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Jul 05, 2023

BC3 at Brockway celebrates 10 years as community staple

BROCKWAY — The Butler County Community College Brockway branch recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary with a special ceremony on the patio of the campus with many of the community members who

BROCKWAY — The Butler County Community College Brockway branch recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary with a special ceremony on the patio of the campus with many of the community members who were instrumental in bringing the campus to Brockway.

Notable speakers at the program included BC3 President Nicholas Neupauer, former state Sen. Joe Scarnati, and Brockway native Peter Varischetti. Staff and students of the campus, and a representative from Penn Highlands DuBois joined them at the celebration.

The ceremony was opened by Jill Rend, BC3 executive director, who said she found it “hard to believe” the 10 year anniversary of the Brockway campus is coming up in August. The campus first opened in August 2013.

“I still remember the day we came here and moved in. It wasn’t quite finished, but we moved in. We all were kind of in one little office and they were working on things, but class started and everything went great, and every day since that has been incredible, exciting, rewarding, and enjoyable,” Rend said.

She also said it has been five years since the campus started its nursing program, which started in August 2018. Rend said starting this fall, “we’re going to have record nursing numbers” with about 90 nursing students.

Neupauer then addressed the audience, saying he was four years into his presidency, and the higher education landscape was much different when talks of the new campus started in 2011.

“Our vision as the northwestern most community college in Pennsylvania was the following; that imaginary county lines should not interfere with our delivery of high quality accessible education throughout the northwestern Pennsylvania region,” Neupauer said.

He said Brookville was the first town BC3 considered for a branch campus, and later DuBois. He said a meeting in Brookville is when he was introduced to then Sen. Scarnati, who suggested the campus be put in Brockway. Scarnati then introduced him to who he said “has to be the chief spokesperson for Brockway,” Peter Varischetti. Together, the three started touring possible sites for the branch campus in Brockway.

He said BC3 needed state support, but this was not common for the commonwealth to do. Despite this, he said Scarnati “never deviated from his support,” and saw to the funding.

“A location like BC3 at Brockway is what occurs, in my opinion, when there is proper commonwealth support and a shared vision by community leaders,” Neupauer said.

In the last decade, BC3 has continued to grow, something Neupauer said is a rarity in today’s higher education landscape. The university has serviced more than 2,400 students and more than 4,500 credit students in the region of Clarion, Clearfield, Jefferson, and Elk counties.

Scarnati spoke next, saying when he was first elected to the Senate in 2001, he saw money going to major metropolitan areas, but never to “right smack in the middle where we all live.”

He said along with struggling with infrastructure needs in rural Pennsylvania, the area also really struggled with “low cost, high quality, higher education north of Interstate 80.”

Scarnati credited Varischetti and Neupauer for taking a risk in bringing the campus to the building and giving it new life.

“That risk came with huge rewards, and that risk is one that when you look back some people, as Nick said, what the heck are we thinking about doing this in Brockway, but now we’re the envy, we’re the model for other communities that want to do this,” Scarnati said.

Peter Varischetti, president of Varischetti Holdings, also spoke about the collaborative effort of BC3 at Brockway. He recalled the building that houses the campus was always active and pristine when he was growing up. When his organization bought the property in 2010, it had lost its “vibrant appeal and effect.”

His goal was to revitalize the property with something that would benefit the community and region. When he learned of BC3 and met Neupauer and his board, he said they recognized that vision as well.

“BC3 at Brockway has been an amazing addition to our community. The campus is well respected in town and held in high regard. The students and staff are active participants and volunteering in our community,” Varischetti said.

He said what BC3 does differently is take the time to find out what the region needs and provides programs. “It’s not just simply education to BC3, it’s education with job placement,” Varischetti said, which has impressed him with the college’s understanding of the area.

“Bringing BC3 to Brockway was an incredible feat, but it wasn’t an easy one. It truly is a monumental milestone for our community to have BC3 here and I as well as many in the community are very thankful for that,” Varischetti said.

Heather Franci, the chief nursing officer of Penn Highlands Healthcare, also spoke during the celebration on the success of the nursing program, and the newest partnership between Penn Highlands and BC3. She spoke about the shortage of healthcare professionals, and how the partnership between Penn Highlands and BC3 was established to address the regional nursing shortage.

This program provides tuition assistance for students who sign an employment agreement with Penn Highlands, and additional clinical space for onsite clinical rotations.

“Over the past year Penn Highlands Healthcare has hired more than 30 nurses who completed the BC3 program. I am pleased to report that Penn Highlands DuBois recently welcomed five new graduate nurses that were the first to participate in the Penn Highlands Healthcare BC3 Brockway program. Our partnership is really creating an opportunity for people who wish to pursue a career in nursing, both recent high school graduates and non-traditional students who want to change careers, this opportunity exists,” Franci said.

Recent 2023 RN graduate Tracy McAllister and business management student Jordan Miller also spoke to share their experiences attending BC3. McAllister gave BC3 credit for her being able to graduate as a nurse, and remain in the community she loves.

She said while she is a non-traditional student and is likely done with her higher education, for the young students at BC3, she said this is a great starting point, and is a firm foundation for them.

Miller will be graduating in the coming weeks with his associate degree in business management. Miller said he got to know his professors well during his time at BC3, and having them share their experiences was beneficial. He offered a lot of success and growth at BC3 to the great professors he had while attending classes.

“I just cannot put into words how it has changed my life, it’s truly, truly amazing,” Miller said.

He is graduating debt free due to his financial aid and the lower prices at BC3 compared to a typical four year university.

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