The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) offers two annual competitions to “honor excellence in student publishing: Crown Awards for overall excellence and Gold Circle Awards for individual student recognition.”

Legacy 2022 was initially recognized as a Crown Finalist and later honored with a Silver Crown as a print literary magazine at the 2023 CSPA College Media Convention. According to the CSPA, Crown Awards are “the highest level of recognition given by the CSPA” to a student publication and one of the highest honors in college media. 

Below is the complete list of award winners:

• Grub Street Literary & Arts Magazine, Towson University, Towson, MA
• Lighted Corners, Mount St. Mary's University, Emmitsburg, MA
• Port City Review, Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA
• The Tower, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Legacy, Reading Area Community College, Reading, PA
• Allium, A Journal of Poetry & Prose, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Parnassus, Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA
• Windhover, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

We are the only college in the state of Pennsylvania to receive this prestigious distinction, which is a testament to the great work of RACC students and the staff of the journal. Congratulations to the contributors, the student editors who helped produce the 2022 edition, the Editor-in-Chief and Layout/Design Editor, Dylan Sokolovich, and the faculty advisor, Dr. Bahar Diken.

The CSPA also awarded Legacy’s 2022 issue four national Gold Circle Awards:

• First Place – Experimental Fiction
  Shianne Ayala-Lind, “Pretty Girl”
• First Place – Cover Design for Literary or Literary Art Magazine
  Miguel Santiago and Dylan Sokolovich
• Certificate of Merit – Table of Contents Page
  Dylan Sokolovich
• First Place – Portfolio Illustration
  Mia Davis

The complete list of individual awards can be found here.

Legacy 2022 contributors also took top awards from The Community College Humanities Association (CCHA). The CCHA’s annual literary magazine competition highlights student work from all over the nation. Honoring the best in the Eastern Division, the CCHA named the following contributors as winners of its prestigious literary magazine competition.

• First Place – Best Artwork
  Mia Davis, “Wanderer”
• First Place – Best Song
  Rachel Dodson, “Alice”
• Third Place – Creative Nonfiction
  Rachel Dodson, “A Conversation with My Dad”
• Third Place – Short Story
  Jack Weaver, “The Silence of the Bugle”

Congratulations to the CCHA winners for their exceptional work.

Legacy 2022 and all the past editions can be seen here.

April 10, 2023 — The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) recently named Reading Area Community College (RACC) Medical Laboratory Technician Professor, Ms. Alayne Fessler as one of its 2023 Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award winners.

Named in honor of former AACC President and CEO Dale P. Parnell, this designation has been established to recognize individuals making a difference in the classroom. The AACC is the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. The association represents more than 1,000 two-year, associate degree-granting institutions and nearly 12 million students.

According to Ms. Fessler, “The inspiration that I obtain from our RACC students continues to overwhelm me. My position as the program director of the Medical Laboratory Technician Program at RACC is the perfect professional opportunity to blend my love of clinical laboratory science with my desire for educating students.”

In addition to overseeing the Medical Laboratory Technician Program, Fessler also teaches and serves as the academic advisor for all students in the program.

Alayne graduated from Susquehanna University with a bachelor’s degree in biology. After graduation, she attended the former St. Joseph School of Medical Technology and became a certified Medical Technologist. She later obtained a master’s degree in education from Penn State University.

Her career began in the chemistry department at the former Community General Hospital in Reading. At that time, RACC had an affiliation with Community General Hospital and she had the opportunity to work with the RACC students during their clinical rotations. She loved sharing her passion with the students. That sparked her interest in pursuing a career in laboratory education.

To learn more about the Medical Laboratory Technician program at RACC, contact an enrollment specialist at admissions@racc.edu, 610.607.6224 or 800.626.1665.

David Mekeel | Reading Eagle | March 28, 2023 - Reading Area Community College is looking to help address the growing need for health care workers in the region with a new project.

The college has announced it will convert its Weitz Hall into the Weitz Healthcare Pavilion. The multimillion-dollar project will increase classroom and lab spaces in the building, realign the structure of RACC’s health science programs and consolidate those programs into one facility.

The project will allow the community college to increase the number of students in its health care programs by 80%.

