School of Petroleum and Natural Gas trains tomorrow’s technicians using cutting-edge technology
Albany, NY – May 12, 2021 – FirstLight, a leading provider of fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud, and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the northeast, announced today that Lackawanna College has selected FirstLight as the fiber provider for its new satellite center in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. The new Center will offer traditional associate degree and certificate programs and be the new home for the College’s School of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Lackawanna College, a college with seven satellite centers located through northeastern Pennsylvania and located just west of Scranton, chose FirstLight for a dedicated Internet connection for the new campus.
The School of Petroleum and Natural Gas at Lackawanna College prepares students to be operations technicians responsible for the production and processing of oil and gas. Students learn concepts in oil and gas discovery, drilling, production, pipelining, processing, and other industry-related skills, many of them involving computer skills and online student research.
“As is the case with most other disciplines, a degree program in petroleum technology involves a significant amount of digital learning, hands-on labs, and computer simulations, so having access to a dedicated broadband delivered over a high-speed fiber network is critical to our program’s success,” said TJ Eltringham, Lackawanna College Chief Operating Officer. “FirstLight has network near our campus, so it made sense to consider FirstLight. They met an aggressive timeline, and we couldn’t be happier with their service and speed.”
The two-year associate degree program includes 160-hour internships, and trains students for careers in states including Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia and New Jersey.
“We’re pleased to have Lackawanna College as one of our newest customers in Pennsylvania, adding to our growing portfolio of higher educational institutions,” said Kurt Van Wagenen, FirstLight President and CEO. “Pennsylvania is an area in which FirstLight is increasingly investing resources and expanding its network, particularly in the Scranton region. We’re honored to contribute to the future success of students who are learning innovative and environmentally responsible ways to power our industry and economy.”
Last year, FirstLight announced plans to acquire the Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER) network, which will expand its presence into Western Pennsylvania as well. Future expansion is also planned for Reading, Harrisburg, and Wilkes-Barre.
About Lackawanna College:
Founded in 1894, Lackawanna College is a private, accredited college serving the people of northeastern Pennsylvania. With the main campus situated in downtown Scranton, Lackawanna’s expanding footprint also includes satellite centers in Hawley, Hazleton, Sunbury, Towanda, the Environmental Education Center in Covington Township, and the new Tunkhannock Center. Learn more at www.lackawanna.edu.
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