Students tout positive influence of Career Center to state, local officials

The Aiken County Career and Technology Center has made a huge contribution to their lives, two Midland Valley High School seniors told a group of elected officials Tuesday.

At a breakfast hosted by the Career Center, computer-aided design (CAD) student Renate Brown and welding student Michael Hutson described their experiences at the facility. Both are working part time four days a week - Brown for MOX Services at the Savannah River Site and Hutson at the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local Union No. 150 in Augusta.

Brown has studied CAD at the Career Center with instructor Bob Molkenthin. She plans to major in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech.

"The CAD program here has opened so many doors," Brown said. "What I appreciate is the open atmosphere. I can sit down and talk with every staff member, and they will really listen to me."

The guests included S.C. Reps. Roland Smith, Bill Clyburn, Tom Young and Dick Smith, S.C. Sen. Shane Massey, Aiken County Council Chairman Ronnie Young, school Superintendent Dr. Beth Everitt, Aiken Technical College President Dr. Susan Winsor and several school board members.

The Career Center provides work-based opportunities for students, and many are going on to ATC and other two-year colleges and four-year universities, said Director Pat O'Neill.

Students at the facility have a graduation rate exceeding 96 percent, well above the 66 percent rate among all students statewide.

The Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) and the use of Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs) have helped students find their areas of interest, O'Neill said.

The Career Center helps them explore those interests in such areas as cosmetology, health science, computer networking, criminal justice and automotive technology.

"We're tying in career and technology with academics," O'Neill said. "Our afternoon students will do Capstone projects, writing papers and presenting them to people from industry, using their academic skills."

Every Thursday the center focuses part of the school day on issues important to businesses and industry - the importance of employees who show up on time and fulfill expectations.

Like his classmate, Michael Hutson wants to become a mechanical engineer and plans to attend the University of South Carolina. He chose to learn welding to get the practical knowledge of creating a finished product.

Hutson said his instructors - John Ball, now retired, and Ball's former student Kevin Rollins - have provided invaluable help.

"I'm a mechanical person," Hutson said. "I like to work with my hands. I also like the social interaction and networking here. I can be in the shop, working and building relationships."

The Career Center provides tremendous opportunism to put students on the right path to compete and make the job market healthy, Ronnie Young said.

"I was very impressed with the labs I went into today," he said. "They're state of the art, second to none."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.