Pierpont Community and Technical College

Pierpont's new aviation school will break ground in October.

The North Central West Virginia Airport Authority authorized the airport to begin searching for a surveyor to determine the exact boundary of the facility on the airport property. The airport will retrieve estimates from surveyor companies for the work before making its formal funding request to the board.

"We've needed to get a larger school to supply the workforce for the industry that's located at the airport," Board President David Hinkle said. "We worked with the legislators over the last few years, and we came up with a plan to increase enrollment, build a new school and allow Fairmont State to have 100% use of the present buildings at the airport. And, we would build a new [airframe and powerplant] school."

Hinkle said the project has been under discussion for at least a decade. The challenge, however, was financing, Hinkle said. The board's desire for a new school received material support last year from a special session of the state legislature and the governor's office. Together, both branches of government came up with a plan to finance the new school. Senate Bill 1029 provided $25 million for the new school.

The design of the entrance road coming into the airport meant the location of the school had to move about 16 feet from where it was originally planned. The change from an interchange to a traffic circle pushed the school from its initial spot. As a result, the governor's office requested a new land survey.

The new school will be 65,000 square feet. Enrollment in Pierpont's aviation program will go up to 200 from 130. The state limits how many students can be taught in a facility based on square footage.

"What this new school is going to do is it's going to bring us into the modern age of aviation, maintenance, and repairs," Andy Lang, board member and Bridgeport Mayor, said. "We currently worldwide, not just here in West Virginia, have a complete shortage of A&P, mechanics and electronics."

The airport's new terminal building is scheduled to be completed around the same time. Airport Director Rick Rock said the building is about 80% complete. Crews are focusing on the finishing work required to turn the facility into an operational building. Crews working on the exterior are working on taxiways, entrance roads and parking lots. The building will start with one jetway, with plans to expand to two.

The airport is rethinking what role its current terminal will play after the new one opens.

"We're going to repurpose this," Rock said. "This will be more for our private aircraft and some of our charters and whatnot. There will be separation from commercial and private aviation, so we're going to really look and see what's the best use of this."

Lang said during the meeting the average construction time of a new terminal from conception to facility is 10 years. By contrast, the new terminal at North Central West Virginia Airport will have taken only four or five.

The board recognized Director Rock's 15 years of service to the airport and Airport Operations Manager Ronald Cochran for 30 years of service. The board also awarded its passenger of the year award to Andrew Givens, sales manager in the tire industry. He covers West Virginia to Florida through his business travels.

"I can leave here at 6:30 in the morning and I can be at my customers in the Carolinas by nine o'clock," Givens said. "That is so amazing that we can do that. In 2022, I flew 51 one-way stops out of Pittsburgh. It's so nice to come home and have a 20-minute drive compared to an hour and a half drive down. So I commend everybody on this board. Awesome things are coming."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19021677

Western Governors University, BYU-Idaho cited in study as places to earn more affordable 4-year degrees

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18811186

As economic outcomes for young adults with and without degrees have improved, Americans hold mixed views on the value of college

airmont, WV – Individuals looking to pursue career pathways in manufacturing, oil and gas, and energy systems operations are invited to attend an open house event for Pierpont Community and Technical College’s applied process technology (APT) program on Thursday, August 15 from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The event is set to take place at Pierpont’s Advanced Technology Center in Fairmont.

Attendees will tour the facilities, participate in a live demonstration, and learn more about the program. APT faculty will be on hand to answer questions.

Pierpont’s two-year applied process technology program offers concentrations in energy systems operations and process technology instrumentation. Students gain knowledge in electrical circuits and machinery, mechanical fundamentals, hydraulics, pneumatics, components fundamentals, and more.

It is not too late to enroll; the fall semester begins on August 26 at Pierpont. To register for the open house event, click here.

Individuals looking to pursue career pathways in manufacturing, oil and gas and energy systems operations are invited to attend an open house event for Pierpont Community and Technical College’s applied process technology (APT) program from 2-4 p.m. Aug. 15.

The event is set to take place at Pierpont’s Advanced Technology Center in Fairmont.

Attendees will tour the facilities, participate in a live demonstration and learn more about the program. APT faculty will be on hand to answer questions.

Pierpont’s two-year applied process technology program offers concentrations in energy systems operations and process technology instrumentation. Students gain knowledge in electrical circuits and machinery, mechanical fundamentals, hydraulics, pneumatics, process systems and components fundamentals and more.

The fall semester begins Aug. 26 at Pierpont and enrollment is still open.

To register for the open house event, visit go.pierpont.edu/3AmYP8z

FAIRMONT — Individuals looking to pursue a career in manufacturing, oil and gas, and energy systems operations are invited to attend an open house this week at Pierpont Community and Technical College.

Officials from the College’s Applied Process Technology Program will be on hand Thursday, August 15 from 2-4 p.m.to answer questions about the program. The event is scheduled to be held at Pierpont’s Advanced Technology Center in the I-79 High Tech Park in Fairmont.

Guests can tour the facilities, take part in a live demonstration and learn more about the program. APT faculty also will be available to discuss job opportunities in the field.

Pierpont’s two-year APT Program allows students to select from concentrations in energy systems operations and process technology instrumentation. Students gain knowledge in electrical circuits and machinery, mechanical fundamentals, hydraulics, pneumatics, components fundamentals and more.

The Applied Process Technology program is designed to meet the needs of local and regional power producers, natural gas midstream and related industry operations, chemical operators and manufacturing facilities. The program covers a broad range of technology including electrical circuits and machinery, mechanical fundamentals, hydraulics, pneumatics, process systems and components fundamentals, plant operations and instrumentation and controls.

