February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, designated to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country. During the month of February, we will be highlighting our CTE students and alumni and the success they have achieved in their various programs at Richland Community College!
When Renee moved to Decatur from Virginia, she was not sure what she wanted to do for a career. She had completed some college and had worked at a naval shipyard as a welding inspector when a friend suggested she look into the welding program at Richland Community College. With only two weeks until school was to begin, Renee feared she wouldn’t be able to get the funding in time to begin classes.
Renee spoke with our staff at Richland Community College Foundation and shared, “I can’t afford college on my own and I’m not able to get financial aid.” Through the support of generous donors, Richland awarded Renee several scholarships to help her begin the next chapter of her life. Two weeks later, she started the welding program at Richland.
As part of the welding degree program, Renee was given the opportunity to help design and create a replica of a human eye that became a walk-through exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Illinois. Through her success at Richland and even before she completed her degree, she was able to secure a welding position at Caterpillar. Today, she is passing on her wealth of knowledge to instruct other students at Richland as an adjunct instructor, “I chose Richland to help push trade skills. These skills just don’t get acknowledgement or endorsement like higher education degrees such as lawyers, biologists, etc. We need more skilled trades and those capable of doing them and doing them well. But I also choose Richland, because they helped make me who I am today, a welding instructor at Caterpillar and at Richland.” We are so glad you keep choosing Richland, Renee.
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