What's Happening at Ranken Technical College

2012 Commencement Breaks Records

On Saturday, May 12 Ranken held its 2012 Commencement Ceremony at Chaifetz Arena on the campus of Saint Louis University.

This year’s graduating class was the largest in the College’s history, with more than 1,000 students eligible to graduate and approximately 600 students participating in the ceremony.

The keynote speaker for the event was Michael McMillan, Lincense Collector of the City of St. Louis. McMillan has spent more than two decades pursuing ways to advance educational opportunities to under-served students. He began creating scholarship funds while still in high school at Bishop DuBourg and continued his service as an alderman and as co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of the St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation.

McMillan gave a powerful and motivational speech on what it means to be "a Ranken grad" and that their education should not only be used as a means of support but also as a means to continually better themselves and serve others. He also surprised all in attendance by committing to a $100,000 endowed scholarship fund for students at Ranken. The College would like to thank Mr. McMillan for his time and very generous contribution.

The David Ranken, Jr. award was presented to graduating Industrial Technology student Alex Glenn. Glenn graduated with a 4.0 GPA, nearly perfect attendance for all four semesters and an "Exceeds Expectations" in work ethic in all four semesters. He is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, a recipient of the STEM and

President’s scholarships and was involved in community service activities with Ranken as well as with his church. Glenn worked as a student worker in the Buildings and Grounds department at Ranken and has now been hired as full-time general maintenance technician.

Prior to the Commencement Ceremony, the Alumni Association held an anniversary celebration to honor Ranken graduates who were celebrating their 50 year graduation anniversary.

 

Ranken Hosts Student Night for American Welding Society

On April 12 Ranken once again had the opportunity to host the annual "Student Night" for the local chapter of the American Welding Society (AWS).

The organization holds this meeting each year to recognize outstanding welding students and to promote student involvement in AWS. To begin the meeting, refreshments were served in the atrium of the Mary Ann Lee Technology Center then presentations followed in the new R.W Staley Auditorium. Prior to the event AWS invited high schools, colleges and trade union schools from a 50 mile radius to nominate one outstanding student of the year to attend the event. Approximately 100 people attended and had the opportunity to hear keynote speaker, Rick Suria from Alberici Construction, learn more about local welding programs at union schools and had the opportunity to win many door prizes which were generously donated by local companies. The AWS Awarded 11 scholarships, two of which went to Ranken students!

Congratulations to the following Ranken students who each received a $500 scholarship from AWS:

Bo Darwin Hader, a welding student from Kaiser, Mo.

Joseph Adams, a welding student from Belleville, Ill.

 

Ranken Honors Its Scholarship Donors, Recipients

Scholarship recipient Roger Mudd (Information Technology) speaks to a group of donors, instructors and fellow scholarship recipients.  

On Friday, March 23, Ranken’s Development office hosted a Scholarship Luncheon in the atrium of the Mary Ann Lee Technology Center. All scholarship donors and recipients were invited to attend the luncheon.

“We wanted to hold this event so that the donors could meet the recipients of their scholarship and see first-hand how their generosity is affecting lives,” said Tony Pisciotta, Ranken’s director of institutional advancement.

More than 125 guests attended the event, which began with a welcome message from Don Pohl, Ranken’s vice president for education. The guests then enjoyed lunch and had the opportunity to hear from three students who are benefiting from scholarships; Shauna Wollmershauser from High-Performance Racing Technology, Roger Mudd from Information Technology and Abdullah Matteuzzi from HVACR. All are second-year students who will graduate in May. Each speaker took the opportunity to thank all of the donors and spoke on how the funds are helping to benefit them personally. 

“Because of your contribution, I’ll leave this campus with confidence knowing I will be an asset, not just an employee,” said Mudd during his remarks. Mudd talked about his personal Ranken journey which started two years ago while he was living in a homeless shelter downtown St. Louis.

“With your help I have gone from a line at the soup kitchen to the line in a graduation ceremony and for that I am eternally grateful.”

The program ended with remarks from Ranken’s President, Stan Shoun who once again thanked all of the donors for their contributions and their dedication to the future workforce.

“We are very excited to provide a venue in which sponsors can actually see and get to know the students that they have provided support for this past year,” said Shoun. “We hope to continue this for years to come."

