Reading, PA – In an effort to better support its students’ basic needs, Reading Area Community College (RACC) has opened a food pantry on campus, joining more than 560 other colleges and universities nationwide that provide food to students via pantries. The mission of the pantry is to provide free, non-perishable food items for RACC students experiencing food insecurity or difficulty buying food as well as offering a resource to help students create healthy meals.

Students and other members of the college community will be able to visit the pantry and select items they need free of charge. In addition to food items, the pantry also has diapers, household and personal care items, as well as gently used second hand professional attire.

The college officially opened the pantry on Thursday, September 30, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the pantry location in the Student Union Building on the RACC campus. Present were representatives from the RACC community, and representatives from Helping Harvest mobile market, which is a community partner of RACC. The lead funding for the pantry came from two important sources, Dr. Jerry Marcus, one of the leaders of the RACC Foundation Board, and the Berks County Community Foundation, led by President Kevin Murphy.

“As a leader in the community, very often our responsibilities go beyond teaching in the classroom, and extend to improving and supporting the personal lives of our students. We established the RACC Food Pantry in an effort to minimize the burdens that food insecurities can place on some of our students,” says RACC President Dr. Susan Looney.

The pantry will be open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays from 9am to 5pm; and Wednesdays from 9am to 3pm.

If you would like to contribute to the RACC Food Pantry or have additional questions, please contact Student Life Coordinator Jamica Andrews at 610.236.3943.

Stephen Kohler graduated from Governor Mifflin High School and enrolled in RACC’s Respiratory Care program. “The Respiratory Care Program itself attracted me to RACC, but it was also the financial benefit. I was able to graduate and not be in debt.”

Stephen graduated from the Respiratory Care Program and continued his education at Alvernia University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Computer System’s Management and an Executive Medical Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Stephen credits his experience and education at RACC for preparing him to care for his patients from the emergency room to the neonatal intensive care unit. “RACC is beneficial because students get to attend clinical experiences at a variety of hospitals and settings to gain a perspective from a multitude of institutions and varied care providers in the field, which makes for a synergistic real world learning experience.”

Stephen has worked at Tower Health Reading Hospital as a respiratory therapist since the day he graduated from RACC and currently holds a supervisory position as a critical care clinical specialist. He feels RACC’s rigorous program creates graduates who are ready to tackle their career. “You do not walk out of the doors on graduation day looking to the sky saying, ‘now what,’ you know, and are prepared for exactly what you were trained to do. You can find employment for exactly what your field of study was, and you have a chance to help people in their time of need.”

As Stephen looks back at his time at RACC, he has wonderful memories and valuable learning experiences. “RACC is a wonderful institution filled with an abundance of caring individuals who are dedicated and full of life experiences. The student body is comprised of a multitude of backgrounds and diverse age differences, which creates perspectives that are paramount in having the absolute best learning environment possible. Learning from those who have lived through changes and experiences can be very rewarding and eye opening. One should never shy away from where they have come; it will only make the future stronger if you never forget the past.”

Reading, PA, June 7, 2021 – Reading Area Community College (RACC) along with its valued partners, Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Berks County Career and Technology Center (BCTC) and Reading Muhlenberg Career Technology Center (RMCTC) have signed articulation agreements that result in a 2+2+2 engineering pathway. 

Career and technology center students enrolled in the Technical Academy Mechatronics/Engineering Automation Programs can earn up to 25 credits toward a RACC Associate of Science (AS) in engineering prior to graduating high school. The AS in Engineering transfers to a Bachelor of Science in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology or Mechanical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University-Berks Campus.

This integrated pathway involves early and intensive advising for high school students seeking to earn an ABET-accredited engineering degree and also want hands-on experience offered by the CTC and the Schmidt Training and Technology Center. Faculty from both RACC and Penn State Berks discussed curricular changes needed for RACC’s AS in Engineering, even sharing syllabi and discussing in-depth learning outcomes in order to help create a seamless pathway.  

“RACC is very fortunate to have deeply connected K12 and university partners that continue to improve our transfer pathways in order to provide students of Berks County access to an affordable college education,” says RACC President Dr. Susan Looney.

To learn more about partnership pathway programs at RACC, please contact Director of Community and Academic Partnerships, Kristen Marcinko at kmarcinko@racc.edu.

Reading, PA- The Reading Area Community College (RACC) Adult Basic Education (ABE) program honored 42 students who have obtained their GED in a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 2 in the Miller Center for the Arts on the RACC campus.

Students walking the stage have spent hundreds of hours working on GED preparation in one of RACC’s classes. The GED examination is equivalent to a high school diploma and certifies a student as having high school graduate-level skills. 

"Adult education is a vital program in our community, and we at RACC are proud to offer this option for students looking to improve their marketability in the workforce, or continue their education at the next level,” says Dr. Susan D. Looney, RACC president.  

Many students graduating have also completed English as a Second Language courses and now plan to further their education-including enrolling at RACC to earn a degree.

For more information about RACC’s GED and ABE programs, call 610.372.4721, x5322, or visit racc.edu.

Reading, PA, May 22, 2021 – Despite challenges facing the academic communities during the past year, Reading Area Community College (RACC) and Reading High School have successfully continued their Reading College Knights program. Fourteen Reading High School seniors, including two RACC presidential scholars, completed the course remotely. Five of these students have committed to attend RACC after graduation.

The program allows college-ready Reading High seniors to take a three-credit college success strategies course through RACC. The course is designed to support student learning and academic success by addressing academic skills, career and academic planning as well as financial literacy. Emphasis is placed on the student’s academic and personal development in the college. This unique course, developed by RACC Foundational Studies Associate Professors Denise Strohmayr and Teri Floyd-Brumm, recently won the 2019 League for Innovation in the Community College Innovation of the Year Award.

Now in its third year, the Reading School District supports seniors who are academically ready for college courses an opportunity to take RACC courses in the spring of their senior year. The overall success rates of these students demonstrate the commitment faculty and staff at both institutions to smoothly transition high school students to college.

A recent graduate of the program says, “The things I learned in the College Knights Program have been tremendous in helping me better remember lectures, understand text and organize my train of thought. I have practiced active listening in personal situations as well. All of this has reduced my stress level and the results have been extremely positive in my life.”

“Our colleagues at the Reading School District believe in the same things we at RACC believe in – being an anchor institution that provides opportunity and hope for our students and for this community. Through the College Knights Program, we hope students gain the college experience they will remember throughout their college career,” says RACC President, Dr. Susan Looney.

To learn more about the College Knights Program, contact Kristen Marcinko, assistant director of community and academic partnerships, at 610.372.4721 ext. 5127.