As superintendent of the 89th Operations Group, 1st Airlift Squadron, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Stephanie Patterson is proud of her place on the continuum of African-American military achievement. From humble beginnings, the Abbeville native ascended to the highest enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force, providing executive airlift to world leaders. The senior enlisted aviator shared her experiences with dozens gathered in the Piedmont Technical College Library on Feb. 27 in commemoration of Black History Month.
Ever wonder what it will take to secure the right job at the right time for the right pay? The answers you find at the Upper Savannah Regional Job Fair just might surprise you. Hosted by Piedmont Technical College (PTC) and the Upper Savannah SC Works System, the event on Thursday, March 22, will feature more than 70 employers from Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry and Saluda counties. The employers will be on site from 1-3 p.m. at the Medford Family Event Center on PTC’s Lex Walters Campus at 620 N. Emerald Road in Greenwood.
From an early age, Charles L. “Chuck” Graves learned the value of discipline and hard work. As a child, the newest Piedmont Technical College Area Commissioner watched his neighbors ― the late superstar Michael Jackson and his siblings ― exhaustively rehearse musical numbers in the garage of their childhood home in Gary, Indiana. The retired Greenwood School District 50 educator, appointed to the PTC Area Commission in January, likes to include memories of his early relationship with the Jackson family in motivational speeches to communicate that true success does not happen overnight and not without extreme dedication and effort.
There’s nothing like that first time you ease into the seat of a new car and grasp the steering wheel. How does it fit? How does it feel? Like purchasing a car, entering higher education can be a significant investment. It would be imprudent not to try it out before buying. Right? Now those interested in trying out Piedmont Technical College can take selected classes out for a two-week spin at no cost as part of “Test Drive PTC.” The new program offers an opportunity to take a test drive via one of two educational routes ― industrial technology or health care.
Almost as soon as we spring forward one hour, the extra daylight draws casual gardeners outside to begin prepping their yards for the season. A team of four Piedmont Technical College horticulture students led by PTC Horticulture Program Director Daniel Greenwell approached the growing season with a slightly more professional eye when they traveled to Alamance Community College in Graham, North Carolina, to compete in the 42nd annual National Collegiate Landscape Competition held March 14-17. After the pine straw had settled, PTC’s landscape plant installation team finished 16th out of 58 teams, even beating out teams from several large four-year institutions such as North Carolina State University, Mississippi State University, Virginia Tech and Michigan State University.
A study by Burning Glass Technologies and published last month by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found the country’s most profound workplace skills gaps exist in health care occupations. “This is particularly true among higher-skill practitioner roles where openings exceed available workers by more than 40 percent,” the study, titled Different Skills, Different Gaps, noted. “This is by far the most dramatically expanding skills gap in our research.”
A $1.5 million federal grant announced March 28 by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA, a department of the Department of Commerce) will provide essential gears in the funding machine that will bring to fruition Piedmont Technical College’s planned William H. “Billy” O’Dell Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence (UCME) on the Lex Walters campus in Greenwood.
You may call him a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. Rusty Denning thinks big when it comes to creating opportunities for people to excel in careers that need them. The associate vice president for economic development and continuing education at Piedmont Technical College is gregarious, determined, and unrelentingly focused on the prize ― meeting the most critical needs of students and employers. His commitment and creativity are key reasons the PTC Area Commission has named Denning its A. Wade Martin Innovator of the Year for 2018.
In past years, the term for a full complement of behaviors surrounding workplace integrity and productivity was “soft skills.” After a comprehensive study, Piedmont Technical College took up the challenge to form a Work Ethic Skills (WES) team, which developed a pilot system to integrate WES training into the curriculum of selected courses. That team ― comprised of PTC Humanities Department Head and Spanish Instructor Jennifer Lopes, Welding Instructor Tony Amos, English Instructor Rebecca Soppe, Associate Dean of Students David Rosenbaum, Computer Technology Instructor Coronicca Oliver, and Cardiovascular Technology Instructor Laura Boone ― has been selected as PTC’s Innovation Team of the Year for 2018.
