Speaker 1: Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome, welcome, welcome. It's
Speaker 1: time now for our community connection right here on K one,
Speaker 1: the one you trust. We have our friends in from
Speaker 1: Tri County Tech today. We have Nikki Lagrant, digital specialists
Speaker 1: here and communication specialists. Also an instructional director. We have
Speaker 1: Janette Slater. How you doing, Jennette.
Speaker 2: I'm doing very well. It's very nice outside.
Speaker 3: It's a great day to be out and about, so
Speaker 3: I'm really glad to be down here.
Speaker 1: It's always a great day Tri County Tech, now, isn't it, Nikki?
Speaker 1: It is? Yeah. Now, we've got some things that are
Speaker 1: cooking right now. First of all, we played a little golf.
Speaker 1: I don't want to spill the beans too much. Tell
Speaker 1: us a little bit about what happened here with the foundation, true.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we just had our second ever Foundation golf tournament
Speaker 4: and it was an excellent turnout. We had seventeen teams
Speaker 4: participate in that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was great.
Speaker 4: We raised over thirty four thousand dollars so that money
Speaker 4: will go to our students tuition, emergency aid and food assistance.
Speaker 1: It was great.
Speaker 4: Our sponsors are awesome. We had Bokay Financial Truity, our
Speaker 4: best several others, and I won't steal too much of that.
Speaker 4: Champagne will come next month and talk about that and
Speaker 4: get Oh she will, yeah, she will, So I will
Speaker 4: let her give you all the good details.
Speaker 2: But it was great.
Speaker 1: Well, that's great. I'm looking forward to that being one
Speaker 1: of those mainstays that you know, you come back fifty
Speaker 1: years from now and it's still there. I think it's
Speaker 1: going to be that way now. Adult programs. Now, when
Speaker 1: we say adult programs, people kind of shake their head
Speaker 1: a little bit and they say, well, what are you
Speaker 1: going to teach an adult? Well, adults can learn a lot.
Speaker 3: Yes, adults can learn a lot, and so we have
Speaker 3: programs that are designed for adults who want to upgrade
Speaker 3: their skills, and we have programs that are designed.
Speaker 2: For adults who want to go into a new career field.
Speaker 2: So we have a lot of variety in our adult programs.
Speaker 1: You know, people are living longer, and it used to
Speaker 1: be a twenty year career and now that's no longer
Speaker 1: aad Sometimes people feel that after fifteen twenty years it's
Speaker 1: something or maybe even you know ten, it's time to
Speaker 1: be replotted like a plant and get a fresh start
Speaker 1: and feel invigorated again, and this is a great place
Speaker 1: to start. Craig County Tech.
Speaker 3: It is, And at Tri County Tech, we have designed
Speaker 3: some of our adult programs to be short term.
Speaker 2: So it used to be that you might come for
Speaker 2: ten months.
Speaker 3: Now you can come for three months and upgrade your
Speaker 3: skills or get some new skills.
Speaker 1: That's a timeline a guy like me can appreciate because
Speaker 1: you know the time. But it's wonderful. What can we learn.
Speaker 3: Well, you can learn anything from phlebotomy if you want
Speaker 3: to maybe end up in a lab doing sticks in
Speaker 3: the medical field. You could learn electrical HVAC carpentry. You
Speaker 3: could learn how to be a medical assistant in a
Speaker 3: medical office. So we have a wide variety.
Speaker 1: Right now, I'm thinking of those things that you just
Speaker 1: brought up. Everything but the phlebotomy. That's basically your mom
Speaker 1: and dad. They know all these things. But this is
Speaker 1: where it can really amount to a great career. By
Speaker 1: insisting and helping folks who really don't have.
Speaker 2: That kind of a background, it can lead to a
Speaker 2: really great career.
Speaker 1: Oh.
Speaker 3: Indeed, we have a variety of computer classes. We have
Speaker 3: a Computer Skills for Work class that will help you
Speaker 3: get into the job market. We have some specialty classes
Speaker 3: if you want to be a technician in the computer field,
Speaker 3: so we have a good amount of classes.
Speaker 1: I remember my kids asking me when was the first
Speaker 1: time I touched a computer. I was well into my thirties,
Speaker 1: and it was kind of a novel thing. Only the
Speaker 1: business people had that, and that was the people who
Speaker 1: touched the real minding in the office, and nobody else
Speaker 1: really had any kind of desire or want to touch
Speaker 1: something so ominous. And now it's every day you've got
Speaker 1: one in your hand. It's called your cell phone, but
Speaker 1: it's basically a computer, and it is so with us
Speaker 1: right now. And for some of us who were a
Speaker 1: little bit reluctant to change, we adapted to it, okay,
Speaker 1: But there are still others. I have siblings who are
Speaker 1: just not that much younger than I. Ever still thinking
Speaker 1: that maybe if I just got off my stubbornness and
Speaker 1: learned a little bit on the computer, I'd do better
Speaker 1: for myself. And this is a good spot for folks.
