MCCC Students Earn Awards at PBL State Leadership Conference

From :

Two Montgomery County Community College Phi Beta Lambda chapter students earned awards during competitions at the PBL State Leadership Conference in Gettysburg in early April. The winners will compete in the national conference in San Antonio in June.

Michael Samuel, Pottstown, earned third place in the Public Speaking competition. Connor Smith, Hatfield, earned third place in the Computer Applications competition.

The Students competed against PBL chapters from across the state, including four-year institutions such as Temple University, Drexel University and University of Pittsburgh.

Five MCCC students attended the conference, which included also included workshops and business events in addition to the various competitions. 

Phi Beta Lambda is a student-led, collegiate-level organization of the Future Business Leaders of America.

In other MCCC news: MCCC to Host Free Program on Problem Gambling

Gambling may be fun and exciting, but it can also be addicting and lead to serious financial problems. If you think you will get rich quickly by gambling, you soon will discover you have a better chance of being struck by lightning.

To help the community and students learn about problem gambling, Montgomery County Community College’s Student Support and Referral Team and the Montgomery CountyDepartment of Drug and Alcohol in collaboration with The Council on Compulsive Gambling of PA are presenting “Problem Gambling and the College Population” on Thursday, May 10, from 2-4 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center, room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell.

Through videoconferencing, the program also will be shown at MCCC’s West Campus in South Hall room 213, 101 College Drive, Pottstown.  The event is free and open to the public and isgeared for college faculty, administrators, counselors, students and drug and alcohol professional counselors.

The program features guest speaker Joanna Franklin, MS, NCGC II, who is the Director of Training and Network Development for Trimeridian Inc. Resources for Problem Gambling. She will discuss the dangers of problem gambling and help the audience recognize the signs and symptoms of a compulsive gambler and learn how to get appropriate help.

Gambling, particularly online gambling, is becoming an increasing trend with college students. Recent research indicates that 75 percent of all college students in the United States gambled during the past year, and six percent of those students have a serious gambling problem. The most frequently chosen gambling activity is the lottery, followed by card games and sport betting.

According to www.collegegambling.org, students with gambling problems are more likely to use tobacco, drink heavily or binge drink, use illegal drugs, drive under the influence and have a lower GPA.

To register for the workshop, contact Eileen Lafferty at elaffert@montcopa.org or 610-278-3538.