Stories

The Greenwood County Community Foundation (GCCF) recently awarded $5,000 to MODELS Academy, citing its proactive approach to community betterment through its mentoring of young African-American men. The award comprised the maximum amount the organization authorizes.

The arrival of Teijin Carbon Fibers (TCF) in South Carolina has had a positive economic impact on the Greenwood community, and the ripple effects of the company’s investment in the area can best be exhibited through its relationship with Piedmont Technical College (PTC). PTC officials are proud to contribute to and be at the forefront of an emerging revolution in domestic advanced manufacturing, a movement which will increase the United States’ competitiveness in the international marketplace. The strong training partnership between PTC and TCF is educating the next generation for well-paying and high-demand jobs right now while preparing the region’s workforce for incalculable opportunities in the future.

The South Carolina Technical College System (SCTCS), which oversees the South Carolina Workforce Industry Needs Scholarship (SC WINS), recently added three public services programs to the list of those areas of study that are eligible for the scholarships. Made effective in the fall 2020 term, the new program areas are criminal justice, early care and education, and human services.

Paige Childs, vice president of business, finance and facilities management at Piedmont Technical College (PTC), has been named Dean of the Leadership Academy of the Community College Business Officers (CCBO) professional organization. The deanship comes with an appointment to the CCBO Board of Directors. These are concurrent roles in conjunction with Childs’ present role at PTC.

Decades ago, processing an x-ray image was far more complicated than it is today. Patients could wait for days to receive results or a diagnosis from their processed images. Fast-forward to 2020, and physicians can refer to x-rays, immediately in the moment, as the images are captured on a computer screen. Film is a relatively foreign concept to today’s emerging radiologic technicians studying at Piedmont Technical College (PTC). Make no mistake, they indeed are processing hundreds of images and information — mentally — as they work their way through the rigorous, hands-on program.

Sometimes there is just no substitute for feeling the air waft across a breezeway and sliding into a desk to receive instruction that’s not broadcast through a screen. That’s why so many students at Piedmont Technical College (PTC) opt for hybrid courses that allow them to have the physical, in-person experience on campus at least part of the time, socially distanced, of course.

When duty called, Piedmont Tech student teacher Caroline Falls was fully prepared to lead a first-grade classroom for the first time without her supervising teacher, Kimber Burrell, at Hodges Elementary School.

Trish Buis, training coordinator with the Piedmont Technical College (PTC) Economic Development and Continuing Education Division, recently completed the National Career Pathways Network (NCPN) Leadership Development Academy (LDA).

The Piedmont Technical College (PTC) Area Commission has selected Dr. Hope Rivers to serve as the college’s third president, effective January 4, 2021. The decision was made after a nationwide search to fill the position vacated by the pending retirement of longtime president Dr. L. Ray Brooks.