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Right Time, Right Learning: Three CPTC Students Increase Job Mobility

CenterPoint sat down with three Clover Park Technical College (CPTC) students to learn more about their transitions to new careers.

Brandon Kintop, 22, is a military veteran who served a 15-month tour in Iraq, and is now enrolled in his first quarter of the two-quarter residential construction program.

Brandon Kintop, military veteran and CPTC residential construction program participant.

Jodi Micona, 53, provided training to military personnel who were getting ready to deploy. She first enrolled in the Great Strides program, a refresher course for math, typing, and study skills, before taking the 11-week Brownfields course on toxic cleanup, and then enrolling in the first quarter of the environmental science associate degree.

Craig Peters, 40, spent 21 years on the production side of the newspaper industry before the industry experienced massive layoffs. He is now enrolled in his third quarter of the environmental science associate degree.

CenterPoint: What has the transition to college been like for you?

Craig Peters: Getting back into a routine and going to school after I hadn't been in 20-plus years has been a little challenging. Maybe the worry about not succeeding in the program was one of my fears, but I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Brandon Kintop: I was nervous about dealing with civilians. Military men and women are easier to deal with. I was also nervous just because I'd been out of school for so long.

Jodi Micona: I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, you know, maybe I wouldn't be able to retain the knowledge or even absorb it to start with, and I'm finding that's not true. I'm still capable of doing that, maybe even a little better than when I did in high school, because I pay more attention now; it's more important to me.

Peters: I think that the people who come out of high school and go right into programs aren't as focused as we are because maybe we are more mature than someone who is twenty years old or we know the outcome [of education] is more important.

CP: What obstacles have you faced?

Peters: For me, it's just finding a way to pay for everything. Unemployment only goes so far, and there's no money other than a student loan. There are no grants I'm eligible for [to pay for] tuition or books. I can figure out the studying and I can manage my time and everything, but it's just about coming up with the tuition.

Jodi Micona, enrolled in environmental science program at CPTC.

Micona: Even after the tuition is paid, there are still things that you need—besides what's required—that add up, and if you have to worry about your rent or your life or your phone or anything, it adds up real fast. It can be a big distraction from your studies.

Kintop: The GI Bill is helping me out a lot. Without it, this would be possible, but maybe a lot harder because I do not currently have a job.

Micona: Transportation is an issue. And when you're not working or working just part time, medical insurance is a luxury.

CP: Are there any programs or services at Clover Park that help you address these challenges?

Peters: I haven't found anything. They can only point me toward getting a loan. There's no retraining money for me either. They were pretty helpful in the financial aid department as far as FAFSA goes, but once you get into the program and apply for FAFSA, that's pretty much it.

Kintop: The VA [Veteran's Administration] lady was very helpful. There is a lot of one-on-one advising in all departments. I am also going to meet an adviser later today to discuss Opportunity Grants.

CP: Are there other services or programs that you would like to see at CPTC?

Peters: I would like to learn more about the networking side of it. I think the further we go on in the environmental program, the more networking will come into play. I'm going into a completely different career field, so learning how to network would be very valuable, I think.

Micona: Maybe some kind of an insurance/dental plan. If there's some way they can maybe qualify us for a senior bus pass.

CP: Do you have a specific job in mind that you hope to begin after you receive your credential?

Kintop: I just started, but I like to use my hands, so that's why I chose this program—maybe framing, building houses. There is no job placement, but they do guide you.

Craig Peters, transitioning from newspaper industry to environmental science through CPTC's Worker Retraining program.

Micona: There is such a variety and I don't know them all. I figure I'll go through the course a little more and see where I excel and what I like best.

Peters: As the quarters go by, you kind of funnel down to what your interests are, and I think I'm kind of leaning toward hazardous materials. One of the reasons I chose the program was the variety and the ability to move around as your knowledge changes.

CP: What about your program surprises or excites you?

Kintop: I was surprised that there weren't any prerequisites. This course is more about the job. It gives you the basic tools to do construction. I like that it's not a lecture class, and it's small.

Micona: I've learned a lot about things that have really surprised me... that really matter more than anybody would really give credit to before they took the course. Water! Pollution of water in one place can affect not only that place but other places.

Kintop: It was also surprising how many jobs could come out of this [residential construction program]. I thought it was just building a house, but you learn how to build cabinets, which is a whole career right there, and dry walling and roofing, too.

Peters: People think of environmental science and they first think of saving the trees and the fish and all that, but everybody is affected by the environment no matter what. The overall variety of jobs that you can get after you are done [was surprising].

Micona: And where they are!

Peters: You can get jobs anywhere in the country after you are out of this program. You have the opportunity to have a lot of choices about the direction in which you want to go—if you want to go save the fish, or work in hazmat.

Micona: There are jobs in the hospital. I was surprised to hear that.

Peters: So hopefully getting this kind of degree will help you not focus on one specific career opportunity; you get more of a variety. I won't say it's recession-proof, but it provides a lot more stability later in your life.

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—Erin McAuliff

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This page last updated on 05/14/2009