CAMPUS EVENTS

New Format for Open House Succeeds

The Office of Admissions organized a socially distanced Fall Open House on Saturday, November 13, to ensure the safest possible event for guests, faculty, and staff. A total of 88 students and their guests attended (209 total visitors) across a three-hour period. They met with Program Directors, Financial Aid, and various other departments that students depend on including Athletics, Career & Transfer Services, Residence Life, and the Student Success Center.

Guests’ surveys said they enjoyed the socially distanced, self-guided tour format. Some of the highlights of the day included the tour of the Veterinary Services Building, touring of the dorm room and meeting the RA, who was “very nice,” and meeting with Program Director Jacki Kopack to find out more about the PTA program. Admissions plans to offer this more personalized format for the Spring Open House on April 23. PICTURED: Animal Center Management Program Director Linwood Robinson and ACM alumna Drew Smyth ’17.

FALL FEST IS PERFECT AUTUMN DAY Campus Activities held the first-ever Fall Fest to kick off Freak Week on the Library Lawn on Monday, October 25, featuring games, prizes, music, and more. It was a perfect fall day for ping-pong, scarecrow ring toss, drinks, music, and dressing up like a pumpkin.

Trevor Gulledge, Campus Activities Director, hoped that Fall Fest would capture the feel of going to a fair or festival in the fall and to give students a chance to socialize and play games, including win tickets for a raffle.

A host of other activities continued for Freak Week, including a campus trick-or-treat day when students visited participating offices for candy on October 26, a Halloween Bash at the Student Success Center on October 27, and a trip to the Bates Motel, the top-rated haunted attraction in the U.S. on October 28. FIRST COMMUNITY SCHOLARS RECOGNIZED More than 20 Partnership Sites students who participated in the first-ever Community Scholars program were recognized during a special gathering in the Little Theatre on Saturday, October 16. President Jon Jay DeTemple and David Castro, President and CEO of I-LEAD, thanked the students for their dedication to completing the program. The students devoted numerous Friday evening classes that were hours long to the leadership curriculum components. Each graduate spoke to the assembled group.

President DeTemple briefly explained that he chose education as an opportunity to help people and that he grew up in a government project, and most importantly, that education was his path to success and career fulfillment.

PTA CLINICIAN APPRECIATION DAY The PTA program successfully completed the 7th Annual PTA Clinician Appreciation Day on October 16. Event organizers Dr. Jacki Klaczak Kopack and Shaun Madary sought to recognize and acknowledge the important role clinical instructors perform in PTA education. This year’s event was offered in a hybrid format, to enable more clinicians to

TWO POLICE OFFICERS from the Philadelphia Police Department, Clarence M. Manson and Diane Cortes, were guest speakers in Niashia Maza’s Criminal Justice class on Tuesday, November 30, to conduct police recruitment and to discuss police interactions within the community.

participate, drawing 35 clinicians to campus and another 45 through the virtual platform. After the program, the organizers received accolades such as, “I really enjoyed the presenters and visiting the campus after 21 years. I hope to come back again, as I left with some great resources and information that I can apply to my work” and “You did a phenomenal job...everything was great!”

ALLIED HEALTH PROGRAMS COLLABORATE Harcum College PTA and OTA students joined together for their annual educational session on November 2, introducing the students to therapy interventions for patients in the ICU or trauma setting. The session was co-taught by Dr. Jacki Klaczak Kopack, PTA Program Director, and Christa Eck, OTA professor. The educational session prioritized patient-centered care and introduced the students to the medical monitoring they need to understand to provide safe, competent interventions that promote a patient’s return to independence.

“We surveyed the students, and 100% of attendees agreed that the interactions allowed them to learn about a different discipline,” Kopack said. “It gave them the opportunity to problem solve treatment interventions for a case scenario.” They also said it was helpful having two points of view from different fields of health care and appreciated the group setting to work on case studies together.

NEWEST OTAS PINNED IN DECEMBER The Occupational Therapy Assistant program hosted a Pinning Ceremony to recognize their Fall 2021 graduates on December 11. Faculty, graduates, and their families gathered in Klein Hall on Saturday, to commemorate the milestone. Student speakers were Amber Dennis and Richard Conroy. Three students were recognized with awards: Richard Conroy, Emerging Leader Award; Christina Scowden, Academic Excellence Award; and Carol Wilson, Faculty Commendation Award.

TV STAR HELPS FASHION STUDENTS PREPARE Prajjé Oscar, a Philadelphia designer known for his exquisite evening gowns and luxurious fabrics, came to Harcum’s Fashion Design class on Thursday, February 10, to critique their muslins. This is a necessary stage of the process when design students should have figured out the construction of their fabric ideas and patterns for the collections slated for debut at Harcum’s Spring Fashion show.

Oscar was a season 19 contestant on “Project Runway.” He graduated from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, opened his fashion house in Boston in 2003, and now oversees its operations in Philadelphia, and its design studio and manufacture in Haiti. According to Fashion Programs Director Julian Crooks, Oscar stayed all day helping, even through the early evening.