Dear Moraine Park Graduate Candidates,

Your momentous day is fast approaching. Make sure you’re ready for our in-person commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 21 at 10 a.m.  
Things To Do Now:

• If you haven’t already- order your regalia (cap and gown) at https://morainepark.shopoakhalli.com/ by April 30. No late orders will be accepted.
• As a reminder, we have new regalia colors; our cap and gowns are now black.
• Honors cords will be distributed at commencement to students who qualify for the distinction. 
• Invite your family and friends.
• There are no COVID-19 capacity restrictions!
• The event will still be live-streamed at morainepark.edu/commencement.

On Commencement Day:

• Report to the Fond du Lac High School by 9 a.m on May 21.
• Don’t forget your cap and gown!
• Make arrangements for your personal belongings. We will not have access to the staging rooms after the ceremony.
• Share your day on social by using #HomeGrownGrad.

More details can be found online at myMPTC Student.
For questions regarding the 2022 commencement ceremony, contact the Planning Team at mptcgraduation@morainepark.edu. 
We look forward to celebrating together soon.  

Moraine Park Technical College can now offer Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Sciences (AS) liberal arts degrees, as part of a historic decision made by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents today.

The new Liberal Arts program approval today has been long desired by Moraine Park and other technical colleges in the Wisconsin Tech College System (WTCS), as it offers a clearer pathway for those with associate degrees to seamlessly continue their education at a four-year partner institution with a confirmed junior status.

“By starting an education at Moraine Park, students can get their general studies completed for a fraction of the cost, with smaller class sizes, extensive student support, and guaranteed transfer credits to one of our partner schools,” Dr. Fred Rice, associate vice president of academics at Moraine Park, said. “The College currently offers a wide variety of other Associate of Applied Sciences (AAS) degrees, Technical Diplomas and certificate opportunities. Adding the liberal arts degree programs will offer a more robust slate of offerings to Moraine Park students and will help guide students who are still undecided on their program of study to simply achieve an associate degree without a specified area of focus.”

Moraine Park is finalizing their agreement with Lakeland University and is working with regional University of Wisconsin institutions within the Northeast Wisconsin Educational Resource Alliance (NEWERA) on pre-major pathway agreements. College leaders will continue to add partnerships with other local universities, giving district students more options and control when it comes to their education and making the future transfer process easier and more streamlined.

“Congratulations to Moraine Park Technical College and their stakeholders who supported this effort,” Dr. Morna K. Foy, WTCS president, said. “In response to the needs of local employers, K-12 partners, and economic and workforce development organizations, Moraine Park will provide expanded educational opportunities for students in their communities.”

The College will offer AA and AS liberal arts degrees beginning this fall. Students who elect to pursue an associate degree at Moraine Park as the first step of their education will save thousands annually compared to a private or public 4-year college.

Individuals interested in exploring this opportunity at Moraine Park are encouraged to start conversations early by connecting with admissions@morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park Technical College will again offer Tech Knowledge College (TKC) from August 9-11 at the Fond du Lac Campus. TKC is a three-day summer camp at the Fond du Lac Campus for students entering grades 6 to 8. This hands-on event gives participants an interactive look at the skills and careers needed today and in the future.

About 2022 TKC:

• Registration Open May 2.
• Camp will run from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. each day.
• The registration is $115.
• The participants will select two sessions.
• There will be a family open-house from 2:15-3:15 p.m. on Thursday, Aug.11.

Important:

• All TKC campers will need to be dropped off at the Fond du Lac Campus C-1 entrance. Bussing is not available this year.
• Lunches and snacks will be provided.
• Registrations are final. Refunds will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For more information, including a full list of sessions, visit morainepark.edu/tkc.

Moraine Park Technical College will survey a random sampling of homes in the district starting April 8. The goal of the survey is to help the College obtain input on future business and industry needs within the district, and the growth and improvements that are required to help meet those needs.

The Moraine Park district includes Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Washington counties, and small portions of surrounding counties. The College, with campus locations in Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, and West Bend, plays a critical role in training more than 12,000 students each year for industry-critical jobs. Moraine Park students pursue degrees in many high-demand areas, including information technology, cybersecurity, accounting, nursing, respiratory therapy, advanced manufacturing, and website and graphic design.