Dual Enrollment Program is a 'Life Changer' for ESDT Student

In 2009, Ranken formed a partnership with the St. Louis Public School System (SLPS) and the Construction Career Center in which qualified students can begin attending classes at Ranken for college credit during their senior year of high school.

Students who qualify for the Dual Enrollment program do not have any out-of-pocket expenses and those who complete a semester of the program during high school are generally able to complete an Associate degree at Ranken in three semesters. The program started out only offering three programs but has now expanded to 10 eligible majors (Architecture, Automotive Collision Repair, Automotive Maintenance, Electrical Automation, Welding & Fabrication, Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration, High-Performance Racing, Industrial Technology, Information Technology and Precision Machining).

The program was started with the intention of helping St. Louis City students get a jump start on college and their career but for one student, the program became much more; it was a life changer.

While attending the Construction Career Center, Bridgett Wings learned of the new Dual Enrollment program with Ranken and knew it was a great opportunity. Wings’ father, Orlando Franklin, graduated from Ranken’s Industrial Electricity program in 1997 and she always knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps and join the electrical trade. Wings began taking courses in the Electrical Systems Design Technology (ESDT) program at Ranken during her senior year in addition to her final high school courses. She graduated from the Construction Career Center in June 2011 with a 4.0GPA and was also named Valedictorian of her class.

"It was such a great feeling to be finishing high school and already have a head start on my college classes," said Wings.

"I have always loved a challenge and that’s what I saw this program as. That is also the reason I chose to go into the ESDT program. I asked around to try to figure out which of the Electrical programs to go into and everyone said that ESDT was the most challenging."

To prove that she was up to the challenge, Wings decided to take classes through the summer to get her degree on the fast track. In addition to taking a full schedule of classes, Wings also worked a full-time job at Wal-Mart where she worked the overnight shift. Only one year after graduating from high school, Wings will receive her Associate of Technology degree in ESDT from Ranken at the May 2012 Commencement Ceremony.

"My family has been my inspiration to do this," said Wings. "I love when I hear my little sisters say that they ‘want to go to college like Bridgett.’ I wanted to show them that it can be done and they can succeed at whatever they want to do."

 

Wings was recently invited, along with 15 of her classmates, to interview with Sargent & Lundy in Chicago, Ill. Sargent & Lundy provides comprehensive consulting, engineering, design, and analysis for electric power generation and power delivery projects worldwide. The company offered full -time technician positions to 10 of the students who interviewed, including Wings. At only 19 years old, Wings will have a college degree and will be relocating to Chicago to begin a very promising career.

"I am so excited to start this new chapter of my life," said Wings. "It is an amazing feeling to work really hard and have it pay off like this.

I hear a lot of other kids my age make excuses as to why they didn’t finish high school or go to college. I have faced a lot of hard times in my life. My family didn’t have a lot of money and I was on my own at 17 years old. It’s all about the path you chose to take and the challenges you chose to take on. No matter what life throws at you, it can be done and I have proven that."

Once she is settled in her new job at Sargent & Lundy, Wings plans to complete a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s degree in Computer Science. Her ultimate goal is to earn a PhD in Secondary Education so that she can retire as a teacher.

Each year Ranken typically accepts 15-20 students into the Dual Enrollment program. To be eligible students must be in good academic standing at high school and have ACT scores of 17 or better in math and 13 or better in reading or satisfactory scores on Ranken’s placement test. For more information about the program, please contact Kevin Andert at
(314) 286-4833 or kgandert@ranken.edu.

 

ESDT Students Visit Sargent & Lundy's Chicago Office

On January 5, Larry Sisson, ESDT instructor and 15 of his students took the train to Chicago, Ill. to visit the offices of Sargent and Lundy, a long-time supporter of Ranken. The students were invited by the company to visit and go through an interview and testing process in order to be considered for job openings within the company.

Sargent & Lundy provides comprehensive consulting, engineering, design, and analysis for electric power generation and power delivery projects worldwide. The company has offered full -time technician positions to 10 of the students who interviewed. As a technician, the students will assist company engineers. Eight will be relocating to Chicago and two to Tennessee.

