Laura French, former community partners coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks (BBBSO), has been named the Coordinator of Public Information for Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC). French will share OTC information and news with the general public by writing and distributing news releases and managing the college’s social media accounts. “We welcome…
Mark Haseltine, partner of Springer and Haseltine, has been selected as the new chair of the Board of Directors for the OTC Foundation, the fundraising arm of Ozarks Technical Community College. Outgoing chair, Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley, served in the position during the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The transition was finalized at the May meeting of…
A record 742 Ozarks Technical Community College graduates participated in Thursday night’s commencement in JQH Arena on the Missouri State University Campus. OTC conferred more than 2,000 certificates and degrees to graduates this year, which includes students who have completed their course work from the summer 2013 semester through this spring. Attorney General Chris Koster…
Every graduate who walks in Thursday’s OTC Commencement at JQH Arena will have a story of accomplishment and self-fulfillment when they receive their degree or certificate. But few will eclipse Alex Heisterman’s pure joy when he receives his associate transfer degree. Listen for Alex’s name toward the end of the program. Alex is autistic. He…
The Associate of Science in Nursing program (ASN) at Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) will host its fifth-annual pinning ceremony for the 2014 graduating class on Wednesday, May 14 at 11 a.m. at the Gillioz Theatre in downtown Springfield. The ceremony will honor 40 ASN graduates and present a select few with awards including the…
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster will be the featured speaker at the OTC Commencement on Thursday, May 15 at 6 p.m. in JQH Arena on the Missouri State University Campus. “Attorney General Koster has been a supporter of public higher education throughout his career as an elected official,” said Dr. Hal Higdon, chancellor of Ozarks…
Kelly Peachey wanted to be a pediatrician since she was in grade school. Now, with the help of the new Innovation Campus – Health Professions Academy at Ozarks Technical Community College, the 17-year-old from Glendale High School has received a big boost toward achieving her goal. “The Academy has been very good preparation for working…
Nearly 400 students will receive their General Equivalency Diplomas (GED) or High School Equivalency (HSE) diploma from Ozarks Technical Community College at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield. It is a joyful program, said Ramona George, director of OTCs adult education and literacy, in describing the…
As the spring semester rushes to a close, the OTC Fine Arts department is offering a pair of public performances to add to the calendar. On Tuesday, the OTC Choirs will present “American Songs: A Tribute to Our Nation’s Composers” at 7 p.m. at the Springfield Art Museum. “Concert goers can expect to hear everything from…
Beginning in the fall of 2014, high school students enrolled in dual credit courses at Ozarks Technical Community College will pay just $35 per credit hour. That is a 50 percent decrease in dual credit tuition from $70 per credit hour. OTC’s Board of Trustees approved the new tuition on April 14. “By making dual…
Phillip Nolan was known as the man without a country. OTCs Katherine Mantonya can be called with the student with two countries. Mantonya will be leaving in a less than two weeks for Brazil, her second homeland, and where she lived for many years while her father worked as a second-generation missionary. He also grew…
Car enthusiasts will learn how to restore classics this summer at Ozarks Technical Community College’s Center for Workforce Development. The Classic Car Restoration course is a four-week class that begins on Monday, July 7 and runs through Thursday, July 31. The class meets from 5-9 p.m. and meets Monday-Thursday. Cost for the class is $649…
Gary Durbin of the Alpha Psi Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society at Ozarks Technical Community College will be among thirty PTK members honored with the 2014 Distinguished Chapter Member Awards. The awards will be presented at NerdNation 2014 in Orlando, Fla., April 24-26. NerdNation is the annual Phi Theta Kappa convention.…
What may seem to be serious science to some is fun to others and both fun and science will be on display later this month at the fifth-annual OTC Community Day on April 26. Jared Durden, an adjunct physics instructor at OTC, and other science students will be demonstrating their homemade hovercraft and a second…
The Ozarks Technical Community College Board of Trustees has a new colleague and welcomes a returning member to the six-person governing body. Chip Sheppard, an attorney and chairman of the Litigation/Dispute Resolution Practice Group of Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown, P.C., was sworn in as a board member on Friday, April 11. Sheppard replaces Dr.…
There are plenty of movie plots based on someone breaking a sophisticated code of a government agency, and instead of prosecuting the culprit, the agency offers him or her a job. That wasn’t quite the case when it comes to Cory Benda, but it was close. Benda, who works full-time as an information technology server…
Two-time state champion Jason Bills will lead 32 other OTC students to the national SkillsUSA competition in Kansas City this June. The group of post-secondary and secondary students all finished first in the Missouri SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Conference held at Linn State Technical College earlier this month. SkillsUSA is a national organization serving trade,…
Nothing beats being an OTC A+ student when it comes to winning prizes. Three OTC students were among the seven who won prizes in the Missouri Lottery’s “Tools 4 Schoo”l promotional drawing announced this week. The grand-prize winner was Dylan Hall of Nixa, who won $2,500. One of the first-prize winners was Lindsey Bilyeu of…
Lessons learned by college students take place outside the classroom as well as inside as a group of occupational therapy students from OTC recently learned. Nearly two dozen students traveled to Jefferson City last month to participate in “OT on the Hill Day.” This was a day of advocacy sponsored by the Missouri Occupational…
The OTC Fine Arts Gallery will host the annual Central Ozarks Conference Annual Juried High School Art Exhibition on Friday, April 4. For the last five years, the gallery has been the home of the juried exhibition promoting some of our local and regional high schools’ young emerging artists. Six high schools will be representing…
Three Ozarks Technical Community College students from the turf and landscape program received awards in the 2014 Professional Landcare Network Student Career Days national competition. Isaac Lawson of Norwood and Kyle Knierim of Lockwood placed second in landscape maintenance operations. Knierim and Lawson also received string trimmers valued at $300 as part of their award.…
The spark inside Jason Bills to excel at his craft is matched only by the sparks that fly from the metal when he applies his welding torch to the material. Bills, a welding student at OTC, will take his talents to the state SkillsUSA competition April 3-4 where he will try to repeat at the…
The fifth-annual OTC Community Day will get off to a running start this year with the first Community Day 5K run to benefit the OTC Foundation Scholarship Fund. The run will take place at 8 a.m. April 26, with the course starting and finishing on the OTC Springfield Campus. Community Day will begin at 9…
Rob Dixon didn’t know what to expect when he walked into a classroom for the first time this semester to teach an introduction to American government and politics class at OTC. The executive vice president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce was a new part-time instructor at OTC and knew the subject was…
The fifth-annual OTC Community Day will get off to a running start this year with the first Community Day 5K run to benefit the OTC Foundation Scholarship Fund. The run will take place at 8 a.m. April 26, with the course starting and finishing on the OTC Springfield Campus. Community Day will begin at 9…