Two Moraine Park students were recently recognized for their heroic and life-saving actions.
This spring, Scott Lieburn, Moraine Park’s dean of students, received a notification that a 911 call was placed on campus. Upon his arrival at the scene, he immediately identified that it was near the nursing classroom. Natasha Sokoloff, a second-year nursing student, and Andres Morales, a first-year respiratory therapy student, were providing care to an unresponsive person. They were supported by instructors and classmates and administered life-saving care until EMS arrived.
“It is clear that these students are in the right field,” Scott said. “They showed a sense of urgency and remained calm during the intense situation.”
This person was within minutes of death, but because of Natasha and Andres’s teamwork, they are alive today.
It is because of these heroic measures that the Fond du Lac Fire Department presented Natasha and Andres with a Lifesaving Award at Moraine Park’s June 19 board meeting.
Additionally, the person sent a message.
“To the person or people who found me, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I literally owe you my life, and I hope you know how grateful I am for that.”
Moraine Park staff and board members gathered at the College’s monthly board
meeting on Wednesday, June 19 to honor Mike Staral’s retirement from the Moraine
Park board and his many years of service to the College.
Staral is a 1978 graduate from Moraine Park’s Tool and Die Technologies Apprenticeship program, and since then has been a self-motivated advocate and ambassador for the College. He served for 40-years at Willer Tool Corp. in Jackson, retiring in June 2016 from his role as Vice President. He was also an active member of the Moraine Park CNC/Tool and Die Technologies Advisory Committee for 15 years, the Moraine Park Alumni Advisory committee for four years, and served on the Moraine Park Board for six years, two of those as the Chairperson.
He’s dedicated a large part of his life to spreading the good word about
technical education. It’s no wonder, then, that 65 percent of Willer Tool
Corp.’s employees are Moraine Park graduates.
“I’m Moraine Park’s biggest fan,” Staral
said.
Aside from himself, three other members of his family are graduates of
Wisconsin technical colleges, including his wife, Kate, with a degree in
interior design; his son, Jason, with a tool and die degree; and his
daughter-in-law, Krista, with a degree in dental hygiene.
A lifelong West Bend resident, Staral will continue to serve his community as president of Friends of West Bend Parks and on the West Bend Baseball Association Board of Directors and the West Bend Park and Recreation Commission.
At the June board meeting, President Bonnie Baerwald extended her gratitude and
presented Staral with a gift in honor of for his service to the College.
“Mike is one of those unique board members,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park president said. “I’m a firm believer that the success of an organization is built around strong leadership, which comes directly from the board, especially its chair. Mike has been one of my strongest supporters and the biggest cheerleader for Moraine Park. He is passionate about career and technical education, and it is felt through all that he did for the College. He not only served in various leadership roles on the Board, but also advocated for legislation, attended conferences to learn best practices, and challenged, as well as supported, fiscal and strategic decisions. He is a wonderful ally and dear friend, and the College and I will certainly miss him.”
We can’t stop celebrating commencement and the many accomplishments that happened at Moraine Park this last year. To keep the party going, we have included links to all of the celebration photos.
Are you dreaming of accomplishing your educational goals? Moraine Park has many options to get you into your dream career. Find out more at morainepark.edu.
Moraine Park Technical
College held its spring Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Wednesday, June
12. The College had 21 students graduate from the program; eight from the
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 13 from the welding
boot camp.
This program was
designed to combat the skilled worker shortage by offering a variety of boot
camp sessions. The boot camp sessions are free to participants, teach skills
that are unique to a particular pathway, and connect students with area
employers. The program also combines a 144-hour paid internship with
coursework, including Occupational Math, Print Reading, Team Building, Problem
Solving, and program-specific courses. Participating internship sites for this
session were Amerequip Corporation, Apache Stainless, Generac Power Systems,
Mayville Engineering Company, Miba, Mid States Aluminum, Signicast, Tobin
Machining, Wabash National, Weasler Engineering, and X-Cel Tooling.
Moraine Park has had
377 participants in the welding and CNC boot camp programs since their
induction in 2012.
