Real Stories of Figuring It Out

Alumni Assembly - Real Stories of Figuring It Out

By CRTC Director Steve Rothenberg

The CRTC hosted its annual “Alumni Return to CRTC Day” Assembly for all CRTC students last Tuesday, where our graduates who have been out of high school for one to six years, came back to candidly share their post-secondary education, work, and personal stories.  I am always most impressed with how well our graduates manage all aspects of their educational, professional, and social lives.  Many are in school, do one or two jobs, volunteer, and also maintain other responsibilities - it’s a bit overwhelming (and grossly inspiring) - to just hear them explain it.

If you had any doubt that young people somehow don’t work hard or are only looking for the easiest route to take - then I urge you to watch the broadcast of this assembly.  It will quickly change your thinking.  Hopefully my reflections below does the same.

One young lady who completed our Auto Tech program last year is currently working in the service department at Banks GM and also is a full-time student at Manchester Community College.  She shared that she attended regular classes on campus from September through November.  After that, her program switched gears so that now she is engaging in a co-op (aka paid internship) at Banks GM where she trains under their most senior mechanics.  She is working about 60 hours per week.  And while it is a lot of work, she told students that she loves every minute of it.

Similarly, a Cosmetology student from last year talked about waiting to start school until the beginning of November so she could make some extra money, which allowed her to get an apartment, and to be able to afford the tuition at Michael’s School of Hair Design.  She explained that a typical day for her involves attending classes from 9:00 AM-4:00 PM and then working from 5:00-10:30 PM.  She was excited because she has earned the opportunity to work in the school’s salon.  Finally, to top it off, she has taken a job on Sundays working from 4:00 AM to noon.  She exuded pride in her accomplishments (and is thankful for Sunday afternoons and evenings!).

Overwhelmingly, alumni students explained that their social lives have changed - now taking a back seat to work and school (study group) activities - a natural “no-big-deal” shift given the demands of their busy schedules they said.

Three Health Science students shared their stories.  One college junior explained that three days per week she has classes at St. Anselm College, and on two days she has eight-hour nursing clinicals at the Catholic Medical Center.  She also is a dorm RA, which saves her about $20K per year in college costs.  Health Science students also shared that they are making $14-$21 per hour working on the side as an LNA (a license earned at the CRTC).

One Graphic Arts student candidly shared the tribulations she went through to transfer from one college to another (something she never expected to occur).  She urged the audience to do more research on their choice of college prior to making a choice.  She now is at Keene State College and doing well.  This student also shared that she has earned a graphic design internship with the Franco-American Society this summer.

Another Graphic Arts student, who graduated six years ago, told how she completed two years at NHTI without debt and then transferred to commute to SNHU to earn her bachelor’s degree.  Her total college debt?  $6,000!  SNHU took every credit from NHTI.  She also shared how she got her new dream job working for a design company focused on designing signage and millwork for the new Boston Produce Market.  It came about because she volunteered to help that company layout and design their catalog; the quality of her work turned a volunteer opportunity into a high paying full-time professional job.

A 2014 Culinary Arts student reflected on earning his associate’s degree at New England Culinary Institute.  He now is working as a chef doing all restaurant food prep for the four ‘Ollie and Me’ Cafes on the Seacoast.  He was clearly ready to get out of school (“I’m not a school person - is that OK to say?”).  He also shared that he just started paying off his $162 per month college loan (in addition to a car loan and his apartment rent).  A Construction Tech student from last year who is now at UMaine studying engineering candidly reflected that he should have taken some harder classes in his senior year (he is behind his peers).  He also shared that his parent and grandparents have co-signed his school loans ($28K per year).  He emphasized for students that college courses translate to DOLLARS and that they need to take the whole experience very seriously.  This was an often repeated theme heard throughout the alumni assembly.

One of our best speakers from last year’s alumni assembly was a Teacher Prep student who joined the military.  She reflected on her incredible professional and personal growth, including taking a significant number of online college classes while active military - all at no cost.
The audience was ‘keyed in’ throughout the assembly.  Every year at these alumni assemblies the room is remarkably silent with all eyes and ears focused on the stage.  Our speakers’ stories are as authentic as it gets - spoken in a tone that rings true to our current students.  The assembly empowers students to understand that they can juggle school, work, expenses, life’s curveballs, and more.  Our goal is for our students to walk out with some direction, but  more so a firm understanding that they can accomplish the same types of things because the graduates on the stage are just like they are (just a little older!).  

Lastly, the speakers gave incredible thanks for their strategic, career-focused CRTC education - all said it gave them a definite edge as they moved forward into life after high school.
Take a moment and see for yourself with a YouTube link from our website.  Please feel free to contact me with comments or questions.