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New Alma Mater Unveiled; Competition Winner Announced

Written in the key of G with accompanying guitar chords, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College now has an updated alma mater:

Gary Boast, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Research and Assessment

Nestled in the Allegheny Highlands is our home.
Integrity and excellence, these values here are grown.
Education, our foundation, answering the call.
Service to communities, opportunity for all!
Fellow scholars, new found friends, we Black Bears roar and sing.
Gathered here in harmony and echoed from the peak –
Penn Highlands, hail to thee!

Gary Boast, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Research and Assessment, has been named the winner of the Penn Highlands Alma Mater Competition as a part of the College’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Boast, along with his son Matthew (York, PA) and family friend David Burns (Philadelphia, PA), wanted to pen a piece that reflected the passion and focus of the students and staff at Penn Highlands.

“I originally compiled a list of words that were basically what I would experience in meetings or in reading about the Penn Highlands experience,” Boast said. “We arranged them into lyrics as a group, hoping that they would be an updated take on the original Alma Mater.”

The group spent one weekend laying out the first iteration of the piece, and they reworked it over a period of a few weeks before submitting a finalized version.

“I just happened to be with my son and his friend,” Boast said. “We were near recording equipment, so we spent the weekend working on it. That happened shortly after the competition was announced, and we liked what came out of it.”

An Alma Mater serves as the anthem or official song of a school or university. They tend to be serious; however, Boast wanted the new piece to have a more modern musical score – one that can be played on a myriad of instruments.

“We were going for more happy and positive rather than formal,” stated Boast.

Members of the College community voted among two finalists’ submissions last spring through the College’s governance structure. Students, faculty, staff, and administration unanimously voted for Boast’s submission to be adopted as the new Alma Mater.

Asked about how he felt after winning the contest, Boast was not only ecstatic that their hard work had paid off, but he was very happy that the song was adopted as a group rather than simply forced on others.

“We were aiming for something that would reflect the pride that we have in Penn Highlands, and we were looking for something that could be easily remembered and catchy,” Boast said.

“Hopefully, it can become a part of the tradition at Penn Highlands. We are very happy that the students, faculty, and staff all voted for it.”

The new Alma Mater has already been officially approved by the College’s Board of Trustees. Boast will be recognized at the College’s 2019 Convocation Ceremony, as the College celebrates their 25th anniversary year.

Cambria County College Fair Happening In September

The 17th Annual Cambria County College Fair, sponsored by Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, will be held on Tuesday, September 10th, at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center. This year’s College Fair will take place from 8:30am to 11am, with students attending from across the region.

The mission of the College Fair is to promote higher education and future opportunities to not only high school students and their families, but to the public as well. The Cambria County College Fair helps local community members find and discover the many educational and career opportunities that are right in their back yard.

Numerous high schools are taking part, including Blacklick Valley, Conemaugh Township, Conemaugh Valley, Ferndale, Forest Hills, Johnstown, Portage, Richland, Westmont, Windber, and more.

Colleges and universities from all over the state of Pennsylvania will be on-hand to meet with and assist guests regarding their educational and career needs. With so many institutions attending, there is something for everyone: technical schools, business colleges, cosmetology schools and universities, branches of the military, banks, local businesses, and more.

The Cambria County College Fair is here to inform our community of educational opportunities; please take part or stop by. The College Fair is happening on Tuesday, September 10th. Be a part of something special and help us promote this community event to make it a great success.

For more details, contact Penn Highlands Community College at 1.888.385.PEAK or by emailing Daun Boyle, Assistant to the Vice President of Student Services, at dboyle@pennhighlands.edu. Penn Highlands Community College is always available online at www.pennhighlands.edu.

Nine High School Graduates Earn Full-Tuition Scholarship

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College would like to congratulate the outstanding work of the area high school students that were awarded the College’s Board of Trustees Academic Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to high school seniors in the region that demonstrate excellence in academics and extracurricular activities. Eligible students must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 in their high school career, participate in various activities, and demonstrate leadership throughout their community.