The spring 2019 CNC graduates
are Michael Adam Abitz of North Fond du Lac, Cory Fleischfresser of Fond du Lac,
Dustin Marx of Fond du Lac, Troy Riehl of Fond du Lac, Deavin Schaub of Waupun,
Nancy Sery of Hartford, Demetrius Smith of West Bend, and Kou Vang of Fond du
Lac.
The spring 2019 welding
graduates are Christian Bailey-Steenport of West bend, Peter Demmerle of Fond
du Lac, Austin Fingar of Redgranite, Nathan Hankins of Chilton, Xavier Kitchens
of Fond du Lac, Dimitri Lloyd of Fond du Lac, Ontarius McFerren of West Bend, Joshua
Mikula of Plymouth, Armando Murillo of Fond du Lac, Taylor Nett of Fond du Lac,
Shane Rau of Fond du Lac, Dani Schommer of Fond du Lac, and Bobby Wiercioch of Fond
du Lac.
This year’s graduation
speakers were Smith and Hankins.
Smith, a CNC
graduate, is grateful for the experience Moraine Park gave him through the boot
camp program.
“This program has
opened many doors,” he said. “MPTC has given us opportunities that we otherwise
would not have. This program was free, and it came with 16 college credits, so
some would even say it’s better than free. Some of us will add on to what we’ve
learned so far. I know I will.”
Smith served his
internship at Weasler in West Bend and is now a full-time employee.
Hankins, a welding
graduate, shared the story of how he thought the opportunity was too good to be
true.
“I thought it was a
scam,” Hankins said. “It’s so unique and unheard of that it’s nearly
unbelievable.”
Hankins’s
hesitations quickly faded, and he embraced the entire experience, noting that
he made some lasting connections in the process. He completed his internship at
Amerequip in Kiel and is a current employee.
“Be
confident in your abilities, but don’t ever think you can just coast,” he said.
“You don’t get to stop learning and trying just because you got a certificate
or a job.”
Moraine Park’s
Skills Academy boot camps are free to participating students, thanks to
financial support from area businesses including Amerequip Corporation, Apache
Stainless, Generac Power Systems, Mayville Engineering Company, Miba, Mid
States Aluminum, Signicast, Tobin Machining, Wabash National, Weasler
Engineering, and X-Cel Tooling.
Additionally, the
welding training was partially funded through a GPR grant that incorporates
both Adult Basic Education and welding. The purpose of this training is to
allow students to complete both their High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED)
and the welding boot camp.
Individuals interested in learning more about the CNC and welding boot camp opportunities are encouraged to attend a Boot Camp Test Drive event scheduled at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus on July 16 and 18, and the Beaver Dam campus on July 23. For more information, visit morainepark.edu/bootcamps.
The full photo gallery of photos can be found here.
Moraine Park
Technical College held its 27th annual GED/HSED graduation ceremony on May 30.
For the 2018-19 school year, 126 students received their General Education
Development (GED) or High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) certificates.
Rebecca Carreon of Fond du Lac,
Natasha Peters of Ripon, Sandra Pfund of Slinger, and Betty Zimdars of West
Bend served as student speakers.
Carreon and
Peters, sisters and twins, spoke together on the struggles of life and how
important it was to both of them to complete the journey together.
“I tried multiple
times to finish my HSED on my own but never followed through with it because I
never thought I could do it,” Peters said. “The support of family, friends, the
teachers at the Student Success Center, and my sister gave me the courage and
push I needed to finish.”
Both Carreon and
Peters plan to continue their education at Moraine Park this fall, with an
overall goal to earn their college degree.
“I have always
wanted to be a labor and delivery nurse, and I finally feel like that isn’t
just a dream anymore,” Carreon said. “Now I can make it a reality! We plan on
starting school here at Moraine Park Technical College in the upcoming
year. After all the support we had to
finish our HSED here, we can only imagine the support we will get once in our programs!”
Pfund shared her
story of deciding to complete her high school diploma with the support of her
friend and fellow GED student, Zimdars.
“We have
maintained our friendship and motivated each other along the way,” Pfund said.
“My success has been helped with a special friendship and someone to hold me
accountable. Nothing is impossible, no matter what age you are. Our journey was
not an easy one, but our friendship helped immensely.”
Pfund and Zimdars
have decided to continue their educational journey together as Moraine Park
college students.