“The Weitz Heathcare Pavilion will serve our community by providing Berks County students with a quality education in the health care fields and then bring these skilled workers to our local medical facilities,” said Dr. Susan Looney, RACC president. “The RACC students who learn at the Weitz Healthcare Pavilion will go on to care for all of us within our region.”

Work on the health care pavilion will begin in May and is expected to conclude in August 2024. The building’s current footprint will be expanded to create a new lobby and student lounge space.

When complete, the first floor of the new facility will feature state-of-the-art simulation nursing and respiratory care lab spaces with a central observation room and two debriefing rooms.

The second floor will include simulated patient rooms with cardiac monitors, alarms, and air supply systems that mimic real-life patient care areas. It will also be home to the college’s short-term health care professions programs, such as the nurses aid program.

The third and fourth floors will have redesigned classroom spaces, as a well as phlebotomy and dental assistant labs.

RACC has so far received $10 million in government funding for the project, and has begun a campaign to solicit further funding from local businesses, foundations and philanthropists. The project is expected to have a total price tag of around $22 million.

City Council in December allocated $2 million each in ARPA funds to Alvernia University, Albright College and Reading Area Community College.

RACC administrators said the college’s share of the funds will be used toward the project.

“We are grateful to the mayor and City Council for their support of the future Weitz Healthcare Pavilion,” Looney said at the time. “This facility will allow us to double our health care programs, addressing the critical need for skilled, well-trained health care professionals in Berks County.”

The need for well-skilled health professionals is higher than ever, said David Hessen, RACC’s director of marketing and communications.

“We have 700 RACC students on our waiting list to enter our RACC Nursing Program,” he said. “Our nursing program costs only $6,000 and takes only two years to complete.”

Graduates of the college’s nursing program, he added, have a pass rate of 94% on the state board exam.

In addition to allowing for the doubling of enrollment in RACC’s health care programs, such as the nursing program, Hessen said, the completed Weitz pavilion will allow the college to add to add other critically needed programs to qualify emergency medical technicians and paramedics, psychiatric and mental health services personnel, physical therapist assistants and other health care management technicians and personnel.

Tony DeMarco, RACC’s vice president of advancement, said the hefty investment will be fruitful, serving to bolster the local health care industry.

“Through the Weitz Healthcare Pavilion, we will continue to graduate qualified health care workers with diverse backgrounds resulting in equitable representation in our region’s health care centers,” he said. “The majority of health care students who graduate from RACC in both the academic and workforce curriculum remain in Berks County.”

For more information about the Weitz Healthcare Pavilion, contact Tony DeMarco at 610.607.6294.

March 14, 2023 — Reading Area Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter, Alpha Sigma Rho, earned several awards at the Middle States Regional Convention, including the Tenth Most Distinguished Honors in Action Project in the Region. Chapters receive awards for their work on projects that support PTK’s Four Hallmarks (Service, Scholarship, Fellowship and Leadership).

One of these projects, Honors in Action, challenges members to develop a research question and plan an action based on the Honors Study Topic.  This year’s topic was The Art and Science of Play. The chapter officer team and active members investigated the mental health benefits of play for college students. As a result of their findings from this academic research, the students planned and implemented a set of actions, designed to maximize these benefits.

This project, along with other chapter activities demonstrated members’ research and leadership skills and commitment to seeing a project through from development to completion. “I am exceptionally proud of the hard work and dedication of the Alpha Sigma Rho Chapter,” says RACC Professor of Social Work/Sociology and Phi Theta Kappa Advisor, Danelle R. Bower.

The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society recognizes academic achievement of community college students and provides opportunities for them to grow as scholars and leaders. For more information about Phi Theta Kappa at Reading Area Community College, please call 610.372.4721.

Women of Influence Awards honor high-achieving women for their career accomplishments. The honorees are selected based on their professional experience, community involvement and a commitment to mentoring. 

Circle of Excellence honorees are women of longstanding, notable success in the community who are leading the way for other women. Women to Watch honors women leaders under the age of 35 who demonstrate outstanding professional accomplishments, community involvement and commitment to positive change. 

To be eligible for the awards, the winners must live or work in the Greater Lehigh Valley region.

