Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Pedro A. Rivera, Deputy Secretary Noe Ortega and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education Pam Smith visited Montgomery County Community College on Aug. 22 to learn more about the College’s academic and career-focused programs and tour the Health Sciences Center.

Rivera, Ortega and Smith met with Montgomery County Community College President Dr. Kevin Pollock and the College’s leadership team – Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez, Vice President of Workforce Development and West Campus Dr. David DiMattio, Vice President of Student Services Philip Needles, Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer Dr. Celeste Schwartz, Vice President of Finance and Administration Charles Somers and Executive Director of Human Resources Diane O’Connor.

“We are excited to host Secretary Rivera and Deputy Secretary Ortega and to share all the ways the College is preparing students for their next steps, whether they plan to continue their education or directly enter the workforce,” said Dr. Pollock about the visit. “We are committed to serving Montgomery County and the surrounding region by ensuring our academic and job-readiness programs are aligned to meet the needs of the local economy.”

The leadership team explained the College’s holistic approach to planning and updating programs, integrating non-credit and credit programs and providing credit for work experience through prior learning assessment.

“We not just training students for today, but we’re training students for the future,” said Dr. Bastecki-Perez, noting that the College’s portfolio of programs is not stagnant. Programs are continually updated and added, based upon the current and future needs of the county and region.

“We work with community and industry partners to stay ahead of the curve and changing environments and to meet the needs of employers,” she added. “We also collaborate with these partners to provide internships and job opportunities for our students.”

Dr. DiMattio discussed the College’s focus on job-readiness programs, including Biotechnology, Certified Nursing Assistant, Computer Numerical Control, Culinary Arts & Baking, Cyber Security, Engineering Technology, Pharmacy Technician and Sound Recording & Music Technology (SRT).

Dr. Bastecki-Perez shared how the College’s new professional mixing suite is a learning laboratory for students. Music industry professionals hold lectures and teach master classes in the suite, which opened in April 2018. Using the new equipment in the state-of-the-art facility, SRT students composed and engineered an original composition for the 2018 Commencement ceremonies.

During the tour of the Health Sciences Center, Rivera and Ortega visited the Nursinglaboratories and saw firsthand the high-tech patient simulators that help prepare students for internships and employment. They also saw the Massage Therapy rooms, the Dental Hygiene Clinic and the 7,000 square-foot fitness center, among other areas.

Following the tour, Rivera participated in the “Cabinet in Your Community” town hall discussion that included several of Gov. Tom Wolf’s cabinet members – Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis M. Davin, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of Aging Teresa Osborne and Secretary of Transportation Leslie S. Richards.