WTI graduates reunite, reconnect with campus

Published 04.24.2024

Photos by Jennifer Cline, writer/magazine editor; Cindy D. Meixel, writer/editor-Penn College News; and Erin S. Shultz, college relations manager

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    Our earliest innovators – graduates of Williamsport Technical Institute, a world-renowned educational institution – return to campus for their annual reunion and a group photo outside Le Jeune Chef Restaurant.

    Graduates of Williamsport Technical Institute – a predecessor of Penn College that provided hands-on education to thousands of students from 1941-65 – reunited in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant on Friday.

    Around 20 alumni – plus their guests – gathered to catch up, share memories, and hear about the latest in a few of the college’s current academic programs. Nicole S. Warner, librarian for archives and special collections, and Crystal J. Rice, library operations/public services coordinator, added to the conversation with a display of photos and memorabilia from the Penn College Archives.

    Speaking to the guests were President Michael J. Reed, students Sandra M. Gallick, an architecture & sustainable design student from Linden; Miranda Mohammad, a nursing student from Philadelphia; and Autumn B. Stanley, a baking & pastry arts student from Lincoln University, and staff members Lori A. Boos, alumni and career engagement manager, and Bethany A. Warner, a simulation laboratory coordinator for nursing education.

    The event is coordinated by Alumni Relations.

    Allen Brooks ’63, service & operation of heavy equipment, looks over an issue of Tech Times, courtesy of Penn College Archives.
    President Michael J. Reed addresses the gathering, expressing his gratitude for the foundation laid by students and faculty of the WTI era.
    Alumni and guests hear from Lori A. Boos, alumni and career engagement manager.
    Sharing perspectives are Paul Doud ’66 (left) and Robert Tanner ’64, both alumni of the electrical instrumentation technician program.
    Benjamin Trapani ’63 (left), auto technology (and father of automotive instructor Christopher A. Trapani), Harold “Lou” Chance ’62, ’63 (center), toolmaking technology, machinist; and Lynn Clark ’62, machinist, chat while perusing photos provided by Penn College Archives.
    Among artifacts shared by Penn College Archives: a technical illustration of the 1962 WTI class ring – plus real-life examples from 1960 and 1963.
    Gathering after they shared information about their academic programs, from left: Miranda Mohammad, a nursing student from Philadelphia; Autumn B. Stanley, a baking & pastry arts student from Lincoln University; Bethany A. Warner, simulation laboratory coordinator for nursing; and Sandra M. Gallick, an architecture & sustainable design student from Linden.
    Gallick chats with Brooks.
    One of several tables of artifacts and photos add to the conversation. There to collect stories were the Madigan Library’s Nicole S. Warner, librarian, archives and special collections, and Crystal J. Rice, library operations/public services coordinator.
    Automotive instructor Christopher A. Trapani (center) stops by to give his parents, Benjamin and Rhonda, a hug outside Le Jeune Chef.
    Chef Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, shares stories about the 14 Kentucky Derby races he’s attended to lead students as they prepare food for the race’s 150,000-plus spectators. He and 26 students are set to head to Kentucky again in a matter of days.
    On the fourth floor of the Klump Academic Center – still the Williamsport High School when WTI students attended – John Sweigart ’61 (second from left), architectural drafting, shares stories from his career. The area was recently renovated and will become the home of the college’s still-thriving architecture program in the fall. Leading a tour through the area was Naim N. Jabbour (left), associate professor of architecture.
    Manufacturing engineering technology student Giovanni B. Ferrari, of Harvey’s Lake, chats with 1961 machinist alum Edmond Wozniak in the Gene Haas Center for Innovative Manufacturing.

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