Grant supports mental health, addiction recovery

JOHNSTOWN — Pennsylvania Highlands Community College student Julius Colabove II of Altoona was awarded a $500 PA Maslow Mental Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which funded his project to promote mental health and drug and alcohol recovery.

Colabove hosted a tabling event at the college’s Blair Center in mid-March, where he created gift bags that were distributed to students. Each bag included sensory items, along with local resource flyers and brochures to help share information about the availability of help in the Blair community for those managing mental illness or substance use disorders.

“This was a project that really hit close to home,” Colabove said. “There are many people in our community struggling with mental health issues and addiction. I wanted to be another resource they have if they need help. I tried to keep it simple, but informative.”

Along with being a behavioral sciences major at Penn Highlands, Colabove is a certified recovery specialist with Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnerships. He is now three years drug-free after spending 26 years in active addiction.

Colabove was informed he received the grant in late January after being chosen through a selection process over multiple other applications.

Police academy plans open house

JOHNSTOWN — The Pennsylvania Highlands Police Academy will host an open house at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the college’s Richland campus.

It will be held in Room A142, directly across the hall from the college’s Large Group Instruction (LGI) classroom.

“This is a great opportunity to meet the Police Academy staff and learn more about qualifying to become a cadet,” said Cregg Dibert, director of Police Academy & Campus Security. “There are several steps, and we will guide the applicants through the process.”

Participants will gain insights into the application process, pre-screening tests and curriculum. A guided tour of the academy’s facilities will be provided.

Representatives from the college’s Admissions and Financial Aid offices will also be on hand to answer questions.

The Penn Highlands Police Academy is a certified unit of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (Act 120).

Successful completion of the program will earn cadets a certificate and permit graduates to test for a Commonwealth Municipal Police Training (MPT) number required of all municipal police officers in Pennsylvania.

The academy’s third class is slated to graduate in September 2025. Since Penn Highlands took control of the Police Academy, 18 of 19 cadets were employed by police departments upon graduation, good for a 95 percent placement rate. For more information, visit https://www.pennhighlands.edu/police/.

Community Impact Award given to college

JOHNSTOWN — Pennsylvania Highlands Community College was presented with a Community Impact Award during the Cambria Regional Chamber’s annual dinner in early March.

The award recognizes an organization that is making a difference in the region by taking positive action to invest in the community and sees social responsibility as an integral part of their success.

The criteria for this honor includes describing activities the organization engages in that have a positive impact on the community, how the business has invested or reinvested in the community, and examples of how the business has had a positive impact on the local community.

Penn Highlands is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary of providing higher education to the region, where more than 5,600 students have graduated with a college credential.