Elliott LaJoie - Student Spotlight

“Tech Prep classes have exposed me to areas of study in which I am interested and have provided a great technical experience.”
-Elliott LaJoie


Congratulations to Elliott LaJoie for placing 18th in the National BPA Cisco Systems Administration Competition.

Elliott LaJoie is a Tech Prep senior at Wakeland High School in Frisco ISD. He has completed numerous Tech Prep courses including Introduction to CADD and CCNA Exploration 1, 2, 3, & 4. Elliott believes these Tech Prep classes were both valuable and enjoyable.

Following high school graduation, Elliott plans to complete his basic college coursework at Collin College and pursue a degree in Aerospace Engineering. To assist with college expenses, he hopes to find an IT job where he can utilize his Tech Prep training and IT skills.

The Global EDGE is proud of Elliott's national achievement and wishes him much success in college.

Successful Spring for Global EDGE

It’s been an exciting spring semester for the Global EDGE Tech Prep Consortium.

The Collin College community was invited to participate in Career Bytes workshops which explored degrees and careers in Emerging Technologies and Health Sciences. The events featured popular programs at Collin College, such as Convergence Technology, Networking & Cybersecurity, Surgical Technology, Respiratory Therapy, Health Information Technology, and EMS. Attendees enjoyed a free lunch while networking with a panel of experts, college professors, and student interns. The successful workshops concluded with door prizes and tours of our high-tech IT facilities and Health Science laboratories.

Travis Kern - Success Story

"Tech Prep gave me that real world work experience early. I learned you only get one chance to make a first impression."

-Travis Kern

For Travis Kern, the marketing skills he acquired in Tech Prep classes at Allen High School paved the pathway for his success. After graduating in 2005, he was debating which direction to take for his future. He realized he had "6 free Tech Prep credits in his back pocket" on his Global EDGE ID Card. So, he chose to attend Collin College and use those 6 credits. He completed his AS degree from Collin in two years while receiving full tuition reimbursement from his job at Perry Ellis. Travis continued his academic journey with a Presidential Transfer Scholarship to Texas Tech where he graduated debt free with a Bachelors of Business Administration in 2009, while maintaining a job in high-end retail. He is currently a Sales Manager Trainee at JCPenney, which is recognized as one of the best programs in the industry.

Career Bytes: Office Systems Technology

The Global EDGE Tech Prep consortium has kicked off its 2010-2011 series of Career Bytes workshops, designed to showcase the amazing programs available to students at Collin College over a FREE lunch! The first major showcased was our Office Systems Technology program, and it was a success!

We had many attendees from Plano ISD as well as Collin students and the general public. There was a drawing after the event for a variety of prizes, and several former students, as well as current instructors were present to give an overview of the program and inform students of the convenient "flex" entry scheduling available in Office Systems Technology. More information on "flex" entry can be found at this link Daily Flex Entry.

Our next Career Bytes workshop on November 5th will cover the award-winning nursing program, and will feature FREE pizza and a tour of the facilities. Please call 972.548.6723 to register, or e-mail globaledge@collin.edu!

Nurse Camp 2010 - Post 2

Nurse Camp 2010 came to a close on June 9th. The final day included Bedpan races, Code Blue, a college tour, and the highlight was a visit from CareFlite. A helicopter landed on the front lawn of the Central Park Campus! Students were up close and personal with the helicopter and its crew. They took a look inside, asked questions and touched the equipment. The crew was incredibly professional and shared information about working on CareFlite and what type of career path leads to emergency nursing. The student's enthusiasm was visible. Neethu Benny exclaimed, “The CareFlite helicopter was fun! I got to see it up close.”

Students enjoyed the experiential approach to Nurse Camp. They were engaged in the learning and responded to the “real” nursing environment. Here are some of the highlights.
The station I liked best at Nurse Camp 2010 was…
“the one where you learned how to help people out of the hospital beds.”
“I liked the birthing simulation and the baby care, because I learned a lot.”
“probably the wheel chair and drunk glasses station. It was interesting to see what it’s like to be drunk without actually being drunk.”
“Out of all the stations, I liked the glow germs the best, because you can see how nasty your hands really get.”
“I liked cleaning wounds.”
“The CPR & blood pressure station.”
“The station I liked the best was when we could be the patient or the nurse.”

For many, the Nurse Camp experience at Collin College has prompted thoughts about their future. David Larson shared, “This gave me insight into the medical field. I’m just really interested in the medical profession. Just how nurses and doctors work together, and how they get the patient in and out." Neethu Benny is making some serious plans for her career in the medical field, “I want to become an oncologist. I’m going back and forth on different areas right now, so the camp actually helped me pick an area. So, it’s either oncology or pediatrics.”

Make sure you stay in the know for next year's nurse camp. Contact globaledge@collin.edu for more information.

Nurse Camp 2010 - Post 1

On June 7th, fifty-five 8th, 9th & 10th graders arrived at Collin College, Central Park Campus, to begin their hands-on adventure in Nursing. By 11 AM, participants were elbow deep in “chocolate pudding” germs, watching a birthing simulation or practicing blood pressure readings. Students took turns being the patient as others gathered around the hospital bed and administered care.


With Collin's stellar nursing program and excellent staff, each student could get a feel for what it is like to work in a hospital environment. For David Larson, a home school student, it was a great learning experience. "I thought it was really educational. I just enjoyed how everyone performed. They showed us nursing simulations in different situations. For example, we tended to patients. We did physical exams and CPR - how nurses do CPR on a person."


Collin College's nursing and simulations labs are housed in the James & Pat Aston Center for Health Studies on the third floor. Students enjoyed activities that utilized the 26 hospital beds and 20 mannequins that play an integral role in the nursing and surgical technical programs here on campus. For one participant, the nursing techniques were a highlight. "I liked learning how to take blood pressure. It was really fun, because we worked on the mannequins." For more information on nursing or surgical technology at Collin College, go to http://www.collin.edu/nursing/ or http://www.collin.edu/surgtech/.

Featuring Electronic Engineering Technology

Are you fascinated by electronics? Do you like taking things apart and putting things back together? Do people count on you to fix things for them? You may enjoy a career in electronic engineering technology. Collin College offers an Associates of Applied Science Degree in this dynamic field.

As an electronic engineering technician, you will play a key role in the development, design and testing of electrical equipment. Some technicians work directly with engineers and assist them in research while others work in quality control. Technicians work in all fields of engineering including: civil, industrial, mechanical, environmental, & aeorspace.

According to the Labor Department's Occupational Outlook Handbook, "median annual wages of wage and salary electrical and electronic engineering technicians were $53,240 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $41,550 and $64,120. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,490, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $78,560."

For more information on the AAS Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology at Collin College, use the following link:

http://www.collin.edu/academics/programs/electronicengineering.html

For more statistics on the elecronic engineering field, use the link below:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos112.htm

Word of the Week: touchstone

Quote of the Week: “Dreams are the touchstones of our character.” (Henry David Thoreau)