Abby McGeehen of Berlin
and Zimdars were each the recipients of $500 student scholarships. These scholarships are awarded to GED/HSED
graduates who are continuing their education at Moraine Park.
The GED/HSED
students had to pass all four subject portions of the nationally recognized GED
tests to receive their diploma. They also had to meet requirements in
employability, digital literacy, health, and civics. Moraine Park’s GED/HSED
instruction is available year-round and is one of the many services at the
College that is offered for free to the community.
For more information about Moraine Park’s GED/HSED classes, visit morainepark.edu/GED.
From left to right: Medical Assistant student Stephanie Darkow, Serenity CAPSW Administrator Kathy Weston, Serenity Volunteer & Bereavement Coordinator Ashley Wissinger, Serenity OTR Owner Barb Mueller, Instructor Eric Ziebell and Instructor Sarah Chojnacki
Moraine Park Technical College has presented Serenity Hospice with its 2019 Community Partnership Award. This award recognizes a community non-profit or business partner organization who has gone above and beyond in their role of working with Moraine Park students in service learning opportunities.
Serenity Hospice is committed to providing the highest quality of care with a multidisciplinary team, serving patients and their families through every stage of end of life care. Moraine Park Medical Assistant students are important members of the hospice team! Volunteers are specially trained to provide support to the patient and family such as socialization, visitation, and helping with administrative tasks such as scanning, filing, alphabetizing, faxing, data entry, scheduling and collating. In 2019, MPTC student service learning volunteers spent over 240 hours at Serenity Hospice!
Ashley Wissinger, Volunteer & Bereavement Coordinator for Serenity Hospice said, “Thank you so much for this award! We’ve had a lot of wonderful student volunteers from Moraine Park. The award is lovely and is proudly displayed. It was so great to meet your team and put faces with names! It is truly an honor to work with the Moraine Park students. We appreciate everything you and your team do to ensure your students are successful.”
Moraine Park Technical College works to bring quality education to the students, which in turn will benefit the communities where they live and work. Students who participate are required to log their volunteer hours, which count towards earning a Service-Learning Award. Opportunities such as this allow students to make community connections prior to graduation and work through real-life scenarios. The partnership created by Moraine Park Technical College and Serenity Hospice will continue to benefit both of our organizations, the student volunteers, and the patients and families that are being served.
For more information on Moraine Park Technical College, visit morainepark.edu.
On April 23, MPTC President Bonnie Baerwald and Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke, were very excited to receive the Partner In Excellence Award from the Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County Area
Center Director Mindy Collado said, “Thank you so much for attending our Great Futures Celebration and for all of your hard work with the Dream Big Initiative!”
Teen Futures Coordinator Carrie Govek said, “We are so delighted with the opportunities Dream Big has offered the teens in our Career Launch program and we look forward to continuing this partnership.”
Club CEO Jason Presto said, “Dream Big is so amazing! We are very thankful for the way MPTC is introducing our members to opportunities they may be interested in or may have never even known was an option for them. This school year they learned about careers in Medical Assistant, Criminal Justice,Health and Wellness, Welding, and Automotive!
Moraine Park Technical College is committed to community engagement and student success. The College supports these commitments through the opportunity for students to participate in service learning and apply their classroom knowledge to an applicable, real world environment.
Last year, MPTC started a service learning awards program where students can track their service hours, submit their reflections, and earn a Bronze Award for 25 hours, Silver Award for 50 hours,Gold Award for 100 hours, or Presidents Award for 200 hours of service. In the 2018-19 school year 112 students logged over 2,800 hours of service impacting 138 area community partners! 15 students earned awards in December and 28 students earned awards in May.
Congratulations to the spring 2019 award winners!
Bronze Award Winners
Completing 25-49 hours of service learning.
Gwendolyn Redmon, Medical Assistant
Kayla Tiedke, Medical Assistant
Stephanie Munro, Medical Assistant
Kelly Loeper, Medical Assistant
Mackenzie Dressel, Medical Assistant
Robin Hanson, Medical Assistant
Yasmine Albert, Medical Assistant
Kristin Auchtung, Medical Assistant
Summer Benn, Medical Assistant
Kayla Bunker, Medical Assistant
Rachel Dobberphul, Medical Assistant
Chelsea Herriges, Medical Assistant
Paige Langlois, Medical Assistant
Roberto Mondragon, IT Software Developer
Jaimi TerLaan, Medical Assistant
Delaney Tisdale, Medical Assistant
Brooke Wightman, Nursing
Silver Award Winners
Completing 50-99 hours of service learning.