Speaker 3: It is a very good spot for folks who would
Speaker 3: like to get into a new career or just want
Speaker 3: to upgrade their skills.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, everybody can upgrade their skills. Yeah, I mean everybody.
Speaker 1: Maybe not YouTube, but I certainly could.
Speaker 2: Oh we can.
Speaker 1: We can now digital communications. You learned a few things
Speaker 1: and get debtailing onto the computer and what have you.
Speaker 1: This some would say this is one of those brand
Speaker 1: new skill sets that darn few people know about. Well,
Speaker 1: more and more people are learning, aren't they.
Speaker 4: Yes, it's important. I mean I'm trying to get my
Speaker 4: grandma in there right now. She calls me once a
Speaker 4: week and says, my phone won't ring, and you know.
Speaker 2: How do I look this up?
Speaker 4: So it's just it's simple, it's quick, and it's learning
Speaker 4: a new skill.
Speaker 1: So it is. I've been playing with this thing called AI.
Speaker 1: Are you teaching anything about that?
Speaker 3: We have been doing some professional development with our staff
Speaker 3: about AI because we would like to help our teachers
Speaker 3: use it and we'd like to help our staff use it,
Speaker 3: and we're also helping our students learn how to use
Speaker 3: it effectively.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of.
Speaker 1: Fun, it's a lot of fun, a lot of there's
Speaker 1: a lot of misues that can happen on that. So
Speaker 1: if you want to know how to do it right,
Speaker 1: sign up for her classes at Tray County Tech.
Speaker 3: Please you know, we hope to see some classes on
Speaker 3: AI in the future.
Speaker 1: In the future. Yes, indeed. Now when it comes to
Speaker 1: signing out, I found this to be pretty easy. I've
Speaker 1: got a young daughter who attends Trike County Tech and
Speaker 1: she was overwhelmed. She says, Dad, Oh, gosh, I can't
Speaker 1: do this. I can't. Yeah, you can. And she said, oh,
Speaker 1: I said, I talked to these people about you know,
Speaker 1: one Thursday a month for the last five years, and
Speaker 1: they tell me it's really really easy. Let's go to
Speaker 1: the website, let's pose a few questions, let's see how
Speaker 1: this works. And you know what, fifteen minutes she had it.
Speaker 1: She goes, oh, yeah, there's nothing to it. N I'm like, oh, okay, yeah.
Speaker 1: And then of course we made a few phone calls
Speaker 1: and did a little visit and she's now a very
Speaker 1: very happy student there.
Speaker 2: That's good to hear.
Speaker 3: We have a really good marketing team, Nikki and our
Speaker 3: website developer, and they are always looking at our website
Speaker 3: to make it user friendly.
Speaker 1: You're it. You're the one who made it so easy
Speaker 1: to navigate it.
Speaker 3: She's part of it, part of it, okay, she's part
Speaker 3: of it, all right?
Speaker 1: Well, very good because you know, even a guy like me,
Speaker 1: I sometimes I have navigational issues on a computer, depending
Speaker 1: on what website I'm on. But yours is really easy
Speaker 1: for your eyes to travel and take a little adventure
Speaker 1: and really learned a lot without having to be mired
Speaker 1: down in so much.
Speaker 4: Well, I think it scares people too, you know, having
Speaker 4: sometimes to jump on the computer and apply. But it
Speaker 4: is really so easy and just give us a phone
Speaker 4: call and we can walk you through the whole process
Speaker 4: that way too.
Speaker 1: So how fun is it to teach out there at
Speaker 1: Trey County Tech.
Speaker 2: Oh, it is a lot of fun.
Speaker 3: It's really a lot of fun to design programs, to
Speaker 3: find out what people need in the industry, to hire
Speaker 3: someone that's excited about that industry, and then put them
Speaker 3: in a classroom.
Speaker 2: So it's really a lot of fun to make those connections.
Speaker 2: And then I think.
Speaker 3: Probably a lot of our instructors would say the best
Speaker 3: part of that is when they see success in their students,
Speaker 3: and when they see their students get jobs and change
Speaker 3: their lives.
Speaker 2: Oh, my goodness, that's the best part.
Speaker 1: That's one of those internal feel goods you just can't replace.
Speaker 1: His Yeah, goodness, this is a place for you to
Speaker 1: take a look. And we've been talking about the website,
Speaker 1: but I haven't given the address on the web. When
Speaker 1: is it?
Speaker 2: So try County Tech dot edu.
Speaker 1: Try County Tech dot that easy. See, folks have made
Speaker 1: it easy for eating following. And on there you have
Speaker 1: the menu that's typed out in pretty good sized print,
Speaker 1: so it'll take you wherever you want to go through
Speaker 1: about like six or seven selections right up there at
Speaker 1: the top and put them there. Great click go.
Speaker 3: There's a high school section, there's an adult program section,
Speaker 3: and if you land on either any.
