October is Manufacturing Month

October is Manufacturing Month, and Moraine Park is wasting no time in celebrating this industry that is especially important to our local and State economies. On October 5, Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Reggie Newson visited the Fond du Lac campus in conjunction with National Manufacturing Day. During his visit, Newson spoke with Moraine Park students, instructors and leaders on how the collaboration between workforce development and Wisconsin’s technical colleges is integral to supporting manufacturing employers.   

To further recognize Manufacturing Month and better serve our students, six manufacturing companies are providing tours to MPTC staff throughout October.  Staff can choose to visit one of these companies: Signicast in Hartford; Apache Stainless Equipment in Beaver Dam; Gruber Tool and Die, Inc. in West Bend; or J.F. Ahern Company, Mercury Marine and Mid-States Aluminum in Fond du Lac. From the tours, staff will gain knowledge and awareness of careers in manufacturing and a better understanding of its importance to our District. 

In partnership with the Fond du Lac Association of Commerce, Moraine Park will be providing manufacturing awareness tours of our facilities to high school students in Fond du Lac County on October 23 and 24. Working with West Bend High Schools, Moraine Park has coordinated visits to West Bend area manufacturing companies on October 16. These tours will help our high school students gain a better understanding of what a career in manufacturing looks like.  

The average wage in manufacturing is approximately 20 percent higher than the state’s average weekly wage, and by participating in these manufacturing events throughout October, we hope to further promote the many opportunities a manufacturing career can provide. Are you currently enrolled in a manufacturing program or are you thinking about a career in manufacturing? I welcome your thoughts on manufacturing as a career pathway!

Taking the adversity out of diversity

In collaboration with the Higher Education Diversity Initiative Team (HEDIT), Moraine Park recently hosted an important workshop led by national speaker, Dr. Maura Cullen. Fond du Lac County’s four institutions of higher education (Moraine Park, Marian University, Ripon College, and UW-Fond du Lac) invited students, staff and faculty members to attend the annual event.

The theme of this year’s project was “Bridging the Gap: Skills to Increase Your Diversity Competence.” It was an honor having Dr. Cullen on campus to get participants laughing and thinking about diversity and inclusion. Dr. Cullen took the ‘adversity out of diversity’ by covering skills that are necessary for the 21^st century workplace. I think those who attended left with a new outlook on how to build bridges between people by understanding cultural differences.

HEDIT organizes an event each year that leads, inspires, educates and challenges Fond du Lac County students and our community to celebrate diversity. This workshop was HEDIT’s fourth annual event. Did you attend the diversity event with Dr. Cullen? What were some of the skills you left the workshop with that you didn’t know before? Please share – I’m already looking forward to finding out what the HEDIT team has in store for us next year.

Week 4: Finding a balance

It’s hard to believe we are into the fourth week of classes! I trust you have adjusted to balancing your class schedule, class assignments, work, family and the many other to-do’s on your daily and weekly schedule.  Let’s not forget the early alarm clock for those of you who have classes and or clinicals starting before 8:00 a.m.

myMPTC is an excellent way to stay organized and connected. I encourage you to log into myMPTC and take a look at the Home, Student, and Student Life tabs.  Helpful information along with news, reminders and campus activities for students is listed.  Student Senate meetings at the Fond du Lac, West Bend and Beaver Dam campuses are scheduled.  You will find invitations for free donuts, pizza and speakers to ease your busy days and add a little fun.

Jot me a note to let me know how things are going…whether you are new to MPTC or a returning student, I’m interested in hearing from you!

Welcome back, students!

What an exciting first week back for our students! It was so nice seeing the faces of new and returning students on our Beaver Dam, West Bend, and Fond du Lac campuses, ready to kick off a new semester. Welcome lunches were held throughout the week on each campus for students and staff along with entertainment. I attended the welcome lunch on the Fond du Lac campus and enjoyed entertainment from a Forrest Gump impersonator and professional speaker. Steve Weber used the persona, wit and wisdom of Forrest Gump to deliver an interactive and motivational program. There were some wonderful inspirational messages for students and staff to carry with them throughout the new semester.

Lunch and comedic entertainment also took place on the Beaver Dam and West Bend campuses this week. I hope that students were able to enjoy these events and take advantage of meeting and mingling with new friends, old friends, and fellow classmates in attendance.

Since I’ve been at Moraine Park (it’s hard to believe it’s already been a year), one of my favorite new semester duties is volunteering as a semester greeter. Today, I was stationed at a table and helped students who were looking for a new class, free breakfast, or had general questions about the College. I always enjoy meeting new students and greeting returning students. If you ever see me in the hall, please introduce yourself and say hi. I hope this is a wonderful semester for all of our students. We are so happy you chose to attend or return to Moraine Park!