Erin Bunch, Business Management
Stephanie Darkow, Medical Assistant
Traci Hauge-Rueter, Medical Assistant
Jessica Hendrickson, Business
Kimberly Lindemann, Medical Assistant
Gabrielle Schumacher, Business
April Weisinger, Medical Assistant
Gold Award Winners
Completing 100-199 hours of service learning.
Abigail Donath, Business Management
Brett Hebert, Corrections
Sara Tallman, Medical Assistant
Renee Vnuk-Uhrman, Medical Lab Technician
Promise Student Award left to right: Promise Mentor Barb Brown, Director of College Advancement Dana Bourland, Promise Student Brett Hebert, President Bonnie Baerwald, Dean of General Studies Brenda Raad, Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke, College Advancement Assistant Joan BrezinskyMedical Assistant Student Awards Front row left to right: Stephanie Munro, Mackenzie Dressel, Gwendolyn Redmon, Summer Benn, Paige Langlois, Kimberly Lindemann, Stephanie Darkow Back row left to right: Yasmine Albert, Kristin Auchtung, April Weisinger, Sara Tallman, Robin Hanson, Kelly Loeper, Rachel DobberpuhlBusiness Student Awards Left to right: Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke, Jessica Hendrickson, Instructor Cindy Bernhard, Gabrielle SchmucherBusiness Student Awards left to right: Student Community Impact Coordinator Anne Lemke, Instructor Cindy Bernhard, Jaimi Lee TerLaan, Abigail Donath, Erin Bunch Promise Student Awards left to right: Promise Mentor Bart Putzer, Promise Student Renee Vnuk-Uhrman, Promise Student Brooke Wightman, Promise Mentor Joe Desiderio, Promise Manager Kim Schwamn
The hard work and academic
achievement of Moraine Park Technical College students was recognized during
the College’s annual Student Awards Banquet held at The Golf Club at Camelot in
Lomira on May 10.
Moraine Park presented the 2019
Student of the Year Award to Ashley Martin of Fond du Lac. The Student of the
Year Award is designed to recognize a student who excelled in and outside of
the classroom and has taken full advantage of the opportunities that Moraine
Park has made available for them.
The 2019-20 District Student
Ambassador Award was presented to Barbara Turner of Beaver Dam. The Moraine
Park District Student Ambassador Award identifies outstanding students in the
technical college system, with nominations solicited from faculty and staff in
the spring semester of each year.
Technical Achievement Awards were
presented to 33 students. To receive this award, recipients must be enrolled in
a technical diploma program and have maintained a 3.25 GPA. They are judged on
classroom participation and other contributions and characteristics that exemplify
an outstanding student. The 2019 recipients were August Baumgartner of West
Bend, Alex Canfield of Jackson, Calin Eigner of Iron Ridge, Zach Fahrenkrug of
Campbellsport, Zach Franck of Prairie du Sac, Ben Henriksen of Beaver Dam,
Aaron Hess of Richfield, Genevieve Hicks of Beaver Dam, Keisha Krezman of Fond du Lac, Mitch Lochen
of West Bend, Nicholas Martinez of Fond du Lac, Nic Nielsen of West Bend,
Nicole Nowicki of Beaver Dam, Hunter Scannell of West Bend, Isaac Schrage of
West Bend, Zachary Wilson of Adell, Pete Cruckson of Fond du Lac, Brady Detert
of Beaver Dam, Troy Essmann of Oconomowoc, Thomas Freiberg of Campbellsport,
Nick Giudice of Waupun, Alexander Hoepfner of Fond du Lac, Zac Hoogeveen of
Randolph, Joe Jasinski of Adell, Michael Moon of Beaver Dam, Derek Mueller of Port Washington, Melanie
Pitr of Slinger, Mitchell Regan of Hartford, Andrew Robinson of Cedarburg,
Michael Schaefer of Juneau, Alex Sippel of Saint Cloud, Daniel Sowin of
Sheboygan Falls, and Anastasia Szczesny of Iron Ridge.
