Last week, Moraine Park Technical College hosted their 5th annual Veterans Hail and Farewell Ceremony, celebrating 40 graduating veterans. The event was held in Park Terrace, Moraine Park’s student-led restaurant on the Fond du Lac campus.

The event was established to recognize graduating veterans and allow staff and faculty a chance to interact with graduates outside of the classroom. There were five graduating students in attendance accompanied by members of their families. Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park’s President, presented each student with the college’s challenge coin (see below) and a red, white, and blue cord to wear at Commencement.

“The Hail and Farewell Ceremony is an opportunity to recognize veterans and currently serving students who have graduated in December or will become eligible in May,” Stephen Pepper, Moraine Park’s Student Veterans Specialist, said. “It is especially significant if they cannot go to the commencement ceremony or feel uncomfortable attending the event.”

Jovan Sanders, of Sheboygan, was the guest speaker at the event. He spoke about his life growing up in Milwaukee, joining the forces, working as an Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist from 2006 to 2013; to currently working as a Load-Out Manager for Amazon.

“I thank you for your service and for selecting Moraine Park as you transition or advance into your career, and I look forward to shaking your hands as you walk across the stage next Saturday,” Bonnie Baerwald, Moraine Park President, said.

Immediately following the ceremony, the guests were served an all-American style meal consisting of fruit salad, fried chicken, steak, twice-baked potato, corn, asparagus, sweet tea, and dessert. The lunch was planned, cooked, and served by culinary student, Destiny Smith, who will be graduating this May.

Pictured: Jody Glindt, Domestic Violence Services Coordinator at Solutions Center of Fond du Lac (Left) with Moraine Park Technical College Honor Society member, Darlene Andersen.

Thanks to Moraine Park Technical College Academic Honor Society and Phi Theta Kappa students along with all the people involved with MPTC who donated! Three area homeless shelters are now better able to provide for their clients.  A great job of collecting much-needed supplies, snacks, food, beverage and other items was done! The items were delivered to the Solutions Center of Fond du Lac, the Promise Housing Program of West Bend, and to the New Beginnings Homeless Shelter of Beaver Dam sites, and the centers were so grateful!

Jody Gindt, Domestic Violence Services Coordinator at Solutions Center of Fond du Lac, said, “These items are so needed! The snacks are great ice breakers when we get kids here and are really appreciated by every client all year long. Some of these supplies not only go to service our clients while they’re staying here, but we are also able to send some with clients who are able to eventually relocate. It’s so important to not only be able to help in the immediate, but during the transition period back to independent living, so truly, these things mean so much! Thank you to Moraine Park and the members of the honor society for seeing us, the need, and stepping in to help!”

Phi Theta Kappa and MPTC Academic Honor Society is open to students who maintain a 3.5 GPA or above after obtaining at least 12 college credits towards an associate degree. Check out our web page for more information on PTK and AHS.

— Written by Linda Huckaby

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.

Whether you decide that you want to hang out, go for walks, snuggle, or get involved in doing canine sports, Black Dog Training is a pet training service for you.  Black Dog Training provides home based obedience activities and more.  Cindy concentrates on teaching your dog and the owner basic behaviors or can involve group training with others for competition.  Owner, Cindy Hanish began this training as her own dog, Chester motivated her to want to help others.

Cindy Hanish attended the five week Start Your Own Business series through Moraine Park Technical College in the Fall of 2021.  Her goal was to open her business by January of 2022.  Instructor Jeff Stueber worked with Cindy to provide simple ideas to generate business and sales. Since then, Cindy has developed many programs to suit the needs of the canines and their owners.

It doesn’t matter what age or breed your dog is, Cindy will help you teach your dog how to behave appropriately at home or on-the-go, while at the same time, building a positive and happy relationship together.

For more information, visit Cindy’s website at www.blackdogtrainingllc.com

For more information on the Five Week Business Series, visit https://catalog.morainepark.edu/programs/small-business-entrepreneurship/

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.

