PTA program and Knightly News Brief headline Episode #227

March 10, 2026 PAUL MILLER

By Paul Miller

Knightly News Co-Adviser

On Episode #227 of the Knightly News Podcast, we welcome Dr. Nicole Patterson, director of the PTA program at Central Penn College, to chat more about the vast needs of PTAs throughout the region, as well as innovative techniques that the curriculum employs to prepare our graduates for life beyond the college. On the second segment, we hear from News Correspondent Noah Lopez as he voices the winter 2026 edition of the Knightly News Brief, an audio version of some of our best stories of the term.

During the first segment of the podcast, Patterson shares more information about the physical therapy assistant program, sharing the program’s history while also discussing the motivations of students who enter. The program, which has a rich history at Central Penn, is one of the more demanding programs at the college, as Patterson notes in the podcast.

This term, the Knightly News has produced two stories about the PTA program. First Knightly News Co-Vice President Jules Quare offered a behind-the-scenes look at PTA students and why they entered into the course of study. This article can be found here.

Also, in a special to the Knightly News, PTA major Melanie Rutt chronicled a recent class period where Jason Kunec visited to talk about prosthesis technology with students. This article can be found here.

Questions about the program can be sent to Patterson at [email protected]. Additional information about the program, including placement rates, can be found at https://www.centralpenn.edu/academics/physical-therapist-assistant/.

During the second segment of the podcast, News Correspondent Noah Lopez delivers the winter 2026 Knightly News Brief, an audio version of some of our best stories of the term.

The following stories are featured in the brief: