Sharing the knowledge
at Cardinal Dougherty

By Jon Campisi
Times Staff Writer

The high-schoolers were briefly interrupted during a session at the computer lab at Cardinal Dougherty High School last week, but for good reason.
After all, if it wasn’t for the folks in suits who stopped by the second floor classroom, there wouldn’t have been any new computers to work on in the first place.
Representatives of Peirce College joined Dougherty officials during an April 7 ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the computer lab, which is being used by both high school students and those enrolled in Peirce’s adult evening classes, which are held at the Catholic school.
Peirce recently donated 24 computers, Microsoft Windows software, a large color printer and two LCD projectors to the school. The computer lab officially opened in October.
For Brian Gerard, the ceremony held a special meaning. Gerard has worked as the system administrator — better known as the IT guy — at the high school for the past seven years. But since late 2005, Gerard has also been enrolled in Peirce’s program offering associate’s degrees in business administration. So, for one day a week, he spends more hours at his place of employment than at home.
"I think it’s a sign of goodwill to offer their (Peirce’s) program to one employee, and I was that one employee," Gerard said upon learning of the night classes, which are held from 6 to 10 p.m.
The classes are accelerated, condensing around 14 weeks’ worth of work into a seven-week period. The college offers both five-week and seven-week courses.
The students work within the same group, referred to as a "cluster," throughout the entire program. There are currently 22 clusters being hosted at learning institutions throughout Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware counties.
Gerard, 29, said he decided to go for his associate’s degree since his decision to forgo college right out of high school was something he has come to regret. He eventually took classes at Community College of Philadelphia but soon opted for a technical degree instead — something that enabled him to land work in the field of information technology.
Now, all Gerard has to do to get to class after work ends for the day is walk down the hall and up a flight of stairs.
"The school’s very happy," Gerard said of Dougherty’s response to being the recipient of such a generous donation.
Gerard said the situation is truly a win-win for everyone, since the high-schoolers get new computers to work on, and Peirce students have a nice workspace to study from.
"It works out pretty well," he said.
In addition to the newest computer lab, Dougherty has four other computer labs throughout the high school, and additional computers can be found in the library and faculty lounge.
Gerard said in an attempt to stay fairly updated where technology is concerned, colleges such as Peirce typically try to have the newest equipment possible. Often, he said, they donate their outgoing items, such as used computers, to organizations that don’t necessarily have the funding to obtain those items on their own.
"Being that we’re a non-profit organization, we kind of rely on grants," and other donations, Gerard said.
Pat Rucker, Peirce’s vice president of academic advancement and its chief academic officer, said while she had no direct hand in choosing Dougherty as a recipient of the college’s kindness, the school was most likely chosen due to outdated equipment, and/or complaints that may have come from Peirce students taking classes at the school.
Either way, Rucker is happy to have provided the students, in both high school and college, with the tools they need to advance themselves.
"That’s what it’s all about, the students," she said.
The high-schoolers in particular, she said, seem to have really taken to the new equipment.
"You could tell that the Cardinal Dougherty students were just so enthused about the new computers and how fast they work," she said.
Rucker said enrollment representatives from Peirce visit each of the "cluster sites," or academic institutions where the college classes are offered, when it comes to prioritizing its donations.
According to a Peirce news release, the on-site program is part of the college’s attempt to bring the "college to the student" by offering the same degree programs taught at the college’s main campus at locations throughout the Philadelphia area that may be more convenient for students when it comes to balancing their education with work and family priorities. ••
For more information about this program or others offered at Peirce College, visit www.peirce.edu
Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com