DALLAS, Pa. — After completing an associate degree at Luzerne County Community College (LCCC), Tyler Edwards knew he wanted to continue his education with a bachelor’s degree. He found Penn State Wilkes-Barre to be just what he was looking for.
Edwards, a senior majoring in information sciences and technology (IST), wanted to stay within a 30-minute drive of his home in Forty Fort.
“By choosing Penn State Wilkes-Barre, I knew I’d be getting a lot more personal interactions with my professors, and the cost was significantly less than other options I considered,” he said. “It’s also very valuable to have the Penn State name on your degree.”
He earned his associate degree in computer science at LCCC and liked the program for the IST degree at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
“IST seemed like more of a broad degree and with that, I could move into a lot of fields, depending on what I decided to do,” Edwards said.
He worked with his advisers at LCCC and Penn State Wilkes-Barre to transfer credits, which he found to be a seamless transition due to the articulation agreement between the schools. Edwards noted that Wei-Fan Chen, associate professor of IST and program coordinator for IST, has been particularly helpful throughout his time at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
“Quite a few advisers and professors have been helpful, but Dr. Chen stands out as going above and beyond,” Edwards said. “He really stepped up and guided me through everything I needed. Ever since I came to Penn State Wilkes-Barre, he has always taken the time to sit down with me when I need something and work up a game plan to make sure I will graduate on time. And over summer and winter breaks, he emails me useful tips.”
Chen said, “We've been working very closely with LCCC for many years on our own unique 2+2 IST-BS program, with the first two years at LCCC and last two years at Penn State. Tyler is one of the most exemplary students in this program. He is mature, intelligent and hardworking, and his accomplishments are marked with scholarship and thoroughness. I am very proud to have him as my student.”
In addition to his college classes, Edwards is completing an internship at Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies’ headquarters in Wilkes-Barre. Last semester, he worked 40 hours a week; this semester, he is working about 30 hours a week.
As part of the paid internship, Edwards works primarily on helping the company’s employees transition to remote work, phasing their desktop computers to laptop computers. He also assists with general information technology requests.
Guard Insurance has nearly 1,000 employees and locations throughout the United States. As part of his internship, Edwards has traveled to do work at the company’s offices in Parsippany, New Jersey; the Empire State Building in Manhattan; and another office just outside of Sacramento, California.
To other students who are considering transferring to Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Edwards advised, “I would say to do it. It’s a very easy transition and the process is super easy. The advisers are always there to help when you reach out to them.”
Click here to learn more about transferring to Penn State Wilkes-Barre.