"We can’t thank Sargent and Lundy enough for giving our students the opportunity to visit and apply for job openings," said John Wood, vice president for student success.

 

Alumni Remember the Past

William Boedeker (Machine Shop 1965) retired in 2001 from the Los Alamos National Laboratory and tells us he was recently evacuated from his home during the Las Conchas wildires. Luckily for him he was able to return after seven days without any loss. What Bill remembers about his Ranken education is "the personal attention I got from the instructors".

Rob Wirth (Architecture 1971) is the president of Wirth Professional Services, Inc. in Gillespie, Ill. He remembers "the only attitude that was acceptable at Ranken was that I was there to learn. All the instructors had a personal interest in me, our well-being and to give us a good education."

Dean Tepen (Automotive Maintenance 1986) remembers "the fact that I made it!"

Marshal Pinnix (Precision Machining 1999) wrote that his favorite memory of Ranken is "walking across the stage to receive my diploma. I'm proud to have gone to a college with zero tolerance for those who choose not to succeed. Ranken was hard and demanding. Thanks to all for the experience!"

Elizabeth Maue (Advanced Welding 2009) is a maintanance engineer at Dillard's. She says, "my favorite Ranken memory is meeting new people and having great teachers!"

Send your memories of your Ranken education to ktfern@ranken.edu to be posted or published. We are happy to hear from our alumni and look forward to seeing you back on campus in the near future. 

From Prairietown to Ranken

Dennis Gusewelle (Mechanical Drafting 1965) from Prairietown, Ill. visited campus last week and was having a hard time finding his way until he reached the anchor of campus, the Finney Building. A frequent visitor at car shows and owner of a '57 Chevy, Dennis had not had a full campus tour in years and was amazed at all the growth and change. Dennis, a project manager in the oil industry in Wood River, went to work before he graduated and had opportunities as a Ranken graduate that he wouldn't have had otherwise. Dennis is also a family hero. Read more about Dennis and how he continues to be Ranken Material in an Alumni Spotlight section of upcoming newsletter.

ESDT/BSAM Graduate Starting New Chapter

 
 
Ranken ESDT and BSAM graduate, Jennifer Wall, was recently highlighted as a success story by St. Louis’ YWCA. Below is the feature article written about her and her son, Nathaniel:

 

Today, Jenn Wall is an electrical systems designer, working in downtown Chicago, living on the city’s North Side with her six-year-old son, and contemplating graduate school. The future is bright, but it wasn’t always that way. A few years ago the single mother was using credit cards to pay the bills and buy groceries. It didn’t take long to rack up $10,000 in debt, with more on the way as she tried to put herself through school to make a better life.

 

 

The initiative was developed to help single women with children achieve greater economic stability through educational and financial assistance, case management/life coaching, and career and personal support.

 

As one of 10 women selected for the program in 2007, Wall met monthly with Nicole Hughes, the program administrator and "life coach," as she was dubbed by participants. "One of the unique aspects of this program is that it isn’t one-size-fits-all," says Hughes. "Each of the women developed their own plan and needed different resources. The flexibility of the funders allowed us to tailor the program individually, and that has been a key to success."

After the first three years of the initiative, the results are tangible:

• All 10 participants earned credits toward degrees from accredited

• colleges or universities, with five completing an Associate’s degree and two earning a Bachelor’s degree.

• Average monthly incomes increased by 44 percent.
• Credit card debt fell by 68 percent, with seven out of 10 participants carrying no credit card debt after the third year.

Wall says next to earning her Bachelor’s degree from Ranken Technical College, her biggest achievement has been paying off her debt. "That wouldn’t have happened without the program. Part of the solution for me was learning to manage my money and part was getting qualified to get a better job. The program helped me do both."

Now instead of juggling credit to meet daily living expenses, Wall can concentrate on her newest assignment, designing electrical systems for a nuclear power plant. When she’s not at the drawing board, she’s dreaming up and designing her next moves to get where she wants to go in life.

 

The YWCA Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative was initially designed as a three-year program, funded annually with a $125,000 grant from the Trio Foundation. Trio’s partnership with YWCA to manage the initiative makes perfect sense because YWCA has been a pillar of other economic empowerment programs for decades.