Speaker 2: Of those pages, you'll see all of the programs for
Speaker 2: those students.
Speaker 1: And it's all right there.
Speaker 2: It's all right there.
Speaker 1: Boy. It's changed a whole lot since I was in
Speaker 1: college back in the nineteen hundred and seventy somethings, where
Speaker 1: you had to go someplace and get a book and
Speaker 1: didn't get lost in the book, you know. So you
Speaker 1: just point click and you're there, and we can find
Speaker 1: out also about different ways to make sure that you
Speaker 1: can afford your college education at Tray County Tech or
Speaker 1: your training.
Speaker 3: Yes, one of the things we talked about earlier was
Speaker 3: that golf tournament and that's that benefits our foundation, and
Speaker 3: our foundation is.
Speaker 2: Used to provide tuition assistance for our students.
Speaker 3: So if you come to Try County Tech, we can
Speaker 3: help you pay for your classes, so.
Speaker 1: In theory and in actuality. Because I've talked to some
Speaker 1: people who've actually done this, lots of them. You leave
Speaker 1: Tri County Tech without any debt.
Speaker 4: Yes, oh yeah, of our students qualify for assistance I have. Yeah,
Speaker 4: it's all in house, so you don't have to apply
Speaker 4: for all of the state funding.
Speaker 2: And so it's simple. Yeah, it's right there for you.
Speaker 1: Well, stop shop. How do you pull it off? I mean,
Speaker 1: how does it? I'm glad it works. I don't need
Speaker 1: to know how. I just need to know it's there
Speaker 1: as a parent, and also for adults who are thinking
Speaker 1: about this and thinking, oh my guys, it's going to
Speaker 1: be a drag on the not so much. I got
Speaker 1: to be so much of a dragon.
Speaker 2: No, it's not at all.
Speaker 1: It's an investment, is what it is.
Speaker 2: Yes, it is.
Speaker 1: Now. Your foundation helps in so many different ways. If
Speaker 1: you're really entire straits, I understand it can help students,
Speaker 1: even with food Buddy on occasion.
Speaker 3: The foundation does help with food They have an emergency
Speaker 3: assistance program.
Speaker 2: Yes, and they do a lot for our students.
Speaker 4: We have a like a closet with food and just
Speaker 4: hygiene essentials and things like that too, so our students
Speaker 4: know that that's open for.
Speaker 2: Them as well.
Speaker 1: So nobody asks any questions.
Speaker 2: Nobody asked me.
Speaker 1: That's cool. Yeah, that is cool. And you guys win
Speaker 1: these awards, these national and international awards, you mean, kind
Speaker 1: of like knocking them down. That's got to be a
Speaker 1: great feeling to walk into work saying, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: going into a world class facility here. Yeah, and they're
Speaker 1: paying me.
Speaker 2: It's rewarding. It is very rewarding.
Speaker 1: And a lot of people when they go to work
Speaker 1: there tray and they stay there. There's not a big turnover.
Speaker 4: No, definitely not. So I've been there thirteen years and
Speaker 4: Janette's been there about about twelve.
Speaker 1: Yeah, in this stage and you're the rookies, right yeah, yeah, honestly. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but this is really amazing. Again now with the adult programs,
Speaker 1: we find out more online. But can can we use
Speaker 1: the old fashioned method of setting up an appointment with
Speaker 1: the telephone and talking to someone then maybe taking a
Speaker 1: look sie.
Speaker 2: Yes you can, if you can use that.
Speaker 3: You can use any method you want, because if you
Speaker 3: want to come in call we can set you up
Speaker 3: with the appointment with one.
Speaker 2: Of our advisors. They can give you a tour, they
Speaker 2: can take you to the program. So you can call us,
Speaker 2: or you can just stop.
Speaker 1: Buy nice. I like the way you guys just kind
Speaker 1: of wrap that up and put a bow on it.
Speaker 1: It's incredible. That's incredible. That's Trike County Tech.
Speaker 4: Several of our adult programs are starting this month and
Speaker 4: there's some next month too, So.
Speaker 1: Oh wow, we can start. We can start this month.
Speaker 1: Yeah wow, I thought it was all you know, August,
Speaker 1: September and stuff like that. Oh yea, that's right. Because
Speaker 1: you have the smaller courses.
Speaker 3: We're starting new courses almost every month, even all summer.
Speaker 1: So when you say what's new at Trick County Tech
Speaker 1: and say, well, let me get to start it here,
Speaker 1: because there's always something new, so you don't have to
Speaker 1: really wait six months at a time or four months
Speaker 1: at a time to get anything lined up and going.
Speaker 1: You're you're probably off to the races within days after
Speaker 1: you've signed up. Yes, nice, all right, And again the website.
Speaker 2: Tri County Tech dot edu.
Speaker 1: All right, I got it now, it's right here in
Speaker 1: the noggin. Thanks for being with us today, Yes, thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you.