WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Twenty-nine construction students at Pennsylvania College of Technology have earned Certified Installer status from the Vinyl Siding Institute, the first to receive the value-added credential under the institution’s fledgling partnership with the trade association.

“This will be another tool in your toolbox,” Rob Balfanz, VSI’s director of workforce development, told the inaugural class at a Sept. 2 ceremony in the Student & Administrative Services Center at Penn College. “You’re not only building your portfolio, you’re also building your future.”

The students who attained certification, their majors and hometowns are:

Building construction technology
Nate M. Carsley, Elverson; Dan M. Cassel, Danville; David M. Collazo, Monroe, N.J.; Naaman T. Conoway, Loganton; Karson J. Felty, Pine Grove; Zhaire Gregory, Philadelphia; Boyd C. Heckman, Duncannon; Mason J. Koch, Glen Mills; Zeke R. Leonard, Bedford; Sam H. Maxwell, West Point, N.Y.; Jake R. McClure, Pottsville; Keegan J. McNeal, Monroeton; Kaden M. Park, Summerville; Lizeth V. Reyes-Becerra, Erie; Vincent C. Rizzo, Williamsport; Damein J. Roupp, Columbia Cross Roads; Liam T. Ryan, Malvern; Cody B. Seidel, Tyrone; Brett C. Sherkel, Smithmill; Luis Torres Jr., Lancaster; Blake S. Truax, Williamsport, Md.; and Daun Williamson, Linden.

Construction management
Philip W. Weiner, Newark, Del.

Residential construction technology and management
Chris M. Fink, Altoona; Matt M. Johnson, Phoenixville; Ryan J. Koubek, Annandale, N.J.; Georgia L. Macensky, Wellsboro; Ryan M. Madigan, Warren; and Christian Stoltz, State College.

The certification, which lasts five years, reflects skills and standards taught in Penn College’s Weather Resistant Barriers and Finishes course.

Peter Kruppenbacher, assistant professor of building construction technology and organizer of the certification ceremony, said the college’s relationship with VSI was cultivated by former instructor Robert P. Gresko. Gresko, who retired during the 2020-21 academic year, returned to campus to attend the event with a number of faculty colleagues and administrators.

“There are so many opportunities – an almost endless demand – in construction across North America,” Balfanz told students.

Sadly, he said, many of those opportunities exist in storm-hammered areas of the country, “but the No. 1 challenge we face in installation is that we simply don’t have enough skilled labor.”

“You’ve all taken a major step by going to school and becoming educated,” he said.

Balfanz additionally briefed the students on the institute’s “Ladder to Success” program for aspiring professionals, noting that certification already gives them an edge over entry-level installer trainees. He also provided a tutorial on industry resources now available to them.

For more information about VSI, visit www.vinylsiding.org.

To learn about construction-related majors offered by the School of Engineering Technologies, visit www.pct.edu/et or call 570-327-4520.

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.