Due to the participants’ success, the foundation has extended funding through 2012. After an 18-month study to identify barriers to economic stability for low-income women, the initiative was designed to provide education in trades traditionally dominated by men, while addressing other issues single women face, such as housing, transportation, childcare and healthcare. The program is focused on women who have the potential to achieve economic stability within three to five years.

YWCA Metro St. Louis is a nonprofit organization that focuses on race equity issues and offers transitional housing, early learning, crisis intervention, life skills training, and youth and teen development. More information is available at www.ywcastlouis.org.

For Wall, it was a life-changer. "It’s not just a scholarship program, it’s about getting your life together. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know how to get there. And my financial situation was worse than I thought; it was going to hold me back," says Wall.

ESDT Student Hired by Black & Veatch

Dan Erickson, a May 2011 graduate of Ranken’s Electrical Systems Design Technology (ESDT) program recently accepted a position at Black & Veatch. Erickson will be relocating to the company’s Overland Park, Kansas office where he will work in the gas and oil division as an engineering technician. Erickson is the first Ranken graduate that has been hired by this company.

The relationship was first established when John Wood met a representative from the company at a recent convention in St. Louis. He then went to Overland Park to visit the facility there with admissions couselor, Brandy Burrows. They brought back open job opportunities to Janie Summers who put them into Ranken’s e-recruiting system which is used by our students.

"This is really significant for Dan and for Ranken," said Janie Summers, director of Career Services. "This is a huge company that plans to hire hundreds of new employees over the next year and we now have an established relationship with them."

The company is scheduled to attend an Employer Breakfast at Ranken on September 9 and has also registered to attend the fall Job Fair.

Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction company. Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch specializes in infrastructure development in energy, water, telecommunications, federal, management consulting and environmental markets. This employee-owned company has more than 100 offices worldwide. Black & Veatch is ranked on the Forbes "500 Largest Private Companies in the United States" listing. For more information visit www.bv.com.

Partnership With JM&A Continues to Grow

 

Photo: Eric Gonzalez recently completed his training and is now works part-time in the call center.

The JM&A Group has been a long-standing supporter of Ranken and in February of 2009 the College and JM&A formed a mutually beneficial partnership by creating a call center on the bottom floor of the Cook building. JM&A Group, based in Deerfield Beach, Fla., is one of the largest independent providers of finance and insurance products in the automotive industry. The group of four companies provides services to over 2,800 automotive dealerships and retail automotive outlets, representing virtually all manufacturer makes and models.

JM&A’s local call center is located in Earth City and, along with associates in Florida, they answer over a million calls a year. The idea to set up a satellite call center at Ranken came when they realized that more than 35 Ranken students were driving to Earth City every day to work.

Last week 11 more Ranken students successfully completed the 40 hours of customer service training and a 90 day evaluation period. They will receive three credit hours on their Ranken transcript for the coursework in "mechanical claims analyst" and are now working part-time for Fidelity Warranty. The students work in the call center taking calls from service advisors, technicians and consumers concerning automobile warranties. The associates are responsible for looking up the vehicle warranty information and processing the claim if it’s something that is covered.

"It’s a win-win situation," said Chris Kolkmeier, manager of the St. Louis Fidelity Warranty Service office which is a subsidiary of Jim Moran & Associates. "We have access to well-trained employees that have basic automotive knowledge, and Ranken students have a great job opportunity that is right on campus. We can’t thank Ranken enough for their continued support of this program."

Congratulations to the following students who have completed their training and evaluation:

» Christopher Burgdorf (Automotive Collision Repair)

» Matthew Cartia (Automotive Maintenance Technology)

» Richard Edwards (Automotive Maintenance Technology)

» Eric Gonzalez (Automotive Maintenance Technology)

» Nicholas Henderson – Meekins (Automotive Collision Repair)

» Chris Parker (Automotive Maintenance Technology)

» Mark Pate (Automotive Collision Repair)

» Anthony Pavez (Automotive Maintenance Technology)

» Jeffery Robinson (Automotive Maintenance Technology)

» TreVyon Scott-Boykin (Automotive Collision Repair)

» Demetrice Williams (Automotive Maintenance Technology)