communiquĂŠ A n u p d at e f o r fa m i ly & f r i e n d s o f r e a d i n g a r e a c o m m u n i t y c o l l e g e
Ballroom with a Twist
Celebration of Education Gala Honoring Mary Ann Chelius Smith
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Dear friends of RACC, Recently RACC was able to make the case about our special value in two very different public settings. At an August 21st hearing of the Pennsylvania House Policy Committee co-chaired by Representatives David Maloney and David Reed on “Assessing the Challenges Facing Pennsylvania Job Creators,” I was asked to comment on workforce issues and the role that our College can play in ensuring that our region has a supply of appropriately educated workers. That same day I was an education panelist on the television forum “Poverty to Prosperity” organized by WFMZ and the Reading Eagle and recorded in our Miller Center for the Arts. In both venues, legislators, and especially our public citizens, repeatedly hailed RACC as an invaluable resource offering solid solutions to problems so many in our community face–– the need for more education. It is heartening in these challenging times to hear from so many in our community that our College is trusted to offer practical pathways for educational attainment––for those who want to acquire job skills, perhaps for the first time, for others who need to keep pace with employer upgrades by enhancing their level of competency, as well as for learners who view RACC as the first step on their personal ladder to a professional career. We offer a range of opportunities, from preparation in basic reading
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and language skills, to an honors program that combines rigorous academic requirements with opportunities to work closely with talented faculty on special projects, to highly sophisticated training in advanced manufacturing. RACC’s focus is squarely on learning and student success. In this issue of Communiqué you will learn more about how this focus on success has paid off for our students and has also led us to develop new credit and non-credit offerings in non-clinical healthcare fields including a new associate degree program Electronic Health Records/ Health Information Technology. These new offerings were designed with employer input and will help meet the growing need for skilled workers in these areas. At RACC we are committed to keeping our programs in tune with community needs for on-target job training and as a cost-effective way to gain a solid and wellaccepted foundation for more advanced education at other institutions. This is an exciting time at our College, as the community’s need for a strong RACC has never been greater. I look forward to providing more updates as RACC continues to demonstrate every day we are, indeed, The Community’s College.
In this Issue 4 5 6 8 10 12 14 15 14 16 Planting the Seed You’re Welcome
New RACC Degree Trains Students for Growing Healthcare Field
New Look at Learning Language
Military Leads to Second Chance at College Explore the Arts! 2012–2013 at the Miller Center
Café Gets Modern Makeover Going small… to make it big!
The Foundation for Reading Area Community College Celebration of Education Gala On Our Cover Ballroom with a Twist featured at this years Celebration of Education Gala
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communiqué Reading Area Community College 10 South 2nd Street P.O. Box 1706 Reading, PA 19603 www.racc.edu President Dr. Anna D. Weitz Editor Melissa Kushner Contributors Alison M. Wenger, Caehlin Bell Design Liz Berdow Photography Secoges Photographics, Alison Wenger Reading Area Community College is an equal opportunity institution. www.facebook.com/ReadingArea CommunityCollege
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www.facebook.com/RACCalumni RACC_edu
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“I wish I could inspire these folks that are dropping out of school and collecting unemployment…Anyone can go to college. You just have to work at it and study hard.”
