NIC takes learning on the road with annual event

Want to try your hand at closing a wound?

You can do that at the NIC Roadshow.

Want to try your hand at maneuvering through a twisting live wire and avoid causing a spark?

You can do that, too.

In fact, area high school students got a chance to check out dozens of career-technical education options available through North Idaho College at the annual NIC Roadshow, held Friday at Sandpoint High School.

It's the eighth year that NIC has held the event at SHS to showcase the CTE grams and give Bonner County high school students hands-on experience in everything from aerospace technology and automotive technology to computer-aided design and medical assistance.

More and more emphasis is being placed on career-technical education, which provides students with hands-on skills to better prepare them for future careers. As students learn more about these CTE programs, the more aware they are of the options out there.

“There is a shortage of skilled workers in our area that is predicted to grow,” Meschko said.

NIC representatives travel to regional schools each year to introduce the different CTE programs available at the college. While the local roadshow is held at Sandpoint High School, students from around the region are invited to take part.

Sophomore Hayden Ettinger said it was great to be able to check out the different programs and explore the possible career paths. While he isn't sure what he wants to do in the future, he said the NIC Roadshow was a great way to see what was available.

"I think it's cool," Ettinger said. "I can find what fits my interests and stuff like that."

A steady stream of students made their way to Mark Magill's automotive technology booth as he explained what the program offered.

With everything from diesel to gas, Magill told the students that the two-year program aims to give them enough skills "to get their foot in the door" at a dealership or independent automotive shop. The goal is to give them a start on a career path in the field.

While hands-on, Magill told those gathered that there is a fair amount of physics and knowledge packed into what they do even though they might not realize it.

"Because you've got to work on the job for another six to eight years before you're gonna become a journeyman level," he said. "Because of the knowledge, literally you get a Ph.D. worth of education via journeyman automotive tech."

But, bottom line, he told the students. It's just a lot of fun to be able to track down why a car is having a problem.

"There's a lot of guys that know how to do brakes, right? But are they doing them right? You know, it's that kind of thing, learning how to do it right," Magill said. "And then you get the complex stuff, we love that stuff. We love the search and destroy."

A steady stream of students also found their way to the graphic design booth, where associate professor Philippe Valle showcased students' designs in his booth.

With everything from stickers to advertisements to the Festival at Sandpoint's series lineup poster created by NIC student Maximillian Bazler, the booth grabbed the attention of many students walking by.

Valle said many were surprised — and intrigued — by the number of industries that use design in some capacity.

"Design is everywhere," he said.

Medical assistant program director Cindy Pavel put students to work at her booth, bringing out a practice dummy with wounds needing to be closed. Carefully, she guided one student after another in how to do the procedure while slipping in information on the sheer number of medical careers available through the CTE programs at NIC.

While the college offers an associate's degree in nursing, students also can train to be a medical assistant, do billing, and any number of other options, NIC staff at the booth said.

"A lot of times people see someone in the doctor's office and they're helping a patient and go, 'Oh, you must be a nurse' but they just might be a medical assistant," Pavel told a student who stopped by the booth.

Nurses, she told the student, are the eyes, ears, and feet of doctors and do a lot of assessment and typically work in a hospital. Medical assistants often are the ones giving shots, drawing blood, and helping in a number of other ways.

"They're two different things, but they are both helping patients," she said. "Everyone is working together to help the patients succeed."

The event aims to give students a chance to learn about the different programs, both to build on what they are able to tap into in high school and also to take it to the next level as they move toward what they want to do as a career, Natalie Keim, advisor of the Parker Technical Education Center, said.

Sometimes that means letting them know where to learn about scholarship opportunities to what placement tests are available to how to find that job after they graduate. Working in conjunction with the staff at area high schools, there are so many options available to students who want to pursue a career in a CTE field, Keim said.

"NIC is still here, we're a great place, and we have a lot of opportunities for students in our area," Keim said. "And, you know, I truly believe that the programs that we offer, specifically the ones that I advise for, you know, it gives students another option to either go to a school and get technical training, or get an associate of applied science degree. And it doesn't have to be you know, something like an English degree or history or something like that, like they still have another option, and they can get a college education."