Due to the still-evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Moraine Park Technical College has decided to postpone its 2020 commencement ceremony, originally scheduled for Saturday, May 16.

While the situation is still fluid, the College is moving forward with a new commencement date of Saturday, June 27, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will also be held at a new location, the Beaver Dam High School Field House, 500 Gould St., Beaver Dam.

Regalia (caps, gowns and tassels) will be available for purchase through the College bookstore online. More information, including purchase dates, will be available on the student portal in the coming weeks.

The College has invited Beaver Dam Mayor Becky Glewen and Moraine Park graduate Barbara Turner to participate as speakers at the ceremony. Commencement is expected to last approximately one and a half hours. 

College officials continue to monitor state and national regulations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. If social distancing guidelines are still in place, further extended or enhanced, the commencement ceremony would then be canceled. If cancellation occurs, graduating students will be offered the opportunity to participate in the 2021 commencement ceremony and celebrations.

“We recognize how significant the commencement ceremony is to our graduates,” Bonnie Baerwald, president at Moraine Park Technical College, said. “Commencement is also an opportunity for families, friends, and Moraine Park employees to surround our graduates with support and offer congratulations for this momentous achievement. For these reasons, we are hopeful that by postponing the date, it will allow all of us to celebrate together.”

For Moraine Park’s COVID-19 updates, visit morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

Moraine Park, as well as other Wisconsin Technical College’s, are working to find a solution to the shortage of face masks at our local healthcare systems.

Kim Olson, a mechanical design technology instructor at Moraine Park, has been working virtually with colleagues to design and print masks on a 3D printer.

He has successfully designed and printed some samples, but is working on efficiency and waiting to see if they can get approval for these to be used in a medical facility.

“The masks need to be approved for efficacy by the medical profession, and we need to become a certified manufacturer before a healthcare facility could accept them,” Kim said. ” We aren’t sure if the state will have the ability to certify each technical college, but if they can, we will be ready!”

Kim’s hard work is just one of the ways that Moraine Park is working to provide solutions during the COVID-19 outbreak. The College also made a significant donation of PPE to local healthcare facilities in our district and the College’s culinary program donated their perishable foods to local food banks.

For more information on moraine park, visit morainepark.edu.

With the statewide school closings, Moraine Park Technical College Culinary Arts Department found itself with pounds of fruits, vegetables and cheeses that would not be used as planned. However, this also presented an opportunity to reach out to the community.

Associate Dean of Trades, Steve Horvath, organized Culinary Arts staff to clear out the coolers. Together they were able to package the abundant and healthful product for distribution through the Fondy Food Pantry and the Broken Bread program at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Fond du Lac.

Both organizations were very grateful for the donations and Culinary Arts is grateful that the food programs saved the food from being a total loss.

This donation, is just one way that Moraine Park is working to help during the COVID-19 outbreak. The College also donated over 37,000 items to local healthcare facilities.

Stay up to date on Moraine Park’s COVID-19 updates, at morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

Moraine Park Technical College will host Tech Knowledge College, a summer camp for students entering grades 6 through 9. This event gives participants an interactive look at the skills and careers needed today and in the future.

Registration is now open for this annual three-day camp, held August 4-6, at Moraine Park Technical College’s Fond du Lac campus.

New for TKC 2020!
• Registration exclusively online.
• Open to students entering grades 6-9.
• New sessions: Dog Rescue, Drones, Photography,
Social Media Influencer, and more!

$125 includes: three full days, two sessions, lunch and
snacks, and busing from Beaver Dam and West Bend.

Session space is limited. Register by May 29 to secure your spot!

For a full list of sessions or to register, visit morainepark.edu/tkc.

As we see so often during difficult times, people always find ways to keep a light shining by helping others.

Such is the case at Moraine Park Technical College. With the coronavirus continuing its grip on local communities, our nation and the world, the College is doing what they can to help.

Nearly 37,000 healthcare and safety-related supplies, including N-95 masks; disposable gloves and gowns; surgical gowns, hats and shoe covers; face shields and more, were collected from each of the College’s campuses – Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac and West Bend – and have been donated to local healthcare facilities in those communities including Marshfield Medical Center (formerly Beaver Dam Community Hospital), Froedtert and SSM/St. Agnes.