Students progress through a set of core general education and technical courses and will select between two career paths — Energy Systems Operations and Instrumentation/Controls — that cover skills unique to each area.

Average starting salary within this sector is $40,000-$60,000 per year. With seniority, graduates can make around $100,000 per year, according to data provided by the College.

Companies operating in the state of West Virginia employ nearly 100,000 people in energy and manufacturing.

Students are trained to become experienced technicians and understand industry equipment and processes that are useful in many industries from chemical production with pharmaceuticals, to advanced manufacturing, to the oil and gas/power production industry.

Shania Muhammad earned bachelor of arts degree from Langston University in Oklahoma and plans career in public speaking

Great article that goes to show you that you don't ever have to give up. Get your freakin' education. Yesterday was best time to start, next best time is today!

Ninety-year-old woman is oldest person to graduate from Illinois university

Joyce DeFauw gets bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University over seven decades after she first stepped on campus

Joyce DeFauw of Illinois has given a whole new meaning to the term super senior, used for students who take longer than the usual four years to get their undergraduate degrees.

On Sunday, the 90-year-old received a bachelor’s of general studies from Northern Illinois University more than seven decades after she first stepped on campus, becoming what officials believe to be the eldest person to ever graduate from the school.

“I’d never dreamed I’d be around at this time, but here I am,” DeFauw said about her academic journey in a report published by the local news outlet WREX. “I’ve learned that I can do things I never thought I could do, with the help of others. You can never quit learning.”

According to WREX, DeFauw initially enrolled at her alma mater in 1951, when Americans were first introduced to the inventions of super glue, videotape recorders and credit cards. The school was known as Northern Illinois State Teachers College at the time. Her name was Joyce Kane, and originally she pursued a teaching degree but switched her major to home economics.

DeFauw, as she tells it, was a few semesters shy from completing her degree when she “met this good-looking guy” at church. She ultimately married that man, Don Freeman Sr, and raised three children with him before he died.

DeFauw later remarried and with her second husband – the late Roy DeFauw – raised six more children, including two sets of twins. Then, in 2019, when she was in her late 80s, she decided to sign herself up to complete the degree she had started all those years ago at what is now known as Northern Illinois in DeKalb.

Using a computer given to her as a gift, DeFauw took her classes online, including through shutdowns associated with the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. It was the first computer she ever owned, WREX reported, citing her family.

After walking across the graduation stage Sunday, DeFauw said she wanted to inspire others who – like her – wondered whether it would be worth going back to school. DeFauw said the answer to her was obvious.

“You can’t put a value on it, in my opinion,” DeFauw said. “Just don’t give up. I mean if you have the opportunity, take that opportunity, and you never know. A lot of us get sidetracked or whatever, but go back. Don’t give up.”

DeFauw was among nearly a quarter of people who earn bachelor’s degrees and take more than the standard four years to complete their programs. But it is much more unusual for people her age to complete a bachelor’s degree.

In fact, in 2016, Japan’s Shigemi Hirata set a Guinness world record by attaining a bachelor’s of art from the Kyoto University of Art and Design at age 96. The prior holder was Nola Ochs, who was 95 when she received her diploma from Fort Hays State University in Kansas in 2007.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The addiction triage center in Morgantown, Lauren’s Wish, has received a Congressionally Directed Spending Grant of $838,000 from the office of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.

The center is located at Hazel’s House of Hope on Scott Avenue and has a 28-bed capacity, common areas where those in recovery can relax, socialize, and hold group therapy sessions, two TV rooms, and a workout facility.

Operations manager Brandon Wise said this grant will go a long way toward stabilizing the organization and the services they offer.

“It’s really going to open the doors for us to stay open, number one,” Wise said. “Number two, really make sure the clients get the care they need; all their basic needs are met.”

A “triage center” is designed for people struggling with addiction who are ready to make a change but have no other place to go. Lauren’s Wish provides those people with initial services while placing them in an inpatient or other facility for the next phase of treatment.

“Medical expenses, as far as medication goes, sometimes when they come to us, they don’t have insurance or they are in a bad situation and have to leave or lose their medicine, and insurance won’t cover it, so we help out with that,” Wise said.

Since opening in October 2022, Lauren’s Wish has placed about 85% of the 496 people that have been admitted into treatment services. From that group, three have gone on to complete classes to work in peer recovery and have served clients at Lauren’s Wish.

“They’re more relatable to clients at that point in time,” Wise said. “It shows the clients that with a little bit of hard work and following the suggestions from the people who helped them, they can find their way out of it.”

Part of the program helps the clients after they have successfully completed addiction treatment. Wise said the staff at Lauren’s Wish has relationships with training and education programs to help people take the next step in their recovery journey.

“We’re working with Jobs for Hope, MTEC (Monongalia County Technical Education Center), and Pierpont Community and Technical College on getting them reeducated and retrained for certification to help build them up, become productive and responsible members of society, and be self-sufficient,” Wise said.

The namesake of the organization, Lauren Cole, had battled addiction for years prior to her fatal fentanyl overdose in July of 2020. The triage center provides a bridge between the time an addict decides to enter treatment and gaining acceptance into a program, which can be an extended period of time due to the depth of the opioid crisis.

“The main thing we’re going to remain focused on is the wish of Lauren to provide a service to those who cannot afford it otherwise,” Wise said. “Maintaining that we remain a free service to them to continue pulling people out of the ashes.”