Planting the Seed
When Gus Daniels arrived in Reading in the 1970s, he was a military veteran and worked as a cement mason. One day as he was walking down Penn Street, a gentleman stopped him to ask if he had thought about going to college and taking advantage of his GI benefits. Admittedly Gus said he didn’t do much reading in those days, other than the sports page, but he decided to give RACC a try. All of these years later, he is glad that he did. “I give credit to RACC for helping me get started,” said Gus, who especially is thankful to his Composition teacher, Ms. Pamela Miller. “We had to read and write and that made me buckle down. But once I started reading, I could comprehend and that really whet my appetite. “I started going to the library and my children saw me reading. It planted the seed of education in our family and I just kept watering it,” he said. It’s obvious when speaking with Gus how proud he is of his family’s achievements, especially given his own background. He dropped out of school growing up and went to work for Campbell’s Soup in Camden before he was offered the opportunity to train as a mason. His masonry work led to traveling, and with a background in Spanish, he was given the chance to travel to Puerto Rico for work. There he met his wife and together had four children––two boys and two girls. He became a single father when his youngest daughter Amy was 10 and worked several jobs to pay her tuition 4 FALL 2012 Communiqué
at the Reading Seventh-Day Adventist Junior Academy to ensure she had access to a quality education. He sees the potential that all children possess and said, “Parents are our first teachers and need to set the example because with education, all things are possible.” Gus said he encouraged his children to be individuals and stand out from the crowd in school. He heavily stressed to his daughters the importance of respecting themselves in how they acted and dressed. Both of his sons, William and Francisco, graduated from medical school. Francisco works in the emergency room at Hagerstown Hospital now, while William is taking time off to raise his daughter while his wife Carmen starts her career in dentistry. His oldest daughter Maria graduated from Temple University as a Communications major and spent time working at WEEU as a Traffax reporter. Then, she and her husband Harry, moved to Texas and started their own technology company, Heuristic Automation in Layout, LLC. Maria is currently the vice-president. Finally, the youngest Amy, graduated from Albright with a degree in finance. After being downsized during the recession, she returned to Philadelphia to pursue a new career in health care. Gus talks about his children with pride, sharing their academic accomplishments, as well as the five grandchildren they have given him. “My little granddaughter Sophia, I could tell she was gifted. I enrolled her in that My Baby Can Read program and she was reading at 3 years old,” he said. “She’s studying Level I Mandarin Chinese.” Even now, Gus continues to learn, watching educational programs on PBS and frequently visiting the library. He also attends Berks Encore in Reading and Wernersville where he shows some of his PBS favorite films and participates in activities like yoga and bingo. “I wish I could inspire these folks that are dropping out of school and collecting unemployment,” he said. “Anyone can go to college. You just have to work at it and study hard. “You plant a seed and then that seed grows as long as you keep watering it.”
You’re Welcome! New students visiting RACC this summer received a “welcome” surprise when they entered Berks Hall. On July 2, RACC opened its official Welcome Center in the building’s lobby as a first stop for all prospective students. Calley Stevens Taylor, Director of Enrollment Services, said the idea of the Welcome Center came about in January of this year as the result of an academic advising group that
believed that advising goes beyond helping students select courses. “Advising starts with that first contact you have with a student,” she said, “helping them decide what they want for an education and whether what we have as a college is appropriate in helping them meet their goals.” At the Welcome Center, students can receive help with online applications, schedule placement
tests and receive information on the financial aid process. The center is a collaborative effort aimed to serve all students of RACC, whether they are looking for an associate degree program, career training or community education courses. “Our goal was that we would have comprehensive information about all the educational opportunities at RACC. Prospective students can all start in one place no matter which
program they want,” said Stevens Taylor. The center is staffed by representatives from Enrollment Services, Financial Aid and Workforce Development. Fall hours for the center are Monday, Thursday and Friday from 8 AM to 5PM with extended hours on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8 AM to 7:30 PM.
“Advising starts with that first contact you have with a student…helping them decide what they want for an education and whether what we have as a college is appropriate in helping them meet their goals.”
