Moraine Park Technical College earned fourth place in Humana, Inc.’s Go365 National Step Challenge. Go365 is Humana’s health and wellness rewards program focused onimproving the fitness of employees from companies across the country. Moraine Park has been utilizing the Go365 wellness platform for three years as an employee benefits tool.

“We implemented Go365 in 2016,” Lori Schrage, benefits coordinator at Moraine Park said. “The tool not only encourages employees to be more active, it also provides rewards for doing so.”

The National Step Challenge is a competition in which employer groups with two or more Go365 members compete for the highest team average step count. All winning teams receive a donation to their local member food bank of Feeding America® in their name. 

As a result of Moraine Park’s efforts, they placed fourth earning 10,000 meals, which will benefit individuals in eastern Wisconsin and the MPTC district, through Feeding America.

The Challenge featured 2,939 competing organizations that collectively logged 10.6 B steps earning one million donated meals. 

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

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 Technical College’s 2019 Retirement and Service Recognition event on Thursday, May 2, honored retirees and staff who have reached service anniversaries during the 2018-19 academic year.

“These individuals have been an essential part in the success of Moraine Park. They have benefited our organization and the communities that we serve,” said Bonnie Baerwald, president of Moraine Park. “This year we had 120 combined years of service from our retirees and 655 combined years from our staff members that received service recognition awards.”

In all, the College recognized six retirees and 62 staff members. The retirees include Pam Erickson of Fond du Lac, student support representative; Sandy Justman of Kewaskum, contract training operations manager; Jay Peartree of Oconomowoc, fire training instructor; Steve Reinke of West Bend, building and grounds maintenance worker; Jodie Schneider of Fond du Lac, executive assistant- president’s office; Terri Wilkens of Morrison, Ill., social science instructor.

Staff members recognized for years of service included Linda Harmsen of Waupun, 40 years; Sherry Hackbarth of Watertown, 30 years. Celebrating 25 years of service were Tammy Freund of North Fond du Lac, Bruce Hahn of Fond du Lac, and Mary Nyhouse of West Bend. Staff recognized for 20 years of service were Cynthia Bernhard of Campbellsport, James Hokenson of Slinger, Christine Kuhaupt of Kewaskum, Daurren McCarthy of Fond du Lac, Beth Mendoza of Combined Locks, Dee Schmitz of Fond du Lac, Tami Smith of Fond du Lac, and Debra Stoffel of West Bend.

Moraine Park also recognized 49 employees for service to the College at the 5-, 10-, and 15- year levels.

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park Technical College’s 2018 Retirement and Service Recognition event on Wednesday, April 11, honored retirees and those who reached service anniversaries during the 2017-18 academic year.

“These individuals have been an essential part in the success of  Moraine Park. They have benefited our organization and the communities that we serve,” said Bonnie Baerwald, president of Moraine Park. “This year we had 97 combined years of service from our retirees and 337 combined years from our staff members that received service recognition awards.”

In all, 8 retirees and 21 staff members were recognized. Retirees included: Chuck Brendel of Sheboygan, associate dean of economic and workforce development; Kenneth Carnahan of Fond du Lac, anatomy and physiology instructor; Lori Erber of Beaver Dam, computer lab software application specialist; Michael Fatla of Plymouth, director of enterprise systems; Sandy Fisher of Fond du Lac, graphic production specialist; Margaret Spieth of West Bend, instructional designer; Fran Stoffel of West Bend, housekeeper; Christine Wagner of Chilton; student support specialist.

Staff members recognized for years of service included Bonnie Baerwald of Fond du Lac, 25 years; Marcia Arndt of Slinger, Lisa Pollard of Fond du Lac, and Edward Meltz of Kewaskum, 20 years.

Moraine Park also recognized 17 employees for service to the College at the 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year levels.

To learn more about Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park staff, faculty and board members; as well as representatives and city officials from Washington County and the City of West Bend, gathered on Monday, April 16 to honor Mike Miller for his many years of service to the College and West Bend community.

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Across the country, there are millions of college students striving to be a better version of themselves. Many of them work, have families and are juggling multiple responsibilities, but still, they have made the commitment to their education. Moraine Park students are no different. In fact, the one thing that all college students could probably all agree on is that college, in general, is far from easy. However, if you walk the hallways of any of the three Moraine Park campuses you will see a robust list of student names on the wall. If you’re wondering, there are 1,163 to be exact. (Yes, I counted.)

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As Moraine Park Technical College’s “Year of the Student Veteran” winds down, a special event took place last week to honor our students who have served or are currently serving our country. Continue reading