U.S. Olympic Snowboarder, Courtney Rummel, visited Moraine Park’s West Bend campus earlier this month to share her journey from snowboarding in small-town Wisconsin, to competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Rummel’s visit was organized by MPTC Health and Wellness Instructor, Carrie Felix, who has trained Rummel for three years.

“Courtney is such a pleasure to train,” Felix said. “I started training her when she was 15, so I have gotten to watch her grow up. She is very hardworking and has developed a passion for working out over the last three years.”

Felix has known the Rummel family for 10 years and was approached by Courtney’s mom, Kim Rummel, in 2019 to become Courtney’s trainer.

Rummel competed in the women’s slopestyle and big air snowboarding events at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

“Watching Courtney on the big screen was so surreal,” Felix said. “The obstacles she faced to get to Beijing are not normal teenage obstacles. She gave up so much for her dreams, so to be able to watch her on the biggest stage of her life was amazing. The coolest part is that she is still the same goofy, funny, hardworking teenage she has always been.”

Rummel splits her time living and training in Park City, UT, and at home in West Bend, WI. Felix trains Rummel when she is in Wisconsin and coordinates with her trainer in Utah.

“In some ways, training an Olympic athlete is just like training all my other clients,” Felix said. “Everyone has specific goals when deciding to invest in a trainer. It is then taking those goals and where the individual is at in their fitness journey and looking to strengthen what they already have. What’s different with Courtney is she has other trainers that I need to converse with often. I need to know what she is doing at the U.S. training facility and what she needs to work on when she is with me. It’s also important to make sure we don’t do anything too crazy if she has a big event coming up.”

During her visit, Rummel spoke with students in Felix’s Health and Wellness class about how she got started in the sport, her training regimen, overcoming mental barriers, her experience at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and more.

“I love that I was able to share Courtney with my Health and Wellness class at Moraine Park,” Felix said. “Most students are not sure what they want to do after they graduate, so to show them options in their career field is so valuable.”

Moraine Park Technical College created a new scholarship, which provided 20 students with financial assistance for the spring 2022 semester. Typically, Moraine Park scholarships are awarded in the fall semester. To help ease the financial burden for new students who start in the spring, the College created the Moraine Park Spring Semester Scholarship. 

This scholarship, which awards $500, is available to new spring semester students enrolled in an associate degree or technical diploma program, taking a minimum of 6 credits, with a high school or college GPA of 2.75 or higher, and with a qualifying financial need. 

The recipients of the 2022 Moraine Park Spring Semester Scholarship are Mailia Bachleitner of Juneau, Gracie Bellin of West Bend, Jesse Durkee of West Bend, Diana Garcia – Pelayo of Beaver Dam, Natosha Kopmeyer of Beaver Dam, Jenna Maahs of Hartford, Emily Peschong of Fond du Lac, Luke Schroeder of Berlin, Sarah Wasley of West Bend, Luke Trochinski of Hartford, Abbigayle Gutknecht of Mayville, MaKenna Horness of Fond du Lac, Kasie Knoll of Mayville, Jamie Macisak of West Allis, Stacey Mack of Saukville, Maddelin McGovern of Hartford, Maiya Perez of Saukville, Madison Poole of Fond du Lac, April Tesch of Oshkosh, and Emma Williamson of Lusaka (Zambia).  

The Moraine Park Spring Semester Scholarship is only open to new students who missed the opportunity to apply for a fall scholarship. All established and new fall semester students should follow the standard scholarship deadlines. 

Applications for the fall 2022 Moraine Park Scholarships are currently open. The deadline for high school 12^th graders is April 1, and all other applications are due April 8. To be considered for a Moraine Park Scholarship, you must be enrolled in an associate degree or technical diploma program; have an MPTC cumulative or high school GPA of 2.75 or higher or a GED score of 169 or higher; enroll in a minimum of 6 credits each semester. 

For more information, visit morainepark.edu/scholarships.