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,”…
OTC student Anita Golovin remembers the moment she decided to become a pilot. She was 5 years old, boarding a flight from the U.S. to Russia, when a female pilot greeted passengers over the intercom. Anita turned to her parents in disbelief – she didn’t realize women could become pilots too. Years later, Anita is…
Amid humming machinery and whirring computer systems, OTC student Abigail Dotson has found her happy place. One of just three women in the college’s Industrial Systems Technology Program, Abbey hopes to become a mechanical engineer someday. “Taking stuff apart, fixing it and putting it back together – it’s just always something that I’ve enjoyed doing,”…
OTC students Jorgie Teaster and Kelley Stone will be honored as winners of the 2019 Missouri Breaking Traditions awards at a ceremony in Jefferson City on Monday, April 29. As part of the award, both Teaster and Stone will receive a $1,000 scholarship, renewable for up to four semesters at OTC. Presented by the Missouri…
OTC automotive student Sara Gates likes fixing cars and breaking stereotypes. The 20-year-old Breaking Traditions award winner and scholarship recipient is in the United States Marine Corps. She plans to earn her associate degree in automotive technology upon her return from a nine-month deployment to Kuwait. She leaves with her unit early next month. “After…