The Campus Impact
Award recognizes students who have served the College by participating in a
college focus group, a college-related function, or a club/student government
activity or project. Other considerations include GPA, reliability and
follow-through. In total, 18 awards were presented, recipients were Trina
Anderson of Fox Lake, Alizabeth Barnes of Waupun, Noah Bille of Brandon, Isabel
Clark of Chilton, Kevin Fritsch of Fond du Lac, Christine Gil of Randolph,
Thomas Holman of Hartford, Joe Jasinski of Adell, Sheri Laidler of
Campbellsport, Bekah McCardell of West Bend, Ashton Mislivecek of Hillsboro,
Abby Muenchow of Horicon, Peggy Rider of West Bend, Isaac Schrage of West Bend,
Jerod Splan of Iron Ridge, Anastasia Szczesny of Iron Ridge, Queenie Weesen of
Mequon, and Janine Williams of Fond du Lac.
The Meritorious Service Award is
granted to students who have served the College through their leadership and
participation in co-curricular activities such as student clubs, student
government or other volunteer opportunities. This year’s 45 recipients include Alyssa
Ahlstrom of Van Dyne, Austin Barber of Fond du Lac, Danielle Barron of Berlin,
Maurice Beck of Campbellsport, Jacob Berger of North Fond du Lac, Taylor
Branski of West Bend, Kerwana Clayborn of Fond du Lac, Deborah Davis of
Oshkosh, Derek DeChant of Randolph, Brady Detert of Beaver Dam, Calin Eigner of
Iron Ridge, Tamara Freeman of Beaver Dam, Nick Giudice of Waupun, Eileen
Grammas of Beaver Dam, Connor Gray of Cottage Grove, Mollea Greylord of Fond du
Lac, Derek Jackson of Rubicon, Mitch Jacobs of Slinger, Shayenne A. Jaffke of
Hartford, Ty Kaage of Oshkosh, Corina Kanwischer of Hartford, Brittany Kjell of
Rubicon, Kelsey Kliefoth of Menasha, Jay Kroncke of West Bend, Kaleb Krueger of
Mayville, Jessica Leibham of West Bend, Heidi Lucas of West Bend, Jesse Mack of
Beaver Dam, Christian McCreary of West Bend, Jodie Meyer of Oshkosh, Rebecca Moreno
of West Bend, Kellie Murray of West Bend, Nicole Peterson of Eldorado, Zack Petit
of Watertown, Melanie Pitrof of Slinger, Zack Rabideau of Jackson, Gretchen Rauls
of Fond du Lac, Susan Rodencal of Fond du Lac, Patrick Rupprecht of Randolph, Lauryn
Slade of Hartford, Amy Spiekerman of West Bend, Alex Tischedndorf of Kewaskum, Nicole
Toombs of Ripon, Alyssa Wescott of Theresa, and Christina Whitehouse of Waupun.
The Leadership & Service Award is reserved for
members of Moraine Park’s Student Government. A student’s comprehensive
level of commitment to the College and their representation of the student body
through their attendance and engagement in Student Government and its related
opportunities are taken into consideration during award selection. The 12
award recipients include Alden Broome of Beaver Dam, Dominic DeLaura of
Slinger, Zach Fahrenkrug of Campbellsport, Thomas Freiberg of Campbellsport,
Brad Hetzel of Lowell, Ashley Martin of North Fond du Lac, Michael Moon of
Beaver Dam, Leah Pietrangelo of West Bend, Joshua Strnad of Rio, Jonathan
Szczesny of Iron Ridge, Sam Turner of Baraboo, and Elizabeth Wustrack of Fond
du Lac.
Student government leadership
recognition included Jonathan Szczesny of Iron Ridge, Beaver Dam Student Senate
president; Elizabeth Wustrack of Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac Student Senate
president; Leah Pietrangelo of West Bend, West Bend Student Senate president; Kevin
Fritsch of Fond du Lac, District Student Government president; Queenie Weesen
of Mequon, Wisconsin Student Government lt. governor; Joshua Strnad of Rio, Wisconsin
Student Government governor.
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