Students representing the various technical programs of Ozarks Technical Community College brought home 47 medals from the SkillsUSA state competition, held recently on the campus of State Technical College of Missouri in Linn, Mo. Approximately 90 OTC students participated the event, where thousands of technical education students from across the state competed in a variety of categories…
Keshia Guffey is attending OTC intent on becoming a social worker to help those with substance-use disorders. It’s a topic close to Keshia’s heart because she lived the life of an addict for a number of years. An Ozark High School graduate, Keshia later became addicted to opioids for two years after she started using…
Sarah Buxton, a second-year student at Ozarks Technical Community College, was chosen as a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow. The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Newman Civic Fellows are nominated by college and university presidents and chancellors to acknowledge motivation…
Meet Dr. Zachary Zweigle, OTC social sciences department chair and history instructor. In addition to his teaching duties, student advising, departmental leadership and curriculum design, Dr. Zweigle will serve up your favorite Starbucks drinks on Wednesday, April 5 from 10 to 11 a.m. Fun fact: Dr. Zweigle was an actual Starbucks barista back in the day, and…
Rick Hughlett, founder and president of Rick’s Automotive, will be the recipient of the 2017 Excellence in Business award to be presented by Ozarks Technical Community College on Thursday, April 20. The award ceremony will be held from 7:30–9 a.m. at the White River Conference Center in Springfield. The event will feature an exclusive conversation…
Ozarks Technical Community College will dive into collegiate sports with the launch a Division II skydiving team in the fall of 2017. College officials unveiled their plans to the National Junior College Athletic Association today, Saturday, April 1. The new skydiving team, called the OTC Screamin’ Eagles, will compete at the regional and state level…
I would like to share a story with you about a young man from a low-income, single-parent home; a young man who was the first person in his family to graduate college; a young man who worked 30-50 hours a week in addition to being a full-time student. This extraordinary young man also came to college…
Melanie Johnston has enjoyed the best of times as a student at OTC after suffering the worst of times in an abusive marriage. Melanie is now an honors student and vice president of publicity and outreach for the college’s Honors Program. She also works as a tutor at the Carol Jones Writing Center, which suits her…
The National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) honored Ozarks Technical Community College’s Department of Communications and Marketing with two gold Paragon Awards at its national conference, held March 27-29 in Charleston, SC. This is the first time OTC has received honors from NCMPR at the national level. OTC’s Communications and Marketing team won…
Actress, producer and writer Dana Powell will give the commencement address at Ozarks Technical Community College’s graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 18 at 6 p.m. The event will be held at JQH Arena on the Missouri State University campus. In addition to all graduates and their families, the public is invited to attend. Powell, a…
OTC’s academic department is on a mission to spread kindness and happiness across the OTC System. A recent study by John Gottman found that for every negative feeling or occurrence, five positive — or happy — feelings can help replace the negative. Bishop’s Bunch is challenging you to pay it forward by sharing five happy things (today, this week, this month…
Meet Dr. Tracy McGrady, OTC provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Dr. McGrady handles all things academic-related at OTC, and she’ll be serving up your favorite Starbucks drinks on Tuesday, March 28 from 10-11 a.m. In other words, Tuesday is the perfect day to grab some Starbucks and chat with Dr. McGrady. Be sure to grab a…
Representatives from Ozarks Technical Community College’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges, recently returned from the organization’s annual Missouri Regional Convention with several awards in hand. The students and advisors of the college’s chapter were honored with 17 awards and three regional officer positions during the event, held in…
A group of OTC surgical technology students won first place in the 2017 Missouri Association of Surgical Technologists Scrub Bowl competition. The event was held earlier this month at the annual Missouri Association of Surgical Technologists conference. The jeopardy-like competition prepares surgical technology students to take their certification exam upon graduation. We would like to…
Sarah Tindell looks to the sky for her future career path, and she will soon take off in that direction with the help of OTC’s new aviation program. Sarah, 16, is expected to be one of the first students to enroll in OTC’s aviation-focused associate degree program starting in the fall. The degree is being…
Local professionals who are interested in becoming part-time instructors for Ozarks Technical Community College can learn more about teaching opportunities on Saturday, April 1 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Adjunct Faculty Career Fair at the OTC Springfield Campus, Jared Family Atrium. The college is recruiting general education and technical instructors to teach part…
And cut — that’s a wrap for OTC’s first-ever film festival. Nineteen teams competed for 48 hours straight to create a 5-minute film. The catch? Each film had to contain a set of creative elements that included specific visual cues, props, lines of dialogue and music. You can view the films in their entirety here. Keep scrolling for the complete list…
Students representing the various technical programs of Ozarks Technical Community College brought home more than 90 medals from the SkillsUSA district competition, held recently in Monett, Carthage and Joplin. Approximately 130 OTC students attended the event, where hundreds of local technical education students competed in a variety of categories including graphic communications, culinary arts, television production, computer…
If you ask a female friend or relative, it’s likely she can tick off a list of funny or embarrassing stories about “that time of the month.” But for thousands of homeless women across the country, periods are no laughing matter. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 50,000 women…
Battlefield firefighter Kevin Newton loves to talk about his job and the education he received at OTC. He often tells people that two days a week he lives in a multi-million-dollar house, drives a $500,000 vehicle and wears a $6,000 suit. “Then I tell them, I’m a firefighter and you can become one too at…
Ozarks Technical Community College is one of two Missouri community colleges working with statewide partners to help people who receive Food Stamp benefits gain access to free job training and employment opportunities. SkillUP Missouri is a program piloted by the Missouri Community College Association (MCCA) and the Missouri Department of Social Services, Family Support Division…
Ozarks Technical Community College students will have another scholarship available to them in the fall of 2017 thanks to the Nancy Higdon Memorial Scholarship. The fund, established by Chancellor Hal Higdon in memory of his late wife, has reached $30,000 since its inception in November 2016. This endowment will allow for the scholarship to be…
Tracy McGrady did not dream of being the provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at OTC until Steve Bishop, the then-current provost, told her that he was going to call it quits. “I wasn’t really thinking about the position but then Dr. Bishop said he was retiring. He also told me he thought I’d…
The OTC Richwood Valley campus marks its 10th anniversary Sunday, Jan. 22. Before Richwood Valley opened, OTC had been offering classes in a small storefront. A decade after its opening, the gleaming, state-of-the-art structure is a fixture in Christian County. It was the college’s first facility located away from the main campus in Springfield, and,…
In January 2007, the OTC Richwood Valley Campus opened its doors for the first time to 547 students. Ten years later, more than 12,000 students have taken classes on campus. Let’s take a look at the impact of the OTC Richwood Valley Campus over the past decade. What a difference a decade makes. To…