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New RACC Degree Trains Students for Growing Healthcare Field More than 9,100 people trained in Medical Records and Health Information Technology will be needed by 2016, according to the PA Department of Labor and Industry. That fact is one of the drivers of the new Electronic Health Records and Health Care Information Technology associate degree program introduced by Reading Area Community College this fall. Highlights of the program include: • Receiving training on both the relevant hardware and software relating to electronic medical records. • Opportunities to earn industry-approved Comp TIA A+ and Healthcare IT certifications built into the program. • Real-world work experience as part of the 135-hour practicum. A unique aspect of this program is that students who are taking a credit course and wish to sit for the three IT certifications offered through our Schmidt Training and Technology Center can receive financial aid toward that extra cost. The certifications are: CompTIA A+, Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician 1, and CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician. Additionally, students who have already received their IT certifications and wish to pursue this new degree can apply those transfer credits into the program. Two other major factors driving the growth in this field are new medical privacy regulations and government mandates that all medical records should be captured electronically. In addition, this electronic information must be secured by people who have extensive training on dealing with sensitive personal information. Those facts have led the State to expect that employment in Medical Records and Health Information Technology will grow by 16% in Pennsylvania by 2016. Some of those jobs may be right here in Greater Reading. Local employers, the Reading Hospital and
A few months ago, Janet GilchristRush was living in South Carolina and attending college with the intention of starting a new career in Early Childhood Education after taking an early retirement package from the federal government. She now lives here in Berks County and is the first student enrolled in RACC’s new Electronic Health Records and Information Technology associate degree program. Gilchrist-Rush, 48, moved to the area to be closer to her 8-year-old
Medical Center and St. Joseph Medical Center, are working closely with RACC on this new program. “Many programs do not bridge that gap between the IT and clinical sides,” said Adam Worrell, Information Technology Services Site Director at St. Joseph. “Having both the technology skills as well as the medical background is paramount for understanding and building EMR workflows that meet the needs of the clinical staff. “The RACC leadership was open-minded and had clearly done their homework; educating themselves and realizing the potential benefits a program like this would produce not only for their students but for the community as a whole,” he added. The local hospitals estimate their patient records will be totally electronic within the next two to three year—just in time for the first graduating students!
“Having both the technology skills as well as the medical background is paramount for understanding and building EMR workflows that meet the needs of the clinical staff.” Worrell said there are numerous benefits to a career in Electronic Health Records, “While at a high level you’re working with technology hardware and software like others within the field, you’re implementing a solution that can allow clinicians to share valuable information, prevent potential safety problems, and overall improve the patient experience.” For more information about this new program, please visit http://www.racc.edu/Academics/programs/ehr_car.aspx.
granddaughter and said she settled on coming to RACC after attending an Open House. “I really enjoyed the tour of campus and everyone— from the financial aid office to my career coaches—is so kind and friendly and informative. I felt that this is where I was supposed to be,” she said. By chance, her advisor was Linda Bell, Assistant Dean of the Business Division, whom she says genuinely cares about the overall well-being and academic experience of a student. Gilchrist-Rush said she met with Bell
and shared her background which also had included more than 10 years working in medical administration relating to dialysis. “When she told me about the new program, I just lit up,” Gilchrist-Rush said. “She said not only would I be getting my degree, but also the IT certifications and that got me even more excited. All of my previous work experience was administrative, electronic and tied to a computer.” Gilchrist-Rush said her sister and niece also work in information technol-
ogy, so the computer bug tends to run through the women in her family. Gilchrist-Rush is taking classes fulltime and thanks to transfer credits is on pace to earn her degree in May of 2014. She knows that having her degree will serve her well in a new career and said, “Once I left the government, it was a priority of mine to go back to school and get my degree. The government workforce is getting younger and more educated, so if I want to get back into it, I’m going to need that degree with my work experience.” Communiqué FALL 2012 7
“The program needs to function both as a gateway for prospective students whose proficiency in English is insufficient for college-level courses and as the core of RACC’s support system for matriculated multilingual students.”
