Pontotoc Tech lineworker students train with new equipment
Students in Pontotoc Technology Center’s lineworker academy are training for careers with new trucks, towers and safety gear paid for by the American Rescue Plan Act’s Broadband Grant.
PTC received $665,680 in grant money, with the goal of training students to expand the broadband industry and connect all of rural Oklahoma.
“They’re getting a lot of the hard training out of the way. The fear, they can have confidence in knowing they’re not afraid of heights and they can go out there and really start working,” instructor Rusty Stewart told KXII-TV.
Read more and see video on the KXII-TV website.
Altus woman returned to Southwest Tech to achieve her dream
Southwest Technology Center helped an Altus woman achieve her lifetime dream of becoming a nurse.
Benita Padron’s dreams were interrupted as a teen, but she never gave them up. She enrolled several times at Southwest Tech over the years, but each time other responsibilities interrupted her plans.
In 2024, she returned again and this time earned her high school equivalency in one month while also preparing for the practical nursing program. She went on to complete the program and become a licensed practical nurse.
She found a job at Harmon Memorial Hospital and is now preparing to enroll for the registered nursing program at Western Oklahoma State College.
Read more about Padron on Southwest Tech’s website.
Grant allows Chisholm Trail Tech to add technology, equipment
Chisholm Trail Technology Center has added technology and equipment to a classroom that its multimedia design and business technology program shares with Thomas-Fay-Custer School’s technical applications program.
CTTC was able to add desktop computers, laptops, keyboards, mice, computer accessories and cameras through a $100,000 grant to support student learning.
All Thomas-Fay-Custer seventh graders participate in TAP, and ninth graders may enroll in it as an elective. The program introduces students to the nine career programs that CTTC offers.
“Giving students opportunities to explore different areas of interest and work with technology helps them begin thinking about their future. We want to support students as they discover their strengths, develop new skills, and explore possibilities for what comes next,” CTTC Superintendent Kurt Thomas told The Thomas Tribune.
High Plains Tech gains international attention
High Plains Technology Center’s executive director of postsecondary and strategic development recently attended a workshop at Harvard with participants from around the world.
Taylor Burnett participated in the weeklong Harvard Kennedy School’s Workshop on the Analysis and Management of Energy and Environmental Policy with 18 other people from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Chile, Colombia, Brazil and the United States.
The workshop featured discussions about energy reliability, affordability, environmental policy, electricity infrastructure and emerging technologies.
“It’s pretty remarkable when you stop and think about it,” Burnett said. “We’re a technology center in Woodward, Oklahoma, serving rural communities, and yet we’re having conversations with people from around the world about the work we’re doing. People in Italy and Brazil now know about High Plains Technology Center and the opportunities we’re creating here. That’s something our communities and our board should be proud of.”
Read more on the High Plains website.
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The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use we feel very good. Understanding is joyous. -- Carl Sagan