“This year’s Women of Influence are professionally successful and committed to making a difference, inspiring change and mentoring the next generation of leaders,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, managing director of Lehigh Valley Business/BridgeTower Media. “The Circle of Excellence honorees are trailblazers who have followed their dreams and passions, and they inspire and grow other strong women. The Women to Watch are on the move as the next generation of leaders in the Lehigh Valley. We are pleased to recognize these incredible women.”

The winners will be honored at a celebration on May 10 at DeSales University’s University Center, 2755 Station Road in Center Valley. A networking reception begins at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and an awards celebration at 6 p.m.

Attendance is limited. Honorees and sponsors get the first chance to secure tables. Sponsorship includes a table for guests, multimedia marketing, an ad in the awards publication, logo usage and more. To secure a sponsorship, contact Suzanne Fischer-Huettner at shuettner@bridgetowermedia.com. The event hashtag is #LVBevents.

Winners will be profiled in a special magazine that will be inserted into the May 8 issue of Lehigh Valley Business and will be available online at LVB.com.

For more information and updated sponsorship information about Lehigh Valley Business’ 2023 Women of Influence, visit www.LVB.com.

About Lehigh Valley Business
Lehigh Valley Business is a multimedia news source with 37 years of journalistic excellence that breaks news daily on its website, LVB.com. It also publishes a print and online edition. In addition, Lehigh Valley Business publishes special focus sections and products throughout the year including Reader Rankings in addition to the yearly Book of Lists. It also hosts eight annual events, including Women of Influence, Icon Honors and Forty Under 40, to recognize excellence and provide leadership opportunities. Lehigh Valley Business facilitates thoughtful discussion with market leaders through its webinar series. Its Digital Marketing Solutions helps customers with social media, search engine marketing and optimization, retargeting, email marketing and more. Lehigh Valley Business and its sister publication, the Central Penn Business Journal, which covers business in Central Pennsylvania, are part of BridgeTower Media, the leading provider of B2B information, research, events and marketing solutions across more than 25 U.S. markets and industries.

2023 Women of Influence 

• Tara Anthony, City Center Residential
• Cameilia Baker, Lehigh Valley Hospital
• Jennifer Bruce, Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba PC
• Laura Budraitis, Altitude Marketing
• Erin Burke, Barry Isett & Associates
• Michele Denninger, King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul LLC
• Jennifer M. Driscoll, Lily's Hope Foundation and Cryo Technologies
• Laura M. Eberly, Reuther+Bowen
• Leigh Ehrlich, CPA, CHFP, MBA, Lehigh Valley Health Network 
• Rebecca L. Francis, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox and Roach, REALTORS®
• Renee Gould, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate | Valley Partners
• Elizabeth Hassler, Herbein + Company Inc.
• Jane Heft, City Center Investment Corp
• Alneasa Jordan, Kehe Distributors
• Katy Kresge, Cedar Crest College
• Laura Leinbach, GOLD Credit Union
• Diane Lewis, Manufacturers Resource Center 
• Terri Lampe Melcher, Schmidt Training and Technology Center at RACC
• Cheryl Mengel, RN, Fellowship Community
• Tina Montone, Conspectus Inc.
• Jessica O'Donnell-Gower, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce
• Ashley Quinn, Members 1st Federal Credit Union
• Candice Richards, PSECU
• Pamela Riddell, MBA, Lehigh Valley Health Network
• Sarah Rubright McCahon, Esq., Barley Snyder
• Melissa Shafer, St. Luke's University Health Network
• Lori G. Sywensky, Turning Point of Lehigh Valley Inc.
• Lisa M. Walkiewicz, Via of the Lehigh Valley Inc.
• Christine Walp, Univest Bank and Trust Co.
• Lindsay Watson, FIA NYC Employment
• Dr. Suzanne Wenderoth, Tower Health
• Melissa Young, KeyBank

2023 Circle of Excellence

• Laurel Cline, Herbein | Mosteller HR Consulting
• Marci Martinez-Howey, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
• Jennifer Schlegel, Ph.D., Kutztown University

2023 Women to Watch

• Lauren Borrell, NAI Summit
• Janelle E. Hendershot, One Financial Services
• Bianca Rivera, Members 1st Federal Credit Union