New Look at Learning Language After several years studying and teaching at Purdue University, with the second largest U.S. international student population, Dr. Elena Lawrick brings her passion, knowledge and skills to Reading where she hopes to revamp RACC’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Credit Program. “Having a robust ESL Program is instrumental in the College’s success,” Dr. Lawrick said. “The program needs to function both as a gateway for prospective students whose proficiency in English is insufficient for collegelevel courses and as the core of RACC’s support system for matriculated multilingual students.” “There is no doubt that achieving this goal is a significant professional challenge,” she added. “But, I look forward to implementing my vision of the program, with confidence that my education, research and experiences in
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teaching English have prepared me well for the task.” Dr. Lawrick, who received her diploma (the Soviet equivalent of B.A. and M.A. degrees) from Far Eastern State University in Russia, explained that her school teacher’s exceptional enthusiasm for English inspired her to pursue a degree in English Linguistics, Translation Studies and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. In the Soviet Union, English was rarely spoken or written. Therefore, the coursework for English majors heavily focused on linguistics and English literature. Dr. Lawrick’s ability to use “real” English was put to the test after graduation when the fall of the Soviet Union opened the floodgates to international business ventures in post-Soviet Russia. For several years she worked in the business sector as a marketing specialist, administrator and liaison between Russian businesses and their international
partners. Later, she joined the English Department faculty at her university, where she specialized in ESL teacher training. Before permanently coming to the U.S. in 2005, Dr. Lawrick returned to the business sector for two years–– this time teaching English to Russian staff of Alcoa, L’Oreal and RusAl. Dr. Lawrick first arrived in the United States in 2003 as a visiting scholar on a grant from the U.S. Department of State. She spent a semester at Purdue University conducting her research project “A Comparative Analysis of Russian and American Cultures of Learning and Teaching Foreign Languages.” In addition to her research, Dr. Lawrick participated in the graduate seminars on Second Language Writing and Communicative English Language Teaching. “These new areas of linguistics were a perfect match with my own vision of teaching of English as being learner-centered and driven by student needs. Most importantly, these seminars introduced me to the concept of research-informed teaching practices, thus changing my philosophy of teaching once and for all,” she said. After a brief return to Russia, Dr. Lawrick applied to Purdue’s graduate program in Second Language Studies/ ESL to pursue a Ph.D. in Teaching ESL. “From day one, I fell in love with Purdue. It is such an amazing school,” she said. “The Second Language Studies/ESL Graduate Program is one of the most robust in the country. The faculty members are world-renowned experts in the areas such as World Englishes, Second Language Writing, Second Language Acquisition, and Language Assessment. Although the admission process is very competitive, I was fortunate to get accepted, mostly because the faculty knew my potential from my previous stay as a visiting scholar.”
While working on her doctoral degree, Dr. Lawrick focused on bridging two fields of applied linguistics— World Englishes and Second Language Writing. She said it is important for writing teachers to be aware of how English is used around the world. “Because of its global spread, English is spoken and written with many accents,” she explained. “Knowing how American English differs from, for example, Nigerian or Indian English helps a great deal in teaching ESL students in U.S. college composition classes.” During her time at Purdue, Dr. Lawrick was fortunate to have diverse experiences in teaching composition. She started in ICAP (the Introductory Composition Program at Purdue), learning the ropes of teaching first-year writing to native English speaking students. Later, she switched to teaching composition in the ESL Writing Program, working with international undergraduate and graduate students. As a graduate instructor and later a post-doc lecturer, she taught a 600-level course “Written Communication for International Graduate Students.” In addition to teaching in Purdue’s Writing Programs, Dr. Lawrick taught first-year writing at Ivy Tech Community College, the fastest growing two-year institution in the Midwest. “Ivy Tech taught me to better understand community college students and, most importantly, to appreciate their hard work and determination,” she said. Dr. Lawrick added that over the course of her first weeks on the job, she had met many amazing professionals here at RACC. “RACC certainly has a great potential,” she said. “I’m honored to join a team of knowledgeable, driven, and, most importantly, caring professionals in RACC’s journey to its stellar future.”
The Center for Multilingual Students The Center for Multilingual Students opened this fall and is designed to provide a sense of community and support for RACC’s multilingual students. The Center offers a student-friendly study area with computer stations that include English learning software, as well as textbooks and dictionaries. Writing tutoring is also available so students can receive assistance from a writing professional trained in helping multilingual writers. The final component of the Center is a conversation group that meets weekly as a way for students to practice their English speaking. The Center is located in the Yocum Library, Room 119.
