Have you ever gestured toward a commercial truck driver to pull on his air horn? It’s great fun, and Piedmont Technical College (PTC) is having a little fun “blowing the horn” in announcing an inspired partnership that is rooted in the challenge of improving the state’s network of roads and highways. The SC Workforce Development Board has named PTC the lead agency and training provider for a $355,363 grant project, titled “Ready to Roll,” designed to increase the state’s workforce for highway construction and related sectors.
Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood has provided an infusion of capital to the Nursing Department at Piedmont Technical College (PTC) to further strengthen the region’s nursing workforce. At a ceremony on September 27, Ken Coffey, executive director of the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation, presented a check for $170,000 to PTC President Dr. Ray Brooks and Health Care Dean Tara Harris. The funds will be used to help support the nursing curriculum at PTC and to address the immediate need for additional faculty to serve students majoring in the college’s nursing programs.
Nine years after graduating from Piedmont Technical College (PTC) with an associate in veterinary technology, Elizabeth Stevens found herself back at her alma mater on the Newberry campus training current students to use a blood coagulation analyzer manufactured by the global company she now works for, IDEXX. It has turned out to be a dream job with a company she hopes to make a career with.
It became astonishingly clear as the question-and-answer session commenced that nearly everyone in the room had been affected by suicide at some point in their life. Some shared their personal stories. A few shed tears.
To learn strategies for dealing with a suicidal person in crisis, Piedmont Technical College Human Services students in Greenwood recently participated in a special training ― titled the QPR Institute ― with Tony Johnson, regional executive director of Mental Health America.
Piedmont Technical College (PTC) is springing forward in March when it makes the South Carolina Manufacturing Certification (SCMC) available for the first time in McCormick County. Just as a mechanical spring can potentially store and release energy when pressure is applied, this certification allows those who experience stress from being unemployed or underemployed to potentially gain skills and deploy them immediately in the workforce. Even better? It’s free for those who qualify.
The devil truly is in the details when it comes to the pursuit of justice. That’s the most poignant message 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo shared with aspiring law enforcement officers recently at Piedmont Technical College.
Only this spring’s nursing graduates can say they received training during a historic global pandemic. Halfway through the semester, they learned firsthand how authorities approach public health policy on a widespread scale by instituting social distancing guidelines and other measures to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19. Piedmont Technical College (PTC) expects to graduate 43 nursing students in May. On March 20, all nursing courses transitioned to online-only instruction in mid-semester. Fortunately, most students had completed the clinical portion of their training, so the switch did not interfere with their graduation plans.
Like many students who attend Piedmont Technical College (PTC), Stephanie Bohland’s experience in Greenwood actually changed the trajectory of her professional journey. Already a PTC graduate, the straight-A student is back to take a few more courses with designs on a higher degree and perhaps a college teaching career.
Fabiola Corona came to the United States from Mexico when she was 14 years old. Spanish was the only language she knew. During four years of high school, she picked up English and is conversationally fluent but sometimes struggles when it comes to written English. Now a student majoring in business administration at Piedmont Technical College (PTC), Corona has been receiving extra tutoring help in English and math through the college’s Student Support Services (SSS) department.
It’s not a trick question. If you could earn college credit while still in high school—tuition-free—would you? Hundreds of Piedmont Technical College’s Dual Enrollment students are doing just that.
