Working From “Home”

By Marissa Carney

Over the years, Penn State Altoona has seen many of its graduates return to campus in a professional capacity, as staff or faculty. We caught up with some of those current employees to find out more about their Penn State Altoona experiences and what brought them back to the college. Four are featured here, and future issues will highlight more.

Jordan (Sell) Bittner ‘13

Electro-mechanical engineering technology

What made you choose Penn State Altoona?
I originally planned on using Penn State Altoona as a stepping stone to University Park. Then I found the EMET degree and fell in love with the hands-on program and smaller classes.

What did you like best about earning your degree here?
I felt like I was part of a family here rather than a number in a classroom. My professors and instructors made time to learn who I was and were always there to help me no matter what I needed.

Do you have a favorite memory from your college years?
Some of my best memories include doing research in the Advanced Combustion and Energetics Lab run by Dr. Grant Risha. It was amazing to have research opportunities that typically only graduate students get. I was able to publish and present my research work and findings at conferences and participate in the Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fair during my senior year and present my capstone project. I hate public speaking, but I was incredibly proud of myself for doing it.

I also happened to meet my husband through a scholarship group I was in one week before classes started. We continued to have almost every class together all through our undergraduate years.

What do you do here at Penn State Altoona?
I was hired in 2015 right out of graduate school as an engineering instructor. I now also serve as coordinator of the EMET program. I also teach many of the freshman and sophomore level courses in the EMET program.

Had you always harbored thoughts or aspirations of returning to Penn State Altoona to work?
By my junior year, I knew I wanted to teach and one day come back to Penn State Altoona and the EMET program. I never expected to get the opportunity so soon after getting my master’s degree!

What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job and working at Penn State Altoona is that I get to see my students from their first to their last day as they walk across the stage at graduation. I get to watch as they develop and fine tune their new skills to fit their career trajectory.

Do you have a favorite memory so far as an employee at Penn State Altoona?
My favorite memories are when former students come visit and let me know what and how they are doing. I love hearing how Penn State Altoona helped them reach their goals.

Do you consider Penn State Altoona “home?”
Penn State Altoona is definitely home to me; this is where I found my love for learning and therefore my love for teaching. Penn State Altoona set me on the course to get where I am today both personally and professionally.

Michele Bettwy ’04, ’14

Associate Degree, Human Development and Family Studies
Bachelor’s Degree, History

What made you choose Penn State Altoona?
Penn State Altoona was convenient for me because I grew up in Altoona. I had no desire to “go away” to school and was happy to be able to complete a degree without leaving home.

What did you like best about earning your degree here?
Penn State Altoona has a wonderful, dedicated staff that looks out for the student population. Any problems I encountered were quickly resolved, and I knew that I always had someone looking out for me. 

Do you have a favorite memory from your college years?
A history class I took was one of the first to participate in the Flight 93 Oral History project. We worked with the National Park Service to write abstracts from interviews that volunteers conducted with first responders, family, and friends of passengers, crew members, and Shanksville residents after 9/11. It was a very emotional project and humbling, too—the students who worked on the project are part of the permanent historical record of Flight 93. #historynerdcred

I was also able to participate in the Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities Fair during my senior year and present my capstone project. It was terrifying because I hate public speaking, but I was so incredibly proud of myself for doing it.

What do you do here at Penn State Altoona?
I started as a work-study student for Continuing Education & Training in 2001 while working on my associate degree.

In 2013, I moved into the position of executive assistant in Strategic Communications. A large part of my job is planning and coordinating special events like commencement and convocation, working with outside groups using our campus, and being really bossy about budget maintenance.

Had you always harbored thoughts or aspirations of returning to Penn State Altoona to work?
I was so lucky to get my work-study job with the CE&T team; I never would have imagined that a part-time work-study job would grow into a full-time position that would become a career that I love. Thanks, Continuing Ed!

What is your favorite part of your job?
I really enjoy event planning. It can be stressful, but it gives me the opportunity to do a variety of tasks so the work is rarely boring. I also just really like checklists and have plenty of opportunities to use them.

What is the best part of working for Penn State Altoona?
Working full-time for Penn State Altoona allowed me to go back to school to complete my dream degree: a bachelor’s in history. It was slow-going as a part-time non-traditional student, but I loved every moment, and I’m proud of my growth as a researcher, a writer, and a critical thinker.

It’s also a really supportive place. Because it’s such a small community, our staff (especially fellow administrative assistants) often know what’s going on in their peers’ lives and are there with support. I’ve made many wonderful friends here.

Do you have a favorite memory so far as an employee at Penn State Altoona?
The 75th anniversary carnival. It was a lot of work to pull together, and even though the day ended up being wet and chilly (and I had to make a desperate sock purchase at the bookstore to get through it), we had so many people in attendance, and everyone had a lot of fun. And I can say that I planned a carnival!

Can you describe any sense of pride at having graduated from and now working for Penn State Altoona and Penn State?
I am so, so proud. Seeing my professors and coworkers in line to cheer me on at graduation meant a great deal to me. I love that now I can be on the floor at commencement cheering for other excited graduates.

Do you consider Penn State Altoona “home?”
I do. Every job has long or stressful days, but I think we have a lot of great things to help us through those times. (I’m talking about the ducks.)

