What's Happening at Ranken Technical College

Preping Walker Hall

This summer has been moving swiftly! I have enjoyed some vacation time and our summer guests in Walker Hall. We have hosted housing for College Summit and Kids Across America. Both groups were great!

Summer is coming to an end and we are now preparing for the return of veteran Walker Hall residents and our new residents. We will have four Resident Assistants this year! There will be more information on each staff member coming soon.

I have been doing my best to create new programs as well as provide new options for residents to enjoy the campus and St. Louis. Keep checking in on all of the coming events.

 

Expecting with excitement,

LaTrina (Dorm Mom) Rogers

:-)

Innovative Technology Education Fund Helps Dual Enrollment Students Get Prepared

 
 
Pictured L-R: Tracy Toft Downing, ITEF board member; Wonnell Byrd (INT); Bridgett Wings (ESDT); Gerald Arbini, ITEF board of directors chair; Sam McNeal (HVACR), Michael Le (AMT), Jean Paul Soucy (INT) and John Wood, vice president for student success

 

At a Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon held on July 18 at Lodge Des Peres, the Innovative Technology Education Fund presented all students from St. Louis Public Schools and Construction Career Center who are participating in Ranken’s Dual Enrollment program new Dell Net Books.

The Dual Enrollment program allows students to begin earning college credit while still in high school. Students must qualify for the program and those who complete a semester of the program during high school will be able to complete an associate degree at Ranken in as little as three additional semesters.

The Innovative Technology Education Fund (ITEF) is a St. Louis based charitable nonprofit operating as a private foundation. ITEF partners with educators in the St. Louis region to enhance learning through wireless access, funding of innovative technology projects that benefit education and building strategic partnerships with other philanthropic, educational and technological organizations.

 

 

St. Louis ArtWorks Students Hold Final Sale

 
For the past six weeks 36 students working for St. Louis ArtWorks have been on campus creating works of art. ArtWorks partners with other organizations to create a curriculum which teaches artistic discipline and the business of being an artist. The apprentices work on actual commissioned artwork and get the experience of meeting the clients, preparing a project budget and seeing their work to completion. Participants gain life-skills and field experience and walk away with a resume, portfolio and work reference. This summer students worked on the following projects:

• Kiosk for Old North - Apprentices designed, fabricated and installed a kiosk for the Old North Farmers Market learning 3D design, welding, CAD design, plasma metal cutting and carpentry. Students also created individual works of art for the yard or garden.
• BoomerRacks - Apprentices designed and fabricated bike racks using "upcycled" bike parts experiencing 3D design, welding, CAD design and plasma metal cutting creating new indoor bike racks suitable for corporations, homes or offices. Students also created individual unique bike themed works of art using bike parts.
• Pyrography & Red Hot Furniture - Mid-century Danish design met a new urban mythology when apprentices redeployed cast-off material into home furnishings and multicultural mash-ups with a focus on cutting edge design, beauty and sustainability.

 

On Thursday, July 21, students had the opportunity to show off their creations and art work by holding a sale which was open to the public. Items for sale included smaller pieces such as comic books, thank you cards and bookmarks up to larger works of art like tables, chess boards and yard ornaments. Thank you to all of the faculty and staff who worked with the students while they were here and helped to bring this opportunity to campus.

Electrical Department Helping to Rebuild Joplin Technical Center

 Photo: Frankin Technology Center after the EF5 Tornado ripped through Joplin, Mo.

The evening of May 22 forever changed the lives of the more than 50,000 people of Joplin, Mo. The horrific EF5 tornado flattened over 8,000 homes and businesses and devastated the local hospital. The deadly tornado took the lives of 158 people.

 Photo: Janet Ray, admissions counselor and Mike Hawley, director of Admissions, load up the van full of supplies to drive to Joplin.

 

 

Joplin schools were also heavily affected with only two of the ten schools not being a total loss. Two of the schools completely destroyed were Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center (FTC) which is a vocational school managed by the Joplin School District. FTC offers a wide variety of career programs for high school students and adults, adult basic education and GED preparation classes, and a comprehensive offering of Community Education classes. With their main campus completely demolished, FTC will be moving classes to an empty warehouse in another part of town and are working hard to have the building ready and supplies they need in time to start classes in August. The warehouse has bays for vehicles and sufficient electrical service for welding and automotive repair classes.

 

 
Ranken’s first-year Electrical department recently loaded a van full of supplies to send to FTC and Janet Ray, admissions counselor delivered the donations.

 

"We heard about their need and we wanted to help," said John Wood, Ranken’s vice president for student success. "The Electrical department had supplies they were willing to donate but we needed connectors as well. When I approached APACO Electronics about purchasing the items and told them what we were doing, they were more than willing to donate items as well."

 

Joplin School System has found temporary places to hold classes for all of their schools to start on the scheduled date of August 17. They are still in need of donations of basic school supplies not only for the schools but for individual children who have been displaced or have no home. For more information on how to help, visit www.joplinschools.org or www.brightfuturesjoplin.org.

Ranken Partners with Virginia Community College and Nuclear Company

Employees at Babcock and Wilcox, located in Virginia will now have the opportunity to get their Bachelor’s degree through Ranken Technical College without ever leaving the state. The company recently partnered with Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) and Ranken to create a program in which students take their technical courses and general education courses at CVCC then can complete the business and management courses for their Bachelor of Science degree through Ranken. Courses will mainly be taught online but Ranken will also be sending instructors to Virginia to teach some of the courses.

It is expected that employees who begin the Bachelor of Science in Applied Management (BSAM) through Ranken will have completed an Associate degree through CVCC or are very close to obtaining one. Their past on-the-job training will also be evaluated and may be used as credit toward the program. Students should be able to complete the program in two to three years.

