Students tour Northwest Technical School
JESSICA ALLEN/DAILY FORUM
Health service technology instructor Bing Better quizzes students from West Nodaway on the four lobes of the brain. Occupations in the health service technology field include pharmacists, veterinarians, morticians, dentists, and many others.
Eighth grade students from several local schools had the opportunity to do some forward thinking as they toured classes at Northwest Technical School this week.
Director of Vocational Education Jeremy Ingraham said the goal of bringing in students in eighth grade is to give them a chance to think about vocational classes they may want to take in high school.
“It’s a good opportunity to get them exposed and thinking about a career path,” said Ingraham.
Students from Rock Port, Northeast Nodaway, West Nodaway, Nodaway-Holt, and others toured the school and listened to presentations by various teachers.
Counselor Rory Jackson said the tours are not only important in showing kids what careers are available, but also details about what those careers involve.
A primary focus in most presentations was how NTS equips students with the skills and knowledge they need to enter the workforce. Several instructors emphasized the growing demand for more skilled workers in fields such as childcare, automotive technology, and welding.
According to Nick Sherlock, welding instructor, the welding industry may find itself short hundreds of thousands of workers in the next several years, a sentiment echoed by Steve Holtman in the automotive technology department.
Holtman and Sherlock also emphasized the need for continued learning as workers must adapt to ever-changing technology and equipment.
In the collision repair department, Ron Wiederholt encouraged students to put great effort and pride into their work. He showed pictures of an old pickup truck that sat in a patch of trees for over 20 years before his students transformed it into an award-winning vehicle for the World of Wheels show in Kansas City.
“You get out of your work what you put into it,” said Wiederholt. “The more you put in, the more you get out.”
Rory Jackson explained that NTS does its best to make students employable after graduation.
For instance, students in the building trades department take safety tests that enable them to get hands-on practice with certain tools that other schools do not let students use.
They then use their skills and class time to build cabins at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park and homes in Maryville, giving them real world experience.
In the culinary arts department, students put their knowledge into practice by setting up a miniature restaurant for NTS and Maryville High School students. The culinary students create a menu and learn marketing strategies and food presentation.
Throughout the tour, visiting eighth graders sampled cheesecake from the culinary arts kitchen, tried out a touch screen scanner used to diagnose problems in a vehicle’s engine, and learned about functions of the lobes of the brain from health service technology instructor Bing Boettner.
Ingraham encouraged students to ask questions about anything that piqued their interest.
“I’m here to help you,” said Ingraham. “That’s really what principals and counselors are here to do — to help you get through your education and find something that interests you and that you truly have a passion to do.”
He also urged them to think ahead.
“If you think as an eighth grader, ‘That’s a long way off’, trust me. It’ll be here quickly.”