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Military Leads to Second Chance at College
When a strange name showed up on his AOL Instant Messenger years ago, Nick Marriott never would have thought it would lead to Pennsylvania and RACC. But a long winding road brought him the love of his life and a hope for a new career. Marriott, starting his second year at RACC, met his wife, Katie, online years ago as a teenager. He lived in Florida and she lived in Pennsylvania, but they became friends and electronic pen pals. They just celebrated their second wedding anniversary and Nick is celebrating his second chance at college – both thanks to the military. Marriott, 27, grew up in Florida, was raised by a single mom and admits he spent more time partying than worrying about what he was going to do after high school. He tried a large four-year university and a local community college before deciding to explore his options with the military. “I had good friends who went into the military right after high school and I called them to get their thoughts on which branch they recommended,” he said. “I took it as a sign when every one of them said the Air Force.” 10 FALL 2012 Communiqué
After basic training in San Antonio, Texas, Marriott had dreams of traveling the world and being placed at exotic locations. Instead, his first assignment was for Cheyenne, Wyoming. He made the best of it and even flew back to visit friends on the East Coast, including a New Year’s Eve trip to Times Square… where he arranged to meet Katie in person for the first time. “As soon as I saw her, I walked up to her and kissed her and didn’t even say anything,” he said. “We were inseparable for the week, and then for the next six months, we took turns flying out to see one another.” It was then that Marriott got his dream wish – orders to report to Kleine Brogel Air Force Base in Belgium. After a year and a half of waiting, he was going to get his wish. Then he offered Katie the opportunity to come along with him.
“I told her I would float the bill and she could come with me and travel,” he said. “We didn’t realize how hard it would be to get her visa, but we did get a long-term visa eventually. After we were there for two years, I knew that was it.” The pair spent the next four years enjoying weekend trips to Paris, London, Italy and other destinations. “You could be almost anywhere in about 2–3 hours by taking the highspeed train or commercial airlines,” he said. “I went to Barcelona with two friends for about $80 round trip.” In between all the traveling, Marriott was working long hours and quickly moving up the ranks at Kleine Brogel, which is a NATO base. He was in charge of seven programs, including some related to antiterrorism and counterintelligence. He also was assigned to the Plans and Program group that authored lengthy procedures on base operations and inspections. Because of the programs he was involved in, Marriott had opportunities to participate in special training programs, including a conference at Eidelweiss Lodge in Germany. He was also wellrespected by his supervisors, earning his squadron’s Airman of the Year award, as well as the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and other honors.
One of the best things about the military for Marriott was the exposure to other cultures and learning about respect. “Service before self is one of the core values, and I find that is still with me,” he said. “My friends who see me now say it was the best decision I could have made.” Once his six years of active duty were up, he opted to return to Berks County so Katie could be close to her family. He said the pair spends every Sunday night having family dinners. When it was time to use his Veteran’s benefits to return to school, Marriott opted to start gradually at RACC. “My mom gave me great advice not to overwhelm myself. I just wanted to get acclimated to the area, to civilian life and to school,” he said. “Being in a class with 30 to 40 kids is a lot better than 200 or 300. “The post-9/11 GI Bill will give you up to 36 months of school plus a housing allowance for full-time students. They’ve also expanded it to include technical training and other certifications,” he said. Marriott will graduate from RACC in May with a Liberal Arts degree and is transferring to Penn State Berks where he will major in Information Technology. He recently applied to the Vets to Feds program, hoping to land a government internship where he can combine his military and IT background. He would eventually like to have a career in one of the federal government programs.
“I had good friends who went into the military right after high school and I called them to get their thoughts on which branch they recommended… I took it as a sign when every one of them said the Air Force.”
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Explore the Arts! 2012–2013 at the Miller Center The Miller Center’s 2012–2013 season is an exploration of cultures and experiences taking us around the world and back again. It is, perhaps our most multicultural season to-date with performances and films that reach as far away as Fiji and Ireland and then return to settle in our own backyard. Included in this excursion is Tomaseen Foley’s A Celtic Christmas, Motet—a juggling and movement experience from Great Britain and Finland, Tanzanian Safari—a film by Bob DeLoss, Terrance Simien’s Creole for Kidz and Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days by Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre, to name a few.