“Our focus will always be on educating our students. However, we also need to develop a plan to update our programs and facilities to continue to fuel the growing business and industry sector,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park president, said. “Our programs are dependent on our facilities to offer hands-on training and real-world learning opportunities. To help in our planning, we formed the Capital Expansion Visioning Team and developed a survey to gather the input from our communities; their feedback and support are vital to the success of this future planning.”

Those who are randomly selected should reply by April 25.

Final survey results will be reported at Moraine Park Technical College board meeting on May 18.

For more information, visit morainepark.edu/future.

For questions on the survey, call 920-929-2127.

Moraine Park Technical College has distributed over $8,000 in its third round Non-Traditional Occupations (NTO) grants. Last spring, the College started this initiative to benefit high school classrooms and encourage students to explore non-traditional career options. Non-traditional occupations are defined as careers that currently employ 25% or less of one gender. 

High schools within Moraine Park’s district are eligible to participate in the grant program. Currently, partnerships are being formed to help influence the NTO exploration of skilled trade, health care, and early childhood occupations. 

“It’s important to us that we introduce high school students to careers early on,” Ruback said. “There is such a high need for skilled workers, and our goal is to help fill the gaps in our local industries. Students who have the opportunity to take college credit classes in high school benefit in many ways; it’s more cost-effective, and they help develop life skills to be more self-sufficient and well-rounded adults.”

The fall 2021 grant cycle awarded West Bend District High Schools with funding used to purchase a shaken baby simulator, welding materials and nursing assistant materials; Waupun High School with medical and anatomy equipment; Fond du Lac High School with equipment for criminal justice and automotive training; Slinger High School with nursing assistant equipment, North Fond du Lac with a shaken baby simulator; and, Campbellsport High School with nursing assistant equipment.

“This has been such a powerful opportunity for us because we can help benefit the career path of our students before they are in college,” Ruback said. “The NTO grant money is awarded directly into the teacher’s classrooms and provides reimbursement toward the purchase of materials, supplies, textbooks, software applications, or equipment to enhance the dual credit learning environments.”

Moraine Park’s district schools interested in exploring dual credit options should connect with the K-12 Department at k12@morainepark.edu. 

Moraine Park Technical College hosted their third annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Literacy Week Project, donating more than 500 culturally responsive books to three local elementary schools. 

In 2019, the College began exploring opportunities to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and developed strong partnerships with three area schools; Jefferson Elementary in Beaver Dam, Chegwin Elementary in Fond du Lac, and Green Tree Elementary in West Bend.

Each year, Moraine Park has donated culturally responsive books to the schools’ libraries, and employees of the College have spent time in the classroom or virtually reading books to the students.

“Engaging with our communities is a strategic priority for the College,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park president, said. “We value the partnerships cultivated with these three district elementary schools and look forward to working with them to celebrate the important work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for years to come.”

Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac (FDL) Student Senate and participating student clubs collected over 175 gifts for families in need this holiday season through Moraine Park’s new Holiday Helpers program.

The gifts were dropped off by Moraine Park Holiday Helpers on Dec. 16 as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County’s Adopt a Family program. The donation supported 30 children and adults in need from the Fond du Lac area.

Big Brothers Big Sisters assists children with social, emotional and character development through one-to-one mentoring relationships with caring adults. The Adopt a Family program allows people in the community to purchase gifts for families who are unable to do so.

“A very special thank you goes out to Moraine Park Technical College for their support of our Adopt a Family program this year,” executive director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fond du Lac County, Tammy Young, said. “Many of our children in the BBBS of Fond du Lac County program would not have presents under the tree if it weren’t for their generosity.”

After Moraine Park’s Holiday Helpers received the families’ wishlists from Big Brothers Big Sisters, each item was written on the back of an ornament and placed on Student Life boards around Moraine Park’s FDL campus. Students, faculty, staff and the public were encouraged to select an ornament, purchase the item, wrap the gift and return it to the Holiday Helpers to be donated.

