WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Pennsylvania College of Technology’s SMART Girls summer camp, which encourages high school-aged girls to continue challenging themselves in math and science at an age when many lose interest or confidence, convened last week.
Among supporters of the weeklong program was PPL Electric Utilities. PPL donated $4,000 to the college through the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. The funds are used to support both SMART Girls and the Penn College NOW dual-enrollment program.
Thirty-four girls in grades 9-11 attended the 2018 SMART Girls camp. They built and fine-tuned their own robots and honed their leadership skills using the popular book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.” “SMART” stands for Science and Math Applications in Real-World Technologies. The program was established by the college to stem the trend of adolescent girls opting out of the math and science courses that will keep many careers open to them.
Penn College NOW is a nationally accredited dual-enrollment program that enables academically qualified high school students to take free college courses taught by Penn College-approved teachers at their high school or career and technology center. In 2017-18, more than 1,300 Pennsylvania high school students took freshman-level Penn College courses through Penn College NOW.
“PPL is pleased to support Penn College’s programs through EITC,” said Tracie Witter, regional affairs director for PPL Electric Utilities. “The experiences students have through SMART Girls and Penn College NOW are invaluable and serve to further help enhance the workforce of tomorrow.”
Penn College NOW and SMART Girls are recognized as “innovative educational programs” under the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, through which PPL Electric Utilities made its gift.
PPL is a longtime supporter of Penn College and its programs, visiting Career Fairs and holding other on-campus recruitment efforts to hire Penn College students and alumni — and strengthening a variety of majors and programs with financial contributions, equipment donations and technical expertise. The PPL Foundation recently provided a grant to help the college establish The Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, set to open this fall.
“Penn College is always appreciative of the support of PPL,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, director of corporate relations. “As a longtime friend of the college, PPL is a valued partner through more than support of academic programs. The EITC donation for SMART Girls and Penn College NOW helps us engage high school students in the career opportunities that are possible with a hands-on technology education from Penn College.”
PPL Electric Utilities provides electric delivery service to more than 1.4 million homes and businesses in Pennsylvania and ranks among the best utility companies in the country for customer service and reliability. PPL Electric Utilities is a major employer in the communities it serves. It is a subsidiary of PPL Corp. For more information, visit www.pplelectric.com.
For information about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call 800-367-9222.