"All of the parties involved saw this as a great opportunity," said Stan Shoun, Ranken’s president. "Babcock and Wilcox were really interested in our BSAM program in order to further the education of their skilled technical workers and to give them supervisory skills."

The new satellite BSAM program with Babcock and Wilcox is being piloted at their Lynchburg, Virginia site but plans include expanding it in January to the other five sites which are located around the world. The hope is to also eventually offer the program to all students at CVCC.

Shoun and John Wood, Ranken’s vice president for student success will be making a trip to Virginia to kick off the program with an open house on August 11 and classes are set to begin on August 22. This semester two classes will be offered, each being an eight-week session. Students have the opportunity to earn up to six credit hours per semester.

"We are really excited about this new partnership and see great potential for expansion," continued Shoun. "We are doing what we do best; providing superior education in the technical arena; now we are doing it from three states away."

2011 Adventure Academy Wraps Up

Photo: Students in the Paint FX camp learned various airbrushing techniques.

 
For the past two weeks Ranken has been busy with the 2011 Summer Adventure Academy. The first week, nearly 100 middle-schoolers attended the camps which focused on areas as diverse as go-kart assembly and racing, robotics, green technology, computer gaming, jewelry and precision machining. Last week, more than 50 high school students attended camps intended to increase their interest in technical fields such as welding, computer programming, gaming, painting, automotive and machining.

"The middle-school camps are more about introducing kids to technology and how fun it can be," said Stan Shoun, Ranken’s president. "The high-schoolers that attend are already aware and have an interest so our job is to funnel that interest and show them how to make a lifelong career out of it."

"We were really excited by the interest in this first year of inviting high schoolers to camp," said Don Pohl, vice president for education. "Everyone really seemed to have a great time and we will take their input and use it to make next year’s academy even bigger and better."

Camps were held Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and to celebrate the final day of camp, parents were invited to campus to observe what the students have been working on during the week. All campers, family members and volunteers were treated to a bar-b-que lunch on the Finney lawn. Students in the Pedal to the Metal camp built wheelie cars and raced them on a track set up in the carpentry shop.

"These camps are a win-win situation," Shoun continued "students interested in technical fields have the opportunity to come on campus and work on state-of-the art equipment with great instructors and we get the chance to introduce Ranken to talented students and their families."

Check out all of the photos on our Flickr page at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rankentech/collections/72157627277354232/

Watch videos of the camps on our YouTube channel at

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC30005B08833865E

Thank you to the following compaines who helped support this year's Adventure Academies:

» 3M

» American Automotive Service

» Commerce Bank

» Dobbs Tire & Auto
Centers

» Drury Hotels

» Grainger

» Innovative Techology Education Fund

» Kiwannis Club of

Bridgeton

» Norman J. Stupp

Foundation

» Reliance Automotive

» Snap-on Incorporated

» TALX

» Tomboy Tools

Representatives from Stupp Bros., Inc. Visit Campus

 

Pictured L-R: Jim Schueler, VP and General Manager for Hammerts Iron Works (Stupp subsidiary); Phillip Stupp, President Fabrication Segment; Stan Shoun; Tom Turner, Asst. VP – Human Resourcesand John Stupp, President

 

Stupp Bros. was founded in 1856 and are fabricators of highway and railroad girder bridges and fabricators of structural steel for medium to large size commercial structures including assembly, parking and medical buildings. The company produces custom-made electric resistance welded pipe for oil and gas transmission.

 
Last week guests from Stupp Bros., Inc. visited campus. The company’s foundation has been a long-time supporter of Ranken and recently completed a five year pledge toward Walker Hall.

 

 

Ranken Helps Train MSD Graduates

 

Pictured L-R: Donald Niemeier (graduate of Maintenance Mechanic program and Pump Station Maintenance program); Jonathon Sprague, MSD Director of Operations and Gene Stinnett, MSD Assistant Director of Operations.

Ranken has partnered with Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) to help train the company’s employees. Men and women who are moving from an apprenticeship to a Journeymen status as well as those who are looking to earn a certificate of applied management in order to become a senior technician at the company, come to Ranken to take courses in industrial technology, maintenance and mechanics and electrical maintenance technology.

On Tuesday, Jully 12, MSD held a "Rising Stars" ceremony for the 25 graduates. During the ceremony MSD’s Director of Operations, Jonathon Sprague discussed the company’s recent commitment to a 22-year capital program which will include upgrades and improvements to St. Louis City and St. Louis County’s storm, waste and pump stations. The project is estimated to cost $4.7 billion.

"We have a major project ahead of us," said Sprague. "We will need well-trained, skilled employees to make this project a success. You [graduates] are the future of this company."

Online Ticket Offer Delayed

Our Six Flags discount ticket promo that was to run from July 14 to August 14 has been delayed due to technical difficulties with the Six Flags link. As soon as the electronic site is activated (it should be later this week) our RANKEN promo code will be up and running and available for a 30 day period from that time. Sorry for any staycation inconveniences...... keep checking in on the www.sixflags.com/stlouis site for those $28.99 tickets! 

Student Travels from Springfield, VA to attend Adventure Academy

 
 
Ranken’s President, Stan Shoun, greeted two of the summer campers on the first day of the 2011 Summer Adventure Academy. Bill Guthrie (left) lives in Springfield, Virginia outside of Washinington, DC and has traveled the furthest to attend the camp. Bill is participating in the Summer Racer’s camp and heard about the Academy from his friend, Sam Meyer (right) who is Ken Meyer’s son. Sam participated in last year’s Academy and is back this year in the Heavy Metal camp.

Besides enjoying camp, Bill will also visit his grandparents, U.S. District Judge and Mrs. William D. Stiehl while in St. Louis.