Appearing on Community Connection from Tri County Tech, we visited with Nikki LeGrand, Digital and Communication Specialist, and Instructional Director Jeanette Slater.

Nikki began by briefly recapping Tri County Tech Foundation's second-ever Foundation Golf Tournament, saying they had an excellent turnout. "We had 23 teams participate in that. Yeah, it was great. We raised over $34,000, so that money will go to our students' tuition, emergency aid, and food assistance," said Nikki, adding, "Our sponsors are awesome. We had Ascension St. John Jane Phillips, BOK Financial, Truity, Arvest, and several others, but I won't spill too much of that."

We then turned to the outstanding adult programs offered by Tri County Tech. Instructional Director Jeanette Slater said, "We have programs designed for adults who want to upgrade their skills, and we have programs for those who want to go into a new career field. So, we have a lot of variety in our adult programs. You know, people are living longer, and what used to be a 20-year career is no longer it. At Tri County Tech, we have designed some of our adult programs to be short-term. It used to be that you might come for 10 months."

Jeanette reminded everyone that now, you can come for three months and upgrade your skills or learn new ones. "You can learn anything from phlebotomy, if you want to maybe end up in a lab doing sticks in the medical field, to electrical work, HVAC, carpentry, or how to be a medical assistant in a medical office."

Jeanette said, "It's really a lot of fun to design programs, to find out what people need in the industry, to hire someone who's excited about that industry, and then put them in a classroom. It's really a lot of fun to make those connections. I think a lot of our instructors would say the best part is when they see success in their students—when they see their students get jobs and change their lives. Oh my goodness, that's the best part."

"Several of our adult programs are starting this month, and we have more starting next month too," said Jeanette, adding, "We're starting new courses almost every month, even throughout the summer. So, when you ask what's new at Tri County Tech, you’ll see there’s always something new."

Find out more at tricountytech.edu.