What's Happening at Ranken Technical College

RDCD Holds Construction Kick-Off Meeting

Photo: Carpentry Instructor Jeff Bosick speaks with students who will be working on the RCDC home this year.

On Friday, August 24 faculty and staff involved with the Ranken Community Development Corporation (RCDC) held a Construction Kick-off Meeting to introduce students to the expectations and process involved with building a home that will turn their classroom experience into real-world experience.

The event began with John Wood, vice president for student success giving an overview of the program that included the history, funding, acquisition of lots and how the homes are sold followed by Kelley Raftery, ART instructor introducing the floor plan, elevations and other exterior features of the new home. Next, Carpentry instructor Jeff Bosick gave a presentation of the green building techniques that have been implemented, followed by information about plumbing and HVACR systems given by Drew Shands and Chris Brueggeman, respectively. The event ended with a presentation from Carpentry department chair Bryan Hicklin who gave an overview of work site policies and procedures including safety, teamwork and the importance of respecting the surrounding neighborhood and community.

Construction will begin on the new home on Evans Avenue next week with the Superior Wall foundation installation and rough framing. Once completed, the home will be the 54 home built by RCDC since its inception in 1994.

 

More Than 100 Students Make Walker Hall Home

Photo: Students moved back into Walker Hall last week.

 

Over the summer the Buildings and Grounds department installed kitchenettes in two of the two-bedroom apartments units, patched and repainted several rooms as well as the hallway walls and common areas. "Buildings and Grounds has done a great job of getting the building prepared for students to return," said Sutton. "We can’t thank them enough as well as John from ABBCO for always making sure the building looks great."

While just on campus a few days, the residents have been very busy with various activities and social gatherings. An orientation session was held for new residents which introduced the policies and procedures associated with residential life. LaTrina Rogers, hall manager, facilitated "Roommate Workshops" which gave residents the chance to learn the expectations of being a good roommate and to create a roommate contract that involves establishing rules for the room to make sure everyone is accountable and respectful. Wing meetings were also hosted by each of this semester’s resident assistants; Taryn Underwood, Roger Mudd and Kory Wagner.

Not only has Walker Hall taken a huge step toward reaching full capacity, but students who live further away are choosing Ranken for their secondary education since there is now the option of living on campus. Eight students from the Chicago area, one from Joplin, Mo. and one from Texas are now living in the dorms.

"In the past we were unable to recruit in these areas," said Mike Hawley, director of Admissions. "Now we have counselors in several outlying areas who are working hard to promote the College and Walker Hall. I think our promotion efforts last year which included bringing in chartered busses for mini-shadow-a-tech events as well as giving the option for potential students to stay the night prior to events really helped spread the word that Ranken is no longer a "commuter college." We plan to continue finding ways to promote dorm life and bringing in groups from areas in Missouri like Kansas City and Springfield as well as areas of Indiana and Kentucky."

On Monday, August 20 and Tuesday, August 21 Ranken students began moving back into Walker Hall to begin the fall 2012 semester. With 116 (67 new, 49 returning) students now living on campus, this is the fullest the now three-year old dormitory has been.

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Automotive Jumps On Microenterprise Bandwagon

Photo: ACR has started a new microenterprise to modify a 1998 Champ Car

Ranken’s Education and Manufacturing Cooperative and the Automotive Collision Repair department have teamed up to undertake a new microenterprise. ACR student workers and faculty will be working to modify a champ car for a client of Can-Am Cars LTD, a company located in St. Louis which specializes in hard to find parts for race cars. The company was recently approached by a customer in Indiana to help restore a 1998 champ car, once driven by Sylvester Stallone in a movie, to be used as a display "wall hanger."

"We saw this as another great opportunity to expand our microenterprise efforts," said Vince Holtmann, director of the Education and Manufacturing Cooperative at Ranken. "We asked ACR to submit a proposal and estimate for the work and it was accepted."

Over the next few weeks work will be done on various parts of the car to get it back to near original condition for the client who plans to pick up the car at the end of September.

"This is a great real-world experience for our students,"said John Helterbrand, ACR division chair. "They are getting paid to apply what they have learned in their first semester of classes and to do what they love. Participating in the modification of this car is a great resume builder for them."

The Resident Assistants are moving back today!