Underwood, Kim Weber, and Nicole Weising, all of Pottstown;
• Michael Anderson, Caitlin Norris, and Hannah Thompson, all of Royersford;
• Paul Goraczko and Lauren O’Neal of Collegeville;
• Jenna Kulp and Antonio Marrero of Pennsburg;
• Ashley Beutler, Megan Byrum, Jessica DeStefano, Karen Vasko, and Jonathan Zadrejko, all of Phoenixville; and
• Rebecca Krick of Boyertown.

Photo from Who’s Who

POTTSTOWN PA – Montgomery County Community College has begun offering new concentrations in its Human Services degree program, the college announced Thursday (April 14, 2011).

Students can now earn their associate degree in applied science under one comprehensive Human Services program. They also have the option of selecting three areas of concentration: addictions, gerontology, and child, youth and family services.

Students, who already have their degree or who work in the field and want to update their skills, may opt to enroll in certificate programs in human services, addictions or gerontology.

The college revamped the program so it’s courses focus more on professional skill development, spokeswoman Alana Mauger said.

The number of jobs in the Human Services field is expected to grow by 23 percent during the next several years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2008, social and human service assistants held more than 352,000 jobs nationwide.

More than 65 percent of the people employed in this field are working in the health care and social assistance areas.

POTTSTOWN PA — National Penn Bank, which operates branch offices in Sanatoga, Pottstown and Royersford, has donated $20,000 to the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area and Montgomery County Community College for their development of a Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center in Pottstown, the college announced Thursday (April 14, 2011).

MCCC's Pottstown PA campus will expand with the new center

The new center will be housed in the 140 College Drive building that currently serves as the heritage area’s headquarters. The building sits along the Schuylkill River Trail, and beside Riverfront Park.

The project expands the college’s Pottstown campus by transforming the three-acre brownfield site into a state-of-the-art educational facility. The center will house three technology-equipped classrooms, a state-of-the-art environmental science laboratory, and a new heritage area interpretive center.

“We hope that this gift will help us to build momentum” for the center, “which is important for the economic development of Pottstown borough and for the health of the Schuylkill River,” said college President Dr. Karen A. Stout.

The first phase of the project, anticipated for completion by Fall 2011, includes renovating the infrastructure of the currently unused portion of the building and creating the interpretive center in what is now used as the heritage area conference room.

“The interpretative center will provide educational, historic and tourist information about the Schuylkill River Heritage Area,” said SRHA Executive Director Kurt Zwikl. “It is intended to serve as a visitors’ center for the entire Schuylkill River region, and will include interactive displays and a historical overview of the river’s role in the American, Industrial and Environmental Revolutions.”

The Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center will also allow for joint programming between the College and the heritage area, with non-credit courses that promote awareness of the river as a historical, cultural and natural resource. Courses will run the gamut from historical perspectives of the region, to lessons in kayaking and bicycle maintenance.

National Penn “is pleased to support this unique partnership” to continue education “through this innovative learning experience,” said David B. Kennedy, National Penn Group Executive.

Previously owned by PECO Energy, the building served the Pottstown community as an electrical generating station starting in 1911. After sitting vacant for a number of years, the building and three-acre site were purchased by the Borough of Pottstown. The college took ownership of the site in April 2009; the heritage area leases office space in the building.

Designed to be sustainable, the college will seek environmental certification for the center and will look to incorporate a variety of sustainable adaptations, such as a green roof and geothermal energy sources, that can serve as both a tool for teaching and learning and as an energy and cost-savings alternative.

POTTSTOWN PA – A discussion of domestic violence, part of the “Crime and Justice Lecture Series” conducted by Montgomery County Community College, will be held April 11 (2011; Monday) from 6-8 p.m. in the Community Room of South Hall on the college’s West Campus, 101 College Dr., Pottstown. The presentation is free and open to the public.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Also in the series:

• “Sexting” will be the topic offered by the county District Attorney’s Office the next day (Tuesday, April 12) at the college’s central campus, in Room 214 of the Science Center, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell PA.
• It will be followed by “Criminal Profiling: Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths,” presented by criminal profiler and consultant Pat Brown, on April 13 (Wednesday), again on the central campus.

The college’s Criminal Justice and Fire Science Club sponsors the series, intended to help students and the community learn about a variety of crime and justice issues directly from professionals in the field.