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Fall 2011 Scholarship Recipients announced

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Foundation has announced scholarship recipients for the Fall 2011 semester.

These recipients include:

• Mystique D’Amour of Somerset, American Association of University Women, Johnstown Chapter;
• Christopher Veloz of Johnstown, Dr. Walter and Kim Asonevich Endowed Scholarship;
• Gary Stoykovich of Johnstown, Crown American Hotels Culinary Arts Scholarship;
• Jamie Treese of Northern Cambria, Dr. Edward Haluska Endowed Scholarship;
• Gerald McDermott of Northern Cambria, Johnstown Regional Indian Subcontinent Association Scholarship;
• Desiree Franco of Cresson and Christa Wasser of Ebensburg, Joseph and Joan Mangarella Endowed Scholarship;
• Felana Bernat of Johnstown, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Endowed Scholarship;
• Teresa Jerome of Johnstown, Ursula Pawlwlowski Memorial Scholarship;
• Jonathan Little of Johnstown, Sam and Sara Valenty Endowed Scholarship;
• Mark Hager of Northern Cambria and Tiffany Chuklochak of Johnstown, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Foundation Success Scholarship.

The following students, all from Johnstown, received scholarships from the Jacob Fend Foundation:

• Zachery Barbarich,
• Tyler Burgan,
• Brianna Hinkledire,
• Loni Kovac,
• Bradley Lucas,
• Zye Miller,
• Renee Samay,
• Andrew Santichen,
• Jaquelyn Thornton,
• Rebecca Velasquez,
• and Vince Williams.

The Fend Foundation also provided $9,000 for scholarships to students that are participating in the College’s Accelerated College Education program. These scholarships are made available to students residing in Conemaugh Valley, Greater Johnstown, Ferndale, Westmont and Richland school districts.

Join us for another exciting Year of Women’s Volleyball

Join us for another exciting year of Lady Black Bears volleyball at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College. All home games take place at 6:00pm in the East Hills Recreation Gymnasium. We encourage all to come and support your Lady Black Bears.

Home games this year include:

• 9/16 vs. Westmoreland County Community College
• 9/19 vs. Community College of Beaver County
• 9/26 vs. Potomac State College
• 9/30 vs. Butler County Community College

F&M Trust supports the development of the Pennsylvania Highlands Huntingdon Center

William E. Snell, Jr., F&M Trust President and CEO and Paul Johnston, Assistant Vice President, Fulton and Huntingdon County Market Manager presented a $5,000 check to Ellis Griffith, Peter Ludwig and Jim Foster, members of the Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Huntingdon County Advisory Council. F&M Trust has committed support of up to $15,000 to the Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Foundation to assist in the development of the Huntingdon Center.

College welcomes Community to view new Huntingdon Center

Pennsylvania Highlands Community College welcomed the Huntingdon County community to its permanent location at 6311 Margy Drive with a public reception held on Wednesday, August 17. Approximately 100 residents attended the reception to tour the new state-of-the-art facility and learn more about the College’s anticipated impact on Huntingdon and the surrounding areas.

Pennsylvania Highlands made an initial investment of over $400,000 to renovate the space and purchase the equipment necessary to operate the facility. The College will work to improve educational opportunities for students throughout Huntingdon and the surrounding region by offering coursework in Accounting, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Education and General Studies.

“We are very excited to be in our new permanent location” said Dr. Walter Asonevich, President of Pennsylvania Highlands. “We have been waiting for this day for a few years now and being able to share it with the entire community makes it even more special.”

Members of the College’s Advisory Council, which is comprised of Huntingdon County business, education and community leaders, assisted in finding a suitable location for the Center while providing valuable input regarding the specific educational needs of the Huntingdon County community. “We are especially blessed in Huntingdon County to have Pennsylvania Highlands Community College under the visionary leadership of Dr. Asonevich,” said Ellis Griffith, Huntingdon Advisory Council member. “The Pennsylvania Highlands leadership team has been responsible for opening career doors to opportunities for our students heretofore not available in our area.”

College signs Agreement with State Fire Commissioner to become an Educational Training Agency

Dr. Walter J. Asonevich, President of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College and Edward A. Mann, Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner, have signed an agreement permitting Pennsylvania Highlands to become an Educational Training Agency (ETA) under the State Fire Academy’s system.

“Pennsylvania Highlands is thrilled to take yet another step in our ongoing effort to serve the community in every way possible.” said Dr. Asonevich. “This will enable us to expand our public safety offerings to include the Academy’s comprehensive curriculum of basic and mid-level fire, rescue, hazardous material, officer development and fire department management courses deliverable to firefighters through county and local fire department programs”.

The Local Level Fire Training Program is the oldest form of organized fire/rescue training conducted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; dating back to the 1930’s. This training continues to strive toward increasing the emergency responder’s effectiveness by centering training on local needs and using local equipment and apparatus. Another key role for the Academy is the development and accreditation of Local Level Instructors. This ensures that a qualified cadre of instructors is available for the ETA’s to use to deliver these courses.

“Relationships with local Community Colleges are crucial to the Academy’s ability to provide affordable and relevant training for our local fire fighters and rescue workers,” said Commissioner Mann. “I applaud Pennsylvania Highlands for their willingness to become a part of this process.”

Pennsylvania Highlands also provides EMS training throughout the Southern Alleghenies via a partnership with the Southern Alleghenies EMS Council. This includes First Responder and Emergency Medical Technician Bridge training. Beginning with the Fall 2011 semester, the College will also offer an Emergency Vehicle Driver training course.