PHOTO PROVIDED After a decade away from college, Emily Ok. Cummins of the Pennsylvania Faculty of Technologys earned a certificates in plumbing, an affiliate diploma in heating, air flow, and air-con, and a 4.0 GPA in pursuit of an automation engineering know-how diploma of the buildings. This summer time, Cummins will intern at Clima-Tech Corp., a business constructing automation contractor in Portland, Oregon.
WILLIAMSPORT – Emily Ok. Cummins says she enjoys the problem of mastering new abilities. Her dedication to the Pennsylvania Faculty of Expertise proves that she is telling the reality.
Untraditional by age and gender for the College of Engineering Applied sciences, Cummins holds a Certificates in Plumbing, an Affiliate Diploma in Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Expertise, and a 4.0 GPA in her pursuit of a Bachelor of Engineering Expertise within the constructing automation.
That is a powerful listing of accomplishments for any scholar, particularly one who’s returned to high school after a decade away from the classroom.
“I have been a bit out of my consolation zone. Taking up that problem and being profitable has been actually highly effective and fulfilling,” mentioned Cummins, an Arizona native who grew up within the Penns Valley. “I got here right here pursuing licensed plumbing to develop a brand new talent set. fully totally different capacity that I didn’t anticipate”.
Maybe he ought to have foreseen such an final result. The seek for new abilities has been a lifestyle for the industrious Cummins since she graduated from Penn State in 2010 with levels in public relations, promoting and utilized communications.
Quite than going into the communications area, he embraced the hospitality business working within the ‘again of the home’ in excessive finish eating places. “It all the time felt like I had my fingers in meals,” she mentioned.
Nittany Catering in Bellefonte has helped nurture this curiosity. Cummins labored for the full-service catering firm throughout his junior and senior years at Penn State. When the enterprise turned obtainable in 2013, Cummins, then 24, purchased it with help from his uncle.
“To place your self ready the place you make it, it’s important to be a bit of uncomfortable,” she mentioned. “You have to be a bit of insecure about what you are doing.”
Ultimately, Cummins felt comfy working Nittany Catering. A favourite restaurateur for Penn State, the corporate has grown annually beneath his management and has added occasion planning to his choices. When the coronavirus pandemic diminished restaurant demand in 2020, he had seven full-time and 7 part-time workers.
“I am fairly good at working a enterprise,” she mentioned. “I made some good selections. I have been instructed I am a great boss.”
The pandemic helped persuade her to develop into the boss of 1.
“It left me with a while and I bought a bit of scared for profession security,” Cummins defined. “Catering is something however. Folks can reduce it out of their price range. I needed a recession proof job. Additionally, I had some plumbing I needed to do in my kitchen.
These components led her to Penn Faculty to experiment with its utilized know-how schooling. Cummins handed over the day-to-day operations of Nittany Catering to her sister Rachel and spent a 12 months getting licensed as a plumber. After utilizing her newfound abilities to treatment her dilemma within the kitchen, Cummins moved to Williamsport, bought a “prime fixer” close to campus, and spent two extra semesters pursuing an HVAC diploma.
“I am fairly uncommon due to my age and gender,” she mentioned. “An enormous a part of what saved me round was that I actually felt supported by the school and different college students. The Wildcat neighborhood is one factor I actually really feel like part of. And I am in my 30s! I actually suppose it is a particular place.”
Certainly one of Cummins’ last programs – HVAC Controls II-Business – within the affiliate diploma program piqued his curiosity within the constructing automation engineering know-how diploma. His teacher, Todd S. Woodling, assistant professor of constructing automation know-how/HVAC electrical system, inspired this analysis.
“I noticed her design and construct advanced electrical methods with ease,” he recalled. “I additionally know that constructing automation engineering is a really strong area within the sense that it provides graduates an incredible wage {and professional} positions that require mature consideration to element.”
An internship at Honeywell centered on constructing automation cemented Cummins’ determination to increase his keep at Penn Faculty for his diploma.
“Vitality methods have a big environmental impression. Constructing automation performs an enormous function in limiting that impression on the surroundings and the patron’s price range,” she mentioned. “It’s fascinating to have the ability to use new applied sciences to make buildings extraordinarily environment friendly, clever and protected. The camp itself has been an inspiration to me.
For the required internship this summer time, Cummins might have returned to the familiarity of Honeywell. As a substitute, she selected a brand new expertise 2,700 miles away in Portland, Oregon. Cummins will intern for Clima-Tech Corp., a business constructing automation contractor with places all through the Pacific Northwest.
“I discovered the corporate on LinkedIn. They instructed me that I’d be their first intern and that I might have a well-rounded expertise,” mentioned Cummins. “I nonetheless do not know sufficient about my potential profession paths. This can be a aim I’ve for this summer time. I could also be a programmer. I could possibly be an engineer. I might do the set up. I might do mission administration.
She likes these choices due to the distinctive Penn Faculty main. College students are uncovered to the theoretical facet of constructing automation, but additionally obtain in depth hands-on expertise with the programming instruments and software program utilized by the business.
Cummins has additionally turned his house right into a laboratory of types. He is turning it into two models, one to reside in for one more 12 months and the opposite to hire. This aim required vital plumbing and HVAC work. Not too long ago, he retooled her boiler system, permitting her to set totally different temperatures for extra areas of the home.
“It has been very good to implement the abilities I’ve realized right here,” Cummins mentioned.
These abilities are in demand.
“Now we have a 100% graduate placement fee. All of our graduate college students have work lined up earlier than they start,” Woodling mentioned. “We’re one of many few faculties within the nation that provides a bachelor’s diploma in constructing automation science.”
When she graduates subsequent Could, Cummins will probably be solely the fourth girl to earn that diploma throughout Woodling’s 19 years in faculty. She sees this as a chance, not just for herself but additionally for the business.
“As a lady, you convey one thing totally different to the desk, like decision-making abilities, problem-solving abilities,” Cummins mentioned. “It makes you a bit of extra worthwhile within the business. Variety is vital to have.
