The Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant is a relatively new state financial aid tool designed to help non-traditional age students seek a college education in subjects that are in high demand throughout the state. Students must be 25 or older or, if younger than 25, have been out of school for two years or more.…
Like most Ozarks Technical Community College students, Andrew Foell was a first-generation college student. No one in his immediate or extended family graduated from college. And before attending OTC, Andrew’s knowledge of the state’s colleges and universities was pretty limited. “I knew Mizzou was in Columbia, and I knew about Missouri State because of (former…
Ozarks Technical Community College graduate Stevi Kay Berry is a recipient of the prestigious Purdy Emerging Leaders Scholarship for the 2022-2023 school year. Berry will use the $5,000 annual grant to pursue a bachelor’s degree in speech and theatre education at Missouri State University. Managed by the Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation, the Purdy Emerging…
Ozarks Technical Community College graduate Noah Duwe is a recipient of the prestigious Purdy Emerging Leaders Scholarship for the 2022-2023 school year. Duwe will use the $5,000 annual grant to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at Missouri State University. Managed by the Missouri Scholarship and Loan Foundation, the Purdy Emerging Leaders Scholarship…
Our friends at the Hamra Family Library have great suggestions for summer reading. We’re sure you’ll find these books entertaining and surprising, with something for the lover of serious, true-life scenarios as well as fun, escapist fiction. You can check them out from the OTC library (some in multiple formats, such as audiobook), so feel…
OTC students have brought home the gold again. The SkillsUSA National Championships were held in Atlanta during the 58th Annual SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference on June 20-24, 2022. Students, teachers, education leaders and representatives from 650 national corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions were participants. OTC is proud of and congratulates all…
It may be easy for someone who has never suffered from addiction to ask, “Why would anyone start doing drugs? Just don’t start, and you’ll never get addicted.” As soon-to-be OTC graduate Denise Shirley can tell you, addiction isn’t about that first time but how each decision leads to another unfortunate decision. Denise’s substance use…
When Ozarks Technical Community College dental hygiene student Sam Patel would give a patient an injection in the OTC Dental Clinic, his hands were always steady. His fellow dental hygiene students took notice. “They would ask me, ‘Why don’t your hands shake when you give an injection?’” Sam chuckled. “I would tell them I just…
Ozarks Technical Community College is delighted to announce the return of OTC Weekend @ The Zoo, celebrating OTC’s conservation collaboration with Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri. On June 25-26, OTC employees and students with a college ID can visit the zoo for free, and bring up to four guests at half price. Children age…
Homeschooling expanded massively during the height of the pandemic and is still growing in popularity. To help current and future homeschooling families explore training and credentialing options for their students, OTC is offering a new Homeschool Open House on Thursday, June 16. Events begin at 6 p.m. in Lincoln Hall on OTC’s Springfield campus. OTC…
Congratulations to our Spring 2022 Chancellor’s List, Dean’s List and Provost’s List recipients! Students who complete 12 or more credit hours in a fall or spring semester are eligible for the Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List. Recognition is based on the grade point average during that semester. The Dean’s List requires a GPA of 3.5…
In the Jane’s Addiction song “Jane Says,” the song’s protagonist, Jane, utters the words, “I’m gonna kick tomorrow.” She’s saying she’ll “kick” her addiction tomorrow, but when the next day comes, she utters the same mantra — tomorrow is always the next day. For soon-to-be OTC graduate Liz Atchley, tomorrow came on August 17, 2016.…
When Sariah Reed picked up a torch and chose to study welding at Ozarks Technical Community College, some of her family members asked her why she wanted to do “man’s work.” But Sariah didn’t see it that way. “It’s not about being a different gender; it’s about your knowledge and skill in doing the work,”…
Two adjectives accurately describe Ozarks Technical Community College student Audri Moses: bubbly and busy. Her bubbly attributes are apparent as soon as she speaks. Energy, positivity and gratitude infuse her conversation. “I was homeschooled most of my life, but I’m a really social person. So, I started a Kickapoo halfway through my sophomore year,” Audri…
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai famously spoke out in support of education for Muslim girls. Later, an extremist shot her in the face, but the gunshot was not fatal, and she recovered. Malala then went on to win a Nobel Prize and graduated from Oxford University. OTC student Nikolina Lee, born a year after Malala in…
By Stevi Kay Berry, OTC Class of 2022 In the spring of 2020, the pandemic altered the course of my life forever. I begrudgingly enrolled here at Ozarks Technical Community College. After being told by nearly everyone that community college meant giving up on myself, my success and my dreams – something I’m sure we’ve…
“All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.” – Former NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson For Ozarks Technical Community College student Cecily Wright, the help, hope and belief came from a couple of OTC employees. Wright grew up in Archie, Mo., a small town south…
If you drive through Kennett, Missouri, you won’t find an ice arena, and nobody’s playing hockey even if the local pond is frozen over. Kennett native Drew Porterfield grew up a St. Louis Blues fan despite that lack of local hockey action. And a few days after he graduates from Ozarks Technical Community College, Drew…
Once solely the domain of students at four-year colleges, Ozarks Technical Community College graphic design students recently brought home awards from the American Advertising Federation’s Heartland Addy Awards. In 2021, Elijah Prewitt earned a silver Addy for his brand style guide. This year, Danielle Hartzler brought home a silver Addy for logo design. “Everyone in…
Five Ozarks Technical Community College students were honored today, Thursday, April 28, at the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) Student Leadership and Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Awards Luncheon. At the event, hosted by Stephens College in Columbia, one OTC student was recognized for his leadership; four other students were named to the Missouri All-Academic Team.…
Multiple OTC students brought home the gold earlier this year in the regional Southwest Missouri SkillsUSA District Competition. On April 7-9, the SkillsUSA State Leadership & Skills Conference was held at State Technical College in Linn, Missouri. The conference gives students the opportunity to put their technical skills to the test in over 70 career…
Next time you’re sitting with a group of people, look at the person on your right. Then look at the person on your left. Ask yourself, “Which of us will it be?” Sadly, one in three women and one of every four men experiences intimate partner violence in their lifetime. All year, every year, OTC…
Film-making in Hollywood may be the ultimate glitz and glamour profession. The term “The movie industry” brings film stars, red carpets and fancy awards shows to mind. Those images may tell the story of big-budget Hollywood film premieres, but the process of actually making movies, especially independent films, involves long days and hard work. Around…
At 48 years old, this is not David Walden’s first time pursuing higher education. After graduating high school in the early 90s, Walden began college at a small, private four-year university, but “I wasn’t ready for college,” he said. Later, Walden made his way to the now-defunct, for-profit Vatterott College in Springfield, where he first…
Inside the office at Abel’s Affordable Roadside hangs a decorative sign with a small sculpture of a sea captain, and next to him are the words, “Coil up your ropes and anchor here till better weather doth appear.” For Abel’s Affordable Roadside owner Garry Shidler, that small office and OTC Cares served as his port…