While the halls at OTC are filled with college students, there are a number of students who come to the college still enrolled in high school. Thanks to the OTC Career Center, they can get a jump on their college education. More than 500 students learn and develop skills in one of 19 technical education…
Becky Seiler sat down in front of a large video monitor on the second floor of the Graff Building at OTC and dialed the phone to call her mother. But instead of the call going directly to her mom, a young man appeared on the screen wearing a headset. Becky signed a message to the…
Several colleges from around the Springfield area will come together on the campus of Ozarks Technical Community College to host a free FAFSA Frenzy event on Sunday, February 24. The event, which is designed to help prospective college students to file their FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, will be held in the…
OTC’s fire science program is working to bring its students so close to firefighting training that they can see it and touch it. The program is gradually migrating its classes to the Springfield Fire Departments Engine House No. 6 of West Battlefield Road where the city’s Regional Training Center is also located. Former Springfield fire…
Start spreading the news the Ozarks Technical Community College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers are heading to New York City. The college’s vocal ensembles have been invited to participate in the Distinguished Concerts International New York Concert Series to be held Memorial Day weekend, which includes performing in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. OTC’s…
When Michael Horn says he took the long road to earn his degree in culinary arts at OTC, he’s not exaggerating. Horn, a Jefferson City resident, traveled the 130-mile trip from the state capital to Springfield every Monday at 4:30 a.m., spent four or five days in classes and then drove home to share the…
To say that Rick Hughlett has been involved in Ozarks Technical Community College is quite an understatement. Even before the start of OTC, Mr. Hughlett was right there getting his formal automotive training at Graff Vocational Technical School, which later became OTC. He was on the Automotive Technology advisory board at Graff and then continued…
A collaboration by two OTC instructors, one in music and the other in art, has resulted in a unique music instruction book for those looking to learn to play the Native American flute. The Mel Bay-published book, “First Lessons Native American Flute: How to Sit on a Rock” was developed and written by music instructor Andrew…
Real-world experience is the best kind of experience students can get when learning about a profession. The OTC’s Electronic Media Production program is trying to bring some of that reality to its students. A major makeover of EMP’s TV production studio is scheduled to take place with the addition of a professional news studio set…
The Ozarks Technical Community College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers will hold a series of fundraising events in anticipation of their residency and performance in New York City in May. The ensembles, led by Director Kathryn Cole, are currently working to raise $1,600 per student to pay for the trip. The following events will help…
When Tom Stage looks at a pile of scrap metal, he doesn’t see it heading to some recycling site. He sees it taking shape as a piece of art. Stage, who teaches welding at OTC, has been dabbling in metal art for many years, sharing his work with family and friends. Now, he’s branching out…
The demand for robotic programs has been on the rise since the first programmable digital robot was brought to life in the 1950s. At OTC, the study of robots is approached from several aspects, making use for both the ominous-looking robotic arms and the building and programming of machines that come in a kit and…
At first glance, the trio of oversized TV screens, an oversized operator’s seat and authentic mobile ambulance may all look like some elaborate video game setup. But what the system actually is used for is serious business, teaching emergency personnel and law enforcement officers the ins and outs of defensive driving in a safe way.…
To some, they may appear to be lifeless imitations of human beings made of hard plastic and stuffed with wires and electronics. But to Michelle Howard, director of OTC’s Simulation Center, the electronically elaborate manikins represent the cutting edge in medical training that will eventually save lives. These manikins mimic a myriad of medical conditions…
Matt Duzan has two classrooms he works in as an instructor at the OTC Richwood Valley Campus. The first one is filled with traditional desks, chairs, lab equipment and wall cabinets. The second has a bubbling creek running through it, a canopy of lush trees and blue skies serving as the ceiling, and a wide…
As the new president of Missouri Community College Association’s board of directors, Joan Barrett wants to continue to help advocate for the state’s two-year colleges any way she can. “I have served the organization for the past two years and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my community college colleagues across the state and have…
Kevin Renick calls it a “cosmic coincidence” when the St. Louis songwriter refers to the tremendous break he got when he wrote a song entitled “Up in the Air.” “I was handed a music career,” said Renick, who spoke to several music and songwriting classes and the general public at OTC recently. Renick told students…
Two OTC students were presented with the Missouri Community College’s Student Leadership Award last week during the MCCA convention in Kansas City. Fran Ferguson and Christina Polosky earned the awards based both on their grade point average and their outstanding leadership qualities throughout their time at OTC. Both are members of Phi Theta Kappa. MCCA’s…
Maricia Zaharuk is a long way from her native country of Romania but the 32-year-old feels very comfortable in her new location in Springfield and at OTC. “I feel like I was born here. Here is where I belong. I like it here,” Zaharuk said. Not only is Zaharuk trading countries but careers, too. The…
In honor of National Career and Technical Education Month, the City of Springfield will present Ozarks Technical Community College with an official proclamation recognizing the college for its leadership in providing valuable career and technical education for the citizens of Springfield and the surrounding communities. Mayor Bob Stephens will present the proclamation on Wednesday, February…
Ozarks Technical Community College Research Assistant Matthew Simpson has received a Presidential Scholarship from the Association for Institutional Research. Simpson, who was nominated by OTC Chancellor Dr. Hal Higdon, used the $600 scholarship toward classes through the association’s Data and Decisions Academy, a program designed specifically for community college institutional research professionals. “Matthew has made…