Nathan Kruis ’14

Bachelor’s Degree, Criminal Justice

What made you choose Penn State Altoona?
Attending Penn State Altoona allowed me to live at home and receive a world-class education at a fraction of the cost of other institutions. The faculty and staff at Penn State Altoona take a vested interest in student development, and Penn State Altoona has a rich history of community development and ties to professional organizations in central Pennsylvania.

What did you like best about earning your degree here?
I genuinely enjoyed learning from the faculty in the Criminal Justice Department. They were all knowledgeable and passionate. They made class interactive and fun. But more importantly, their doors were always open and I could tell that they genuinely cared about their students.

Do you have a favorite memory from your college years?
At the start of my junior year I was invited to become a member of the Integrated Social Sciences Research Lab (ISSRL). The early mornings and late-night prep-sessions at the ISSRL are some of my fondest memories of my time as a student at Penn State Altoona.

The second memory that stands out to me is my internship experience with President Judge Jolene Koprivia at the Blair County Courthouse. The internship was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my time at Penn State Altoona.

What do you do here at Penn State Altoona?
I was hired as an adjunct instructor in 2018 then as an assistant professor of criminal justice in 2019. In addition to teaching, I am involved in many different research projects.

Had you always harbored thoughts or aspirations of returning to Penn State Altoona to work?
Teaching at Penn State Altoona is my dream job. As soon as I saw that there was an opening here, I jumped on it. I took a huge pay cut to come back and teach as an adjunct, but I knew this is where I wanted to be. I even fast-tracked my dissertation so I could apply for the tenure-track job here.

What is your favorite part of your job?
I love research, but the best part of my job has to be the interaction with students. It is rewarding to see students light up when they learn a concept.

What is the best part of working for Penn State Altoona?
The best part of working for Penn State Altoona is the collegiality. Everyone is so friendly and willing to help each other out. It really is like we are one big family.

Do you have a favorite memory so far as an employee at Penn State Altoona?
So far, my favorite memories as a professor come from doing independent studies with students in the criminal justice program. It has been a joy working with these students outside of the classroom and teaching them advanced research techniques.

Can you describe any sense of pride at having graduated from and now working for Penn State Altoona and Penn State?
I am proud of what this great University has enabled me to achieve at such a young age. I earned a Ph.D. at 26 solely because of the skills and work ethic I developed as a student at Penn State Altoona. I am where I am today because someone, or really someones, here took an interest in me. I only hope that I can be as good a mentor to my students as my mentors were to me.

Do you consider Penn State Altoona “home?”
I was born and raised in central Pennsylvania. All of my family still lives here, and my younger sister is currently a student at Penn State Altoona. I have known many of the faculty, staff, and current students at Penn State Altoona for my entire life. They are my family, and this is my home.

Victoria Hesser ’10, ’16

Associate Degree, Science Business Administration
Bachelor’s Degree, Science Organization Leadership

What made you choose Penn State Altoona?
After gaining employment here at Penn State Altoona, I was inspired to earn an associate degree. At the encouragement of the faculty members I worked with, I ventured on to earn my bachelor’s degree.

What did you like best about earning your degree here?
As a staff member I had the advantage of not just one assigned advisor, but many; my instructors, the faculty members I worked with as an employee, and my college buddy and co-worker Kay Tate. Without Kay and I encouraging each other, I don’t know if either one of us would have completed the bachelor’s degree!

Do you have a favorite memory from your college years?
One is when exiting the first day of an IST course with David Barnes, a.k.a. Smooth Dave, he took me aside, said I looked familiar, and asked where we may have met. My reply was, “Room 104 Eiche, I am your evening staff assistant!”

Others come from the Biology of Aging course with Dr. Athlene Stere. She was a hoot. Being a non-traditional student, I could relate to the aging symptoms. The knowledge I gained from this course has also served me well in caring for my aging parents. So much so that physicians would often ask if I was in the medical field.

What do you do here at Penn State Altoona?
I was hired in 2002 as a part-time staff assistant. In 2003, I moved to a full-time administrative/program assistant.

Had you always harbored thoughts or aspirations of returning to Penn State Altoona to work?
For me, it was a natural progression having worked initially in the K-12 arena for several years to move into higher education.

What is your favorite part of your job?
One thing is that I have the privilege of coordinating and participating in the college’s Alternative Spring Break program. Each year brings its own challenges and adventures with a different group of young students. The program not only serves to “release the hero” within those we serve, but also within each participant who takes advantage of the program. The program strives to encompasses the meaning of Ubuntu—the belief in the bond of sharing that connects all humanity.

What is the best part of working for Penn State Altoona?
The eclectic nature of everyone and everything. There is nowhere else in the area you will find such a diverse array of people who bring their background and knowledge from around the world to share. I have the privilege to garner lifelong friendships with folks from Australia, India, Italy, Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua.

Do you have a favorite memory so far as an employee at Penn State Altoona?
Everyday proves to be an adventure!

Can you describe any sense of pride at having graduated from and now working for Penn State Altoona and Penn State?
Earning a college degree was a rough and rocky road for me, so I do have a sense of pride for having completed not just one, but two degrees from Penn State. I hope that with all my years of service I have made positive contributions to the successes of the programs in which I’ve been involved.

Do you consider Penn State Altoona “home?”
Penn State Altoona is my “home.” I plan to continue here and bow out gracefully at the age of retirement. (Nine and half-years, but who’s counting?!)

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Working from "Home"

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Penn State Altoona's Pride Alliance joined with the community to hold Altoona's first Pride Parade in October.