Donor Spotlight - Fast Five Interview

The HACC Foundation is grateful for the support of our donors, including HACC colleagues. In this “Fast Five” series, we are featuring Rob Swatski.

What is your full name?

Rob Swatski

What is your job title?

Professor of Biology

How long have you worked at HACC?

I was an adjunct instructor from 1996-2007, when I taught biology at the Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses. I have been teaching full-time at the York Campus since fall 2007.

Why do you contribute to the HACC Foundation?

Like many of our students, I was a first-generation college student and can empathize with the multiple challenges they face. Financial struggles can derail a student's progress, forcing them to take time away from school to make ends meet. Knowing that my contributions to the Foundation make such a positive and impactful difference in their lives encourages me to donate year after year.

If you could share a message with a friend or family member to encourage them to contribute to the HACC Foundation, what would you say?

Please contribute to the HACC Foundation and help our students achieve their dreams!

The HACC Foundation Awards Funds for Gym Refinishing Project at HACC’s Harrisburg Campus

HACC’s donors provided funding to sand, paint and refinish the gym floor in Evans Physical Education Center on HACC’s Harrisburg Campus. The floor is used for the intercollegiate men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball teams, physical education classes, general student recreation and community reservations.

The project of refinishing and repainting the gym floor has positively impacted our students by giving them a basketball court that is up to date with the new College basketball court lines. This will enable our students to compete in intercollegiate competition against other colleges while adhering to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rules. The new refinishing also gives the floor tact, which will help students get traction while playing on it, helping to prevent slipping and enabling them to play more sharply. In addition to being functional, the floor looks great! Aesthetically, the students love it. The new color scheme and HACC Hawk in the center of the floor help the court to feel like “home” for our HACC students.

This project has positively transformed HACC by refinishing a court that was in need of repairs, giving it a fresh look and bringing it up to current NJCAA standards. The floor had not been sanded to the bare wood and repainted in over 20 years. There were a few boards that were cracked, and the paint on the floor had yellowed and faded over the years. If the boards had not been repaired, they would have eventually created a tripping hazard for participants.

This project was definitely a success. By refinishing the floor, it is safer for our students, looks sharp and makes the HACC community feel HACC proud. The finished project is definitely more than just aesthetically pleasing - it gives the space a “WOW” factor. The HACC community can feel #HACCproud of this space.