The Miller Center’s 2012–2013 season is an exploration of cultures and experiences taking us around the world and back again. Nearly every performance this season includes an audience enrichment activity to make your trip with us more meaningful and exciting. This includes simple postperformance meet-and-greets and talk-backs with the artists, as well as juggling and craft workshops. Collaborations and partnerships play a strong role in the Miller Center’s programming for 2012–2013, including featured performances by the Yocum Institute for Arts Education’s Primary Players in the children’s favorite How I Became a Pirate, also being staged as part of the Greater Reading Literary Festival, and the Reading Community Players in the African-American drama Hats. At the conclusion of the season in April, is a performance of the contemporary string quartet ETHEL joined by Native
American Flutist Robert Maribal. ETHEL and Maribal will be joined on stage by a local choral group and will make an appearance at the Reading Public Museum for a special residency program for area school children in conjunction with the Museum’s newly renovated Native American exhibit. Dance continues to take center stage and we are pleased to include three dance companies on our 2012– 2013 roster. Brian Sanders’ JUNK Dance Company opens the season on Saturday, September 29 with Patio Plastico Plus, a show that blends traditional dance theater with exciting physicality. Splashy ballroom dancing is the focus during Ballroom with a Twist, a show choreographed and directed by Dancing with the Stars’ Louis Van Amstel. Musical selections were chosen by two American Idol finalists and infused with the latest hip-hop styles. Finally, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre travels to the Miller Center stage from Los Angeles with exemplary works that examine the past and present and teem with political and social commentary. For more information about the Miller Center and its programs, please call 610.607.6205 or visit www.racc.edu/ MillerCenter or like our Facebook page for updates. At left: Collage of featured Miller Center performances. This page: Around the World in 80 Days Walnut Street Theatre; Vietnam, Cambodia & Cruising the Mekong Clint Denn
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Café Gets Modern Makeover
The Berks Hall Café underwent a makeover this summer and reopened for the first week of classes as the Avanti Market. The new Avanti Market is self-service and offers students, faculty and staff the convenience of easy card payments either by credit/debit card, or by loading points on to a RACC ID. The Avanti Market menu includes breakfast items, as 14 FALL 2012 Communiqué
well as healthy choices like deli sandwiches and salads, along with daily and weekly specials. Additionally, there will be snacks and sweet treats for
anyone who needs a quick pickme-up before class. Gluten-free products will also be available. Students and staff will be able to make suggestions for items they would like to see featured in the Market. Along with the new food offerings, the Avanti Market also has a new environmentallyfriendly look. “We restored the existing floors and cabinets,” said Jeff West, Jr., Vice President of Canteen Berks/West Dairy. “We also upgraded all of our coolers to energy star-rated equipment with LED lighting. The vending banks in the cafeteria will also have a new look, with a sleek
uniformed appearance and energy star-rated equipment.” While it is a major change for the Café, West, Jr. hopes it will be a positive one. “Our feeling is that we will be able to offer many more items and enhance the consumer experience,” he said. “We hope that the new technology and grab ‘n go style will attract people not only for breakfast or lunch, but a quick snack between classes. “The most important thing for everyone to remember is that this is their market, and we will do whatever it takes to make their experience an enjoyable one.”
“We hope that the new technology and grab ‘n go style will attract people not only for breakfast or lunch, but a quick snack between classes.”
“…the experience you get with the tools and equipment usually only graduate or PhD students have access to. So, it’s graduate student experience at a community college level…”
Going small…to make it big! evident even then. Gray asked serious, well formulated questions and kept me on my toes,” she said. Now, five years after graduating from RACC, he is still in State College, having recently accepted his position as lab coordinator with the capstone program in January. His role is to oversee all
From his office across from Penn State University’s nanoscience lab, it’s hard for Zac Gray to believe that he once thought college wasn’t for him. Eight years after dropping out of his first attempt at college, Gray is now the lab coordinator for the capstone program, which is the final semester of RACC’s nanoscience degree. The capstone program takes place at Penn State’s main campus. He recalled his initial effort at college after graduating from Garden Spot High School. “I was studying computer science, but I just wasn’t into it. I thought I wasn’t meant for college,” he said. After considering joining the military, Gray ended up with a job at Wal-Mart. It was then that he decided maybe he should give college a second try. This time, he didn’t have to look far, figuring that RACC was his most economical option that would allow him to save the money from his job to pay his tuition. “I took general credits my first semester just to put my foot in the water and see if I could handle it,” he said. “The classes I took were really beneficial and I wanted to stick with it.” Gray’s degree from RACC is in nanoscience, a booming field as more companies produce products using nanotechnology. He admits that the program sort of found him. “I was sitting at RACC and I saw a booklet about nanoscience,” he said. “It had some of the curriculum in it and it talked about the capstone semester at Penn State’s main campus but at RACC tuition costs. My goal was to get to a bigger campus, so I thought it was a great opportunity.” Kathy Evans, who coordinates RACC’s nanoscience program, said she had Gray as a student in biology and knew he had potential. “His attention to detail and desire to be absolutely correct was
the teaching assistants and ensure that their nanotechnology lab activities run smoothly and cohesively. In fact, Gray just hosted his former professor and a current RACC student for a tour of the Penn State lab. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of Gray,” Evans said. “What was so great about the tour was that Gray was proud of his accomplishments and wanted me to see how fantastic a scientist he is now. Gray is a RACC miracle.” Part of his new job also includes recruiting new students, and he hopes to soon return to RACC and convince students like himself to give the program a try. “The job outlook in this field is fantastic,” said Gray. “If they go through this program they can find work, with reasonable pay, almost guaranteed. In fact, the number of products incorporating nanotechnology is expected to increase two orders of magnitude over the next 20 years, meaning it will require 2 million workers with nanotechnology-related skills by 2020.” He also touted the benefits of the capstone semester at Penn State, including résumé building, job assistance and hands-on learning. “They design the capstone semester to help you get a job. They will help you put together a resume, and then there is a career day where you have a chance at an on-the-spot interview with a variety of companies who have already hired graduates of the capstone semester.” “Plus, the experience you get with the tools and equipment usually only graduate or PhD students have access to. So, it’s graduate student experience at a community college level,” he added. Gray credits his new job to the time he spent as a teaching assistant while he was working toward his Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science at Penn State. He again put himself through school, on a part-time schedule, while working a 9-5 job at a local company who hired him right out of the capstone program. “I really give credit to RACC because if that first semester was not a good experience, I wouldn’t have come back for a second, which eventually led to my degree.,” he said. For more information on RACC’s nanoscience program and the capstone semester, visit http://www.racc.edu/Academics/ programs/nano_car.aspx. Communiqué FALL 2012 15
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10 South 2nd Street P.O. Box 1706 Reading, PA 19603 www.racc.edu
F or comments , feedback or story ideas , please email mk u shner @ racc . ed u or call 6 1 0 . 6 0 7 . 6 2 1 2 .
The Foundation for Reading Area Community College
Celebration of Education Gala Ballroom with a Twist Saturday, October 20, 2012, 7:30 p.m. At the Miller Center for the Arts Ballroom with a Twist is a critically acclaimed international dance production conceived and choreographed by ABC-TVs Dancing With the Stars, Emmy-nominated Louis van Amstel. This ground-breaking show, starring finalists from
TVs So You Think You Can Dance and American Idol, pushes the boundaries of ballroom dance, infusing it with the energy and intensity of the latest contemporary and hip-hop styles. The dancers will join us at the champagne reception in the Schmidt Training & Technology Center that follows the performance. There will be an open bar, a dessert extravaganza, a live auction, AND dancing…with the stars!
$150/person Discounted pricing available for groups of 8. www.racc.edu/millercenter 610-607-6239 foundation@racc.edu Join us in celebrating our honoree this year, Mary Ann Chelius Smith. Proceeds benefit students enrolled at RACC.