The healthcare supplies came from several of the College’s more than 60-plus programs, including:  Associate Degree Nursing, Nursing Assistant, Respiratory Therapy, Surgical Technologist, EMS and Cosmetology.

The College is also loaning respirators SSM/St. Agnes according to Barb Jascor, Moraine Park’s dean of health and human services.

“In addition to the need for healthcare and safety supplies, we were also seeing an ever-increasing need for ventilators,” said Jascor. “We wanted to do what we could to help and it made sense to loan our ventilators in advance, as a precautionary measure, should the local need for ventilators surpass current capacity of our community health care partners.”

For COVID-19 updates at Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu/coronavirus.

The Fond du Lac County Department of Community Programs office will be utilizing Moraine Park Technical College’s district office, at 235 N. National Ave. in Fond du Lac, to continue to provide mental health services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Previously, their offices were located in a nursing home facility, however, with the COVID-19 outbreak requiring enhanced restrictions on guests entering the facility, the Department of Community Programs needed to find a new location.

The Department of Community Programs provides a wide range of mental health services to Fond du Lac County, including Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA), crisis intervention, and prevention/education.

The move is scheduled to happen on Wednesday, April 1.

“This extraordinary opportunity will allow us to continue to provide mental health services to the residents of Fond du Lac County.”- Erin Gerred, Fond du Lac County director of administration.

morainepark.edu

fdlco.wi.gov/departments/departments-a-e/community-programs

“Service Above Self” is the motto of the Fond du Lac Morning Rotary Club.

Recently, the Rotary Club honored two Moraine Park Technical College student clubs – Criminal Justice Club and IT Club, for their outstanding service projects. Criminal Justice students presented examples of their service projects including Dream Big with Boys and Girls Clubs and IT students presented Tech Tyme at the FDL Senior Center. Each student group was awarded a $250 FDL Rotary grant to help continue their efforts. Congratulations!

Moraine Park Cultural Connections is an exciting, fun way to build real world career and life skills, gain self-confidence, and expand your awareness of diversity, global perspective and social responsibility.

Do you need 3 credits of social science to complete your degree requirements?  If so, your cultural connections experience may be financial aid eligible!  Each experience is linked to the MPTC online course Intro to Diversity. Check with your academic advisor today!

View our upcoming Cultural Connections opportunities! All opportunities are linked to academic course credit, financial aid-eligible and intended to give each student participant a meaningful experience outside the classroom, as well as the chance to have an impact on our local, domestic and global community.

Stop in at one of our upcoming information sessions! Each session is on all 3 campuses.

February 25

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. in A203, K204 and L151

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in A203, K201 and N116

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in E141, K209 and L151

February 26

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. in E141, K313 and L151

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. in E141, K313 and L151

5:30 – 6:30 p.m. in A203, K204 and N116

For more information, contact Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator, alemke2@morainepark.edu or 920-924-3329

Learn more about cultural connections travel on the Study Abroad Association’s website.

Top: SVA President Brad Resler

Right: American Legion Post 36 Member

Members of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) Club teamed up with the West Bend area Sons of Veterans Club and completed a lighting upgrade project for the West Bend American Legion Post 36.

The American Legion Post 36 was in need of upgrading their lighting to save hundreds of dollars in energy each year. At the same time, the SVA Club was searching for ways to help community veterans. That’s when SVA President Brad Resler reached out to an American Legion member and the two clubs teamed up. The upgrade included replacing 75 old, energy consuming florescent fixtures with new, energy efficient LED fixtures.

The project was expected to take about 2 full days to complete. However, with the teamwork of both the SVA and Sons of Veterans, the entire project was completed in one 9-hour day. It was amazing teamwork to benefit a very deserving group of veterans.

The Student Veterans of America Club is open to veterans, and those currently serving, as well as students, faculty, staff, family members and supporters of individuals who have served or currently serving.

SVA members also shown below are: Vice President Jeff Shurpit, Secretary Alex Arendt, Tommy Lee, Joel Schoeneck, Collin Shurpit and Matt Tillman.