MVCEF holds Alumni Speaker series
Jaynie Lewis, an engineer with Marathon Petroleum Company recently spoke to students at Moshannon Valley Jr.-Sr. High School as part of the Alumni Speaker series organized by the Moshannon Valley Community Education Foundation. Each year, MVCEF arranges for former alumni to speak to the students regarding their years at Moshannon Valley, post-secondary schooling and current profession. “It’s important for our kids to hear stories of former Mo Valley students that have gone on to be successful in their lives,” said Kris Albright, MVHS Assistant Principal. “It shows today’s students that being from a small school doesn’t put you at a disadvantage and it never ceases to amaze me the number of successful individuals that have come out of this building.” In addition to talking about their individual careers, each speaker provides advice about life and the importance of an education.
Ms. Lewis talked to students about pursuing their dreams in terms of having the dedication, responsibility, education, attitude, motivation and social life in order to reach those goals. She stressed the importance of having a strong background in math, science and technology in enabling her to succeed while at Penn State, studying engineering. Lewis talked to students about the need to challenge themselves while in high school. “Don’t just take a class because your friend signed up to take it, take classes that will help you get where you want to go in life,” she said. “And for me, that was every advanced math, science and computer class I could take. While my friends were taking creative writing I was sitting and learning computer programming.”
Ms. Lewis, a 2005 graduate of Moshannon Valley, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Penn State in 2009. Shortly after graduating from college she accepted a position with Marathon Petroleum as a Project Engineer in Findlay, Ohio. Recently, Lewis was appointed an Operations Supervisor for Marathon Pipeline in Findlay, Texas where she oversees 11 employees in the field.
Ms. Lewis joins a number of former Moshannon Valley alumni that have spoken to students through the Moshannon Valley Community Education Foundation’s Alumni Speaker series. Previous speakers include: Ryan Finch (electrical engineering), Evan Switala (physician’s assistant), Dan Hensal (IT), Andrea Walstrom (architecture), John Bacher (medical aviation), Rebecca Williams (law enforcement) and Mike Lucas (art). The MVCEF actively works to network with former alumni to provide a wide variety of professional careers for the speaker series.
In addition to securing presenters for the Alumni Speaker series, the Moshannon Valley Community Education Foundation supports education in the school district through teacher grants and scholarships for graduating seniors. Since 2012, MVCEF has awarded over $25,000 in educational-related funding to the faculty and students at Moshannon Valley.
The MVCEF is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, public charity dedicated to the mission of ensuring the highest level of educational innovation supporting students, faculty and staff, with community involvement, in a partnership of lifetime learning. MVCEF raises funds through alumni donations, bequeaths, grants, and EITC contributions from companies and organizations. All financial contributions made to the MVCEF are tax-deductible.