Blueprints, deskwork, creating stages for international performers, and sporting mutton chops are just a few characteristics of Matthew Bettinger, Pine Grove Area 1997 alumnus and attended Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport from 1997 to 1999. Bettinger is a Senior Controls Designer at Tait Towers in Litiz, Pennsylvania.Tait Towers is the marketing leader in designing, constructing, and delivering the finest live event solutions in the world.

Bettinger, who has been working at Tait Towers for 6 years says, “I like my job very much because every day it’s something new. We typically do not work on the same things twice in the same week, which makes it exciting and it keeps it fresh. I also enjoy seeing the finished product on television because I get to see what I made and how cool it actually is. I would say the coolest project that I worked on was the Houston Rodeo Stage. The Houston Rodeo stage is a star shaped stage that had many different colors and also had many different movements, which I believe was just really cool.”

While a student at Pine Grove Area, Bettinger did not participate in any extra activities to lead towards his career choice; however, he did excel and apply himself with math and science courses. Bettinger says, “If I had to give advice to any student who currently would like a career at Tait Towers or similar to my career, I would tell them to make sure they are very strong in mathematics and science courses. I would tell them to take the most classes in these fields and to make sure they are taking these courses at a high level. I would also tell them that they are not going to be able to start off high up in the business. They will have to start at a lower level in the business and work their way up to get to higher, more important jobs.”