Celebrating 100 years of innovation

After a year of anticipation, Moraine Park’s 100-year centennial celebration arrived on Thursday, August 16. I was thrilled to welcome to our Fond du Lac Campus, Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration for the Department of Labor.  She made the trip from D.C. to MPTC to facilitate our hallmark summit on connecting communities for a sustainable workforce. The summit was a wonderful way for District legislators, educators, and business and industry partners to come together for a discussion on creating a sustainable and prosperous future for Moraine Park.

After the summit, I headed over to the time capsule opening and dedication ceremony. I had the important task of opening the 1987 time capsule and sharing its contents with Moraine Park students, community members and staff. Students from the class of 1987 included items like buttons, a hat, books and literature from their classes, photos, and even a special poem written by 1987 barber-cosmetology students! Larry Lamont, an instructor who helped build the time capsule, was present for its opening, which made the event even more special. Larry taught mechanical design and civil-structural engineering at Moraine Park from 1969-2000 and came back to see the items that students included 25 years ago.

Making the time capsule opening and dedication ceremony a little sweeter was Culver’s! They supplied samples of Moraine Park’s winning custom custard flavor, Wolf Pack Choc Attack. What a wonderful opportunity for Moraine Park students, staff and community members to participate in selecting their favorite flavor, and then come together for some sampling. I’m very grateful to Culver’s for supporting Moraine Park’s centennial through their generous donation of delicious custard!

The day of festivities and collaboration came to an end with a very special centennial dinner. Past Moraine Park presidents spoke about highlights during their tenure at the College during each dinner course. It was wonderful to hear comments from Dr. Robert Sorensen, Dr. John Shanahan, and Dr. Gayle Hytrek. They guided Moraine Park through many changes, charting a path for the College to move forward.

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate 100 years of innovation, from participating in the summit, to spinning the prize wheel at the time capsule opening and dedication ceremony, we all have played a role in honoring Moraine Park’s past, present and exciting future.

A Year in Review

It’s been over one year since my adventure as Moraine Park President began. It was an exciting start with meeting students on our Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac and West Bend campuses during the welcome lunches and mascot reveal. I attended Student Senate meetings to see what our student leaders had planned for the semester ahead and welcomed new students, and learned my way around a bit better,  as a semester greeter. As the fall semester continued, one of my main focuses was on business and industry partnerships. I visited organizations around our district, learning what skills are needed for our graduates to be hired, how we can strengthen our programs to meet business and industry needs, and other ways to improve the pipeline between Moraine Park and our business partners.

My first year was also the kickoff to Moraine Park’s Centennial Celebration, and it has been great fun taking part in the many Centennial activities that have taken place.  It has also been interesting looking back at historical documents and photos and learning about the roots of our College and how it has grown into the educational leader it is today. While so much has changed over the past 100 years, it’s wonderful to see that our focus on student success and hands-on, applicable learning still remain a key focus for our staff and faculty.

Attending my first Student Awards Banquet, Moraine Park Commencement ceremony, and GED graduation was especially an honor. Addressing the class of 2012 and their family and friends on that special day was a wonderful experience. I was so proud of their accomplishments and look forward to learning where their Moraine Park education takes them.

This summer, Moraine Park received exciting news that we were one of just five recipients of the Wisconsin Workforce Partnership Grant from the Wisconsin Covenant Foundation Inc. Governor Scott Walker visited our Fond du Lac Campus to share the news with our staff and industry partners. The grant will help establish Manufacturing Skills Academies for both machine operation and welding training in a 15-week boot camp format.

As Moraine Park’s centennial year, and my first year, come to an end, I look forward to the year ahead. We have so much to be proud of here at MPTC and we will continue to instill in our students “if you believe it you can achieve it!”  We have  new programs getting underway, facilities upgrades taking place and continued conversations about ways to prepare our students with relevant training for today’s workforce. Thank you for staying connected over the past year by keeping up with my blog. I look forward to sharing with you the new adventures for 2012-13!

Governor Walker’s visit

On July 17th Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus had a visit from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Governor Walker came to Moraine Park to award the College with a Wisconsin Workforce Partnership Grant from the Wisconsin Covenant Foundation, Inc.

Moraine Park will use the $705,647 grant to provide specific training for Amerequip Corporation, Brenner Tank, John Crane Orion, and Mid-States Aluminum Corporation. The grant will establish Manufacturing Skills Academies for machine operation and welding training in a 15-week boot camp format. These partner businesses will be able to hire skilled workers from the skills academies. 

Through this grant, we are able to help move the State forward in closing the gap between Wisconsin’s middle-skill jobs and available workers. The College is very grateful and excited to be working with our business partners to help strengthen the pipeline between Moraine Park and employers.

For more information, visit: http://goo.gl/MCkU9