Scholarship recipients receive a full-tuition scholarship to attend Pennsylvania Highlands Community College to complete an associate degree. Pennsylvania Highlands would like to honor those who will receive the 2019 Board Academic Scholarship:

• Nicolas Bradley of Hastings, PA (Cambria Heights High School)
• Brooke Elliott of Windber, PA (Windber Area High School)
• Lily Grace of Stoystown, PA (North Star High School)
• Maddelyn Hoover of Patton, PA (Cambria Heights High School)
• Isabella Nagy of Portage, PA (Portage Area High School)
• Kaitlyn Saucedo of Windber, PA (Forest Hills Senior High School)
• Garrett Smith of Vintondale, PA (Blacklick Valley High School)
• Cody Sral of Ebensburg, PA (Central Cambria High School)
• Erika Wilkie of Hollidaysburg, PA (Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School)

Nicolas Bradley

Brooke Elliott

Lily Grace

Maddelyn Hoover

Isabella Nagy

Kaitlyn Saucedo

Garrett Smith

Cody Sral

Erika Wilkie

Chris Farrell Named Blair Center Director

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College is excited to announce the hiring of Chris Farrell to lead the College’s Blair Center as its new Director.

Chris Farrell, Blair Center Director

Chris Farrell joins Pennsylvania Highlands Community College after serving as the Senior Director of Admissions and Enrollment at The Art Institute of Virginia Beach for the past six years. Overall, he successfully led teams at nine different colleges over the course of 14 years.

During his tenure at The Art Institute of Virginia Beach, he helped to build positive relations between The Art Institute and its immediate and surrounding communities by delivering meaningful programs, offering creative events open to the community, partnering with local businesses and government agencies, and developing a culture focused on student success.

Mr. Farrell has earned an MBA in Business Administration from Argosy University, as well as a BSBA in Management, Accounting, Finance, and International Business from Ashland University. Additionally, he was selected to speak at The World Expo in Aichi, Japan in 2005 regarding “Harmonious Coexistence” between different cultures, industries, and how we fit with our planet to move forward collectively in a positive way.

Chris Farrell is eager to start leading the College’s Blair Center, which recently underwent a modern expansion that includes an additional five classrooms, one science lab, one computer lab, a student services area, and several comfortable areas for lounging or individual study.

“I really look forward to being a part of this college and community. This is an exciting adventure full of opportunity, and being at a college with extremely competitive and affordable programs in an area as beautiful as Blair County makes it even better,” stated Chris Farrell, Blair Center Director. “I’m very happy to be part of such a positive culture. If you don’t know us yet, I encourage you to come see for yourself.”

Pennsylvania Highlands has six locations throughout the Southern Alleghenies region that serve residents of western Pennsylvania.

1ST SUMMIT BANK Donates To EITC Program

Dr. Walter Asonevich, President of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, recently accepted a donation from John Kubinsky, Senior Vice President and Loan Group Head for 1^ST SUMMIT BANK. The $2,500 Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program donation was given to the College Foundation to help support the College’s Accelerated College Education (ACE) Program.

In 2014, the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) granted Pennsylvania Highlands Community College national accreditation for its Accelerated College Education (ACE) concurrent enrollment program. Penn Highlands is one of only two colleges in the state that has earned this accreditation, which ensures that the courses offered in high schools are equivalent to courses offered on the sponsoring college’s campus or facilities.

Because of donations through the EITC Program, ACE Students are charged a reduced tuition rate. During the 2018-19 academic year, the cost per credit for this program was $58, which allows over 1,400 students to enroll in ACE courses at 52 different school districts across 10 Pennsylvania counties.

John Kubinsky (left) of 1ST SUMMIT BANK and Dr. Walter Asonevich (right) pose with check delivered to the College’s Foundation for the EITC program.