Penn College students repair local Little League complex

Williamsport, Pa. — Pennsylvania College of Technology electrical students recently made essential repairs to an area baseball complex.

The 28 students enrolled in two sections of Construction Lab II-Commercial and their instructor, Darrin S. Morse, spent about five hours a week for nearly a month performing a range of electrical upgrades.

The repairs support the Williamsport Area Little League’s baseball and softball complex in Old Lycoming Township.

“This was a great hands-on experience for the students. They had to run conduits and pull wire, which was part of what we learned this semester,” Morse said. “They produced some good clean work.”

Old Lycoming Township originally pitched the job to the college’s electrical class that performs free labor for area nonprofits. However, the work schedule for that class was full, which opened the opportunity for Morse and his students.

“When I was told that we were going to get real-world experience, I was thrilled,” said Kristen H. Goodman, of Williamsport, who is majoring in electrical construction. “I couldn’t wait to apply some of the classroom skills to real-life applications.”

Connor Kocsis, of Dickson City, echoed that sentiment.

“I was excited to work on a real-world project because we would get experience in the field while also helping the local community,” he said. Like Goodman, Kocsis is seeking an associate degree in electrical construction.

The students’ work focused on the complex’s concession stand. There, they improved power distribution, upgraded the lighting to LED lighting, rewired the kitchen and replaced worn out cooking-area power outlets. The students — many in just their second semester — also installed security lighting for the concession stand and other buildings and added receptacles and lighting to a pavilion.

“We appreciate the community-mindedness of Penn College, its instructors and students,” stated Ann-Marie Brown, Old Lycoming Township manager/director of public works. “We were excited to see this project to fruition for our area youth and excited for Penn College students to benefit from a real-world experience. Darrin and his students worked quickly and professionally and finished sooner than expected and well within budget.”

Morse estimates the students performed about $5,500 worth of labor.

“My favorite part of the project was getting to wire the new subpanel we installed in the concession stand,” Kocsis said. “The school does a really good job setting us up to work in the real world. In the end, I learned a lot, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

“It really brought a lot of our lab skills to life,” Goodman added. “When things got difficult or stressful, it made everything real. I think the experience and knowledge we got from working were very valuable.”

“The students had to endure some cold, damp days,” Morse said. “The work I saw completed was exceptional, given that some of them had less than a full year of experience.”