Back To School: Continuing Ed At Hazleton
December 11, 2000
Note: This story appeared in the Fall issue of Insight/Outlook published at Penn State Hazleton. For information on the campus, go to http://www.hn.psu.edu

Patti Zelenack is married, works full-time and, like most people, has a life loaded with demands on her time. But that didn’t stop her from adding one more activity to her already busy schedule: school.

Working as a chemical processor at the Dial Corporation, Zelenack realized that "with the downsizing of businesses these days, you never know what will happen in the future. So, it’s best to have some others skills to fall back on." After seeing an ad for continuing education courses at Penn State Hazleton, Zelenack decided to enroll in the Paralegal Certificate Program.

"I’ve always been very interested in legal issues and the law in general," says Zelenack, "and I was excited to be taking classes in that field." She didn’t, however, realize how much of her time-management skills she’d have to use in order to fit classes into her life. "Between running a household, cooking and going to work, there’s always something to do."

But Zelenack maintains that Penn State Hazleton Office of Continuing Education was helpful when it came to advising her on how to fit classes into her schedule. "They outlined the program for me and told me what courses I would have to take." Zelenack decided taking classes at night was the best course of action for her.

"It was good that my husband was able to help around the house when I had classes or had to study," laughs Zelenack. As for the courses themselves, Zelenack couldn’t have been happier. Not only did she like her professors, but she enjoyed the interactive nature of many of the classes, which included trips to the Luzerne County Court House, the staging of a mock trial and the use of actual law offices to learn research procedures. Zelenack was also glad to return to the classroom after having some real world experience under her belt.

"Even though I was one of the older students, I felt I brought a lot to the class-room," proclaims the 38 year-old Zelenack. "For instance, when it came to our course on Human Resources Law, I had a clue what the professor was talking about because I already had some experience working in an industrial environment."

After receiving her certificate last fall, Zelenack transferred within the company and was awarded a new position as Team Development Trainer in Dial’s Human Resource Department. It turns out, she says, that her paralegal certificate, along with the knowledge she gained of human resources law, played an important role in the interview process that helped Zelenack obtain her new title

The fact is, Patti Zelenack was not alone last year when it came to choosing Penn State Hazleton for continuing her education. In 1999, almost 1,000 adults returned to further their education in non-credit, credit, and degree pro-grams at the Hazleton campus. And, if you ask Sally McGuire, Penn State Hazleton Director of Continuing Education for the last 3 years, there’s one thing all of these students have in common.

"I find that those who decide to come back to school usually base this decision on a ‘life change’," declares McGuire. Maybe an individual has lost a job, is looking to improve their value to a current employer, or wants an opportunity to change careers altogether, says McGuire. Others might be experiencing "empty nest" syndrome or perhaps they’re merely continuing their education for personal development.

"Either way, it takes time, and that can be perceived as an obstacle in coming back. That’s why we’re here to help and try to work around people’s schedules," she says. And when it comes to the potential problems adults have when continuing their education, there’s no one who understands their situation better than McGuire.

In her 30’s, she returned to school and took courses at night. While she eventually went back full-time and completed her degree in political science at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, McGuire knows how hard it can be to concentrate on coursework when trying to balance family, career and personal responsibilities.

"I realize that for an adult, school can be a priority on Monday while on Tuesday getting your child to the dentist may be the most important issue." That’s why McGuire and her support staff of Darlene Gabenonis and Fred Spolitino are doing all they can to help adults return to the classroom.

Since Sally came to Penn State Hazleton, office hours at Continuing Education have been extend-ed, running from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. to meet the needs of students attending evening classes. Offices are open on Saturday as well, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. "And we’ve been working with the registrar on moving some classes and rotating others into evening sessions so we can accommodate more evening students."

The Office of Continuing Education also has an evening administrator, Dave Sosar, working to answer questions and advise students at night. "Dave’s a great resource for our evening students," says McGuire. Before coming aboard, the Hazleton campus did not have anyone devoted full-time to Continuing Education, notes McGuire.

But the past three years have seen more and more of an emphasis being placed on CE programs. A good deal of this new focus is the result of Campus Executive Officer John Madden’s belief that the primary role of continuing education programs is to serve the community.

"Continuing Education programs at Penn State serve the community in a variety of ways, whether it’s through credit and non-credit courses for adults, evening degree courses, workforce development, or summer youth programs," says McGuire. Summer learning camps for area youth are quite popular and are offered during the month of June, she says.

"This year, we had close to 500 kids, ages 7 to 12, participate in programs, which covered top-ics ranging from art and history to computers and science and nature." Courses like "Mummies and Mystery", or "When Knights Were Bold" made learning about history fun. Children could also learn more about computer graphics in camps such as "Paint Shop Fun" or "Kiddiecad". The most popular camps this year, however, seemed to be "Meteorology Fun" — in which kids learned more about the forces that drive our weather system — and the exploration of nature in "Critter Camp". At the end of these camps, all children received a T-shirt and certificate and had their picture taken next to the new Nittany Lion statue.

"After the youth programs end," says McGuire, "we really start gearing up for our adult programs." McGuire finds that adults start to think about themselves and their own continuing education goals after summer vacations and once their chil-dren are getting ready to return to school.

While the majority of courses are offered in the Fall, Penn State Hazleton does have non-credit certificate summer offerings for adults. These include the "Paralegal Certificate Program" and "Webmaster Certificate Program" which is growing in popularity and importance as our society’s emphasis on the internet becomes greater and greater. "With courses in areas such as HTML, JavaScript, graphic design, etc., this program offers technology training that provides the skills needed to become an entry-level Web site developer," says McGuire.

It also allows employees to enhance cur-rent job performance levels. Evening courses for all certificate programs, including the "AutoCAD Certificate" and the "IST Certificate", are offered throughout the Fall and Spring — as are courses for Penn State Hazleton Associate Degree programs (Business Administration, Electrical Engineering Technology, Information Science Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology) and Bachelor Degree Programs (Science and Business and Information Science Technology).

"One thing that we’re particularly excited about this Fall is our TICKET program," exclaims McGuire. TICKET stands for Technology Integration Certificate for K-12 Educators for Tomorrow. "It’s quite a mouthful," she laughs, "but it’s something that has been in great demand for some time."

With technologies becoming ever more sophisticated, the purpose of the course is to provide area teachers with a complete program that can prepare them to use technology effectively and efficiently in the classroom. "Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and a teaching certificate," adds McGuire. Classes for TICKET begin Sept. 7.

Another essential component of Continuing Education at Penn State Hazleton is the emphasis placed on reaching out to area businesses and industry through workforce development programs. "We offer contracted and training programs as well as customized job training programs," says McGuire.

Penn State Hazleton Area Representative Debra Katchur can assess a company’s situation and then "we can work with our faculty to modify or change a course to suit a company’s needs. This includes offering our services on site," says McGuire. A state-of-the-art computer lab is also available on campus that businesses can use for training purposes.

"When a company is thinking about coming to this area, it’s a great benefit to be able to say that Penn State University is located in Hazleton…it’s a great attraction," proclaims McGuire. After all, "we’re a land-grant university. Our mission is to serve and work with the community on every level. I think that’s exactly what we’re doing. And I feel it’s all very positive for this campus and the community as a whole."

Any questions about continuing education or workforce development programs at Penn State Hazleton can be answered by contacting Sally McGuire, Director of Continuing Education, at 570- 450-3053 or Area Representative Debra Katchur at 570-450-3136.