“I was blown away by the response and generosity by our students, employees, and clubs with this program,” said Moraine Park student involvement specialist, Lucas Nieman. “All the ornaments were selected within two weeks, and the people I was able to meet and speak to about their reasons for giving gave me an even better perspective on the impact we were making in our community. Being a Holiday Helper wasn’t just about purchasing a gift for someone in need, it was about making a difference in the lives of others.”

Moraine Park’s FDL Student Senate organized the Holiday Helpers effort with ten student clubs including IT Club, Criminal Justice Club, Medical Lab Technicians Club, Cosmetology Club, Culinary Arts Club, Emergency Medical Services Club, Civil Engineering Technology Club, Student Nurses Association Club, Society of Manufacturing Engineering Club and Respiratory Therapy Club.

Moraine Park Technical College Electromechanical Technology students were awarded new robotics technology after placing first at Lab Midwest’s Team Robotics Competition.  

Moraine Park students Anthony Biel of West Bend, Timothy Vukosich of Fond du Lac, and Gregory Van Slyke of Hartford participated in the Team Robotics Competition this fall. The students were presented with the award by Lab Midwest and Fanuc, Dec. 9, at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus. 

“The recognition is awesome, and I’m glad we were able to win some new equipment for our program,” Biel said. “I placed second at the competition when I was in high school, so I was really excited when I got the chance to compete again and represent Moraine Park.” 

The Team Robotics Competition is part of the Wisconsin Manufacturing & Technology Show– the largest manufacturing technology show in the state. The competition allows high school and college students across Wisconsin to test their robotic programming knowledge and compete against other students using Fanuc technology. Each team was given three hours to complete a set of tasks using a Fanuc Fenceless LR Mate 6-axis robot. The students were judged on their ability to complete the objective, the complexity of their programming, teamwork and general robotics knowledge. 

“We appreciate the students’ incredible work preparing and participating in the competition,” Mike Dietrich, vice president of K-12 and training at Lab Midwest, said. “We love providing opportunities for the students to show off their skills, and we’re very thankful to Moraine Park for building our future workforce.” 

The students were awarded a PLC/HMI Training System from Rockwell and APT Manufacturing to be used by the Moraine Park Electromechanical program. 

“The Electromechanical Technology program plans to use the technology to teach programmable logic controller to industrial robot integration,” said MPTC Electromechanical instructor, Craig Habeck. 

Moraine Park’s Electromechanical Technology program is a 2-year associate degree program. In class, students learn how to think critically and use technology to solve problems and program, use and maintain electromechanical and automated equipment. For more information visit morainepark.edu/academics/programs/electromechanical-technology/. 

Moraine Park Technical College’s Early Childhood Education and Cosmetology programs collaborated earlier this month, Dec. 7, to learn about hair care techniques for children with ethnic hair.

The Cosmetology students used mannequins with textured hair to teach Early Childhood Education students how to detangle, braid, twist and style the hair with elastics.

“A lot of times when we care for children it involves grooming their hair throughout the day,” Anne Paradies, Early Childhood Education instructor, said. “It’s important that students are prepared to care for all hair types.”

The collaboration was spurred by Early Childhood Education student, Monica Dreifuerst, who works at a childcare center.

“We take the children swimming often, and that requires some hair maintenance afterwards,” Dreifuerst said. “I love doing the kids hair, but I realized quicky I didn’t know the best way to care for textured hair. I never want any of the children to feel left out, so I really wanted to learn.”

This training is the first collaboration between Moraine Park’s Cosmetology and Early Childhood Education programs.

“We hope to continue collaborating on this training with future classes,” Paradies said. “The Cosmetology students are the best resource, and it is a great learning experience for everyone involved.”

Moraine Park’s Early Childhood Education program is a 2-year associate degree program. In class, students learn to care for and educate children while playing a key role in their development. Graduates from the program are prepared to work with children from birth to 8-year age range and are well-prepared for a variety of Early Childhood Education roles. For more information visit morainepark.edu/academics/programs/early-childhood-education/.