WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The corporate generosity that provides Pennsylvania College of Technology students with up-to-date tools befitting a campuswide pool of “tomorrow makers” lives on in an equipment loan from Volvo Construction Equipment, facilitated by Highway Equipment & Supply Co.
A Volvo EC220 excavator has been made available through the end of the fall 2019 semester, and already has seen considerable use by students in the summer operations classes.
The machinery is stationed at the college’s heavy equipment operations site in Brady Township, and instructors Ryan W. Peck and Chris S. Weaver — both Penn College alumni — said 80% of the three-dozen students enrolled there will have “seat time” opportunity in the coming months.
“This is an ongoing relationship that we so greatly appreciate,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “It gives our students experience and familiarity with the Volvo brand while helping to increase their operations skills. Corporate partnerships are key to our applied technology education; the support of Volvo CE and Highway Equipment & Supply Co. is invaluable to helping us produce a workforce that meets employers’ needs.”
The excavator is emblematic of the well-established and mutually beneficial link between the college and Highway Equipment, a relationship that has resulted in the career-building recruitment of heavy construction equipment interns and graduates.
“The Penn College 240-hour (heavy construction equipment technician) internship is invaluable,” said Jennifer Nauss, Highway Equipment’s human resources, marketing and communications manager. “While it’s a race against our competitors to get Penn College interns, once we have them, they get to experience firsthand that their career is not just about a paycheck; they experience the difference a company culture makes. We get to see the students’ level of commitment, work ethic and how much they applied themselves in school.”
Between the students’ strong Penn College education and their internship experience, she explained, Highway Equipment deems them “career-ready.”