Welcome to the Spring/Summer Edition of Tech Talk!
The 2014-2015 academic year has concluded and we are pleased to welcome the new graduates to the Alumni Association. We welcome your articles and news, please forward to Mari Tucker, Marketing and Foundation Director, mtucker@ncktc.edu .
50th Anniversary
NCK Tech has been celebrating our 50th anniversary throughout the year and we’ve hosted two major fund raising events. The Kick-Off event was held on Saturday, August 23, 2014, on the Beloit campus and the Capstone event was held on March 28, 2015 in Hays. Both events were well attended and we were pleased to raise funds for the Endowment Association and Foundation as well as student scholarships. In addition to the “Golden Opportunities” events, we hosted luncheons for former NCK Tech faculty members, planted a Golden rain tree on each campus in honor of Arbor Day and held two “Drive In at the Tech” movie events. The anniversary year will conclude with a time capsule burial in August. For details on all NCK Tech events, please visit: https://ncktc.edu/events/.
Lifetime Achievement Award
It’s been a year of celebrating and remembering for NCK Tech and the “Golden Opportunities” event in Hays offered an additional reason for former NCK Tech Director, Dr. Robert (Bob) Severance, to celebrate. During the event, current NCK Tech President, Eric Burks, presented Dr. Severance with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of Bob’s many years of service to the college. Severance was hired as the second director of the North Central Area Vocational-Technical School in July, 1967 and served in that capacity until 1992. Bob’s service to the college continues to this day, with service to the Foundation Board and lifeguard duties at the Natatorium, and his passion for technical education is apparent in his daily activities.
“If there’s a Mount Rushmore for NCK Tech, Bob would certainly be featured”, noted President Burks during the presentation. “It’s been a great ride”, said Severance as he accepted the award. “And, if we had it to do over, we’d do it again”.
Where Are They Now?
Our graduates experience excellent employment opportunities and this section features Alumni accomplishments. Gregory Serrien graduated from NCK with an AAS in Electronics Technology in 1994. Since then, he has held multiple positions, with increasing engineering and leadership responsibilities, and has created and managed several businesses. His first job was on Kwajalein Island, M.I. in the Pacific Ocean working at a tracking radar for Raytheon. He quickly become the Lead of the high power transmitter, servo control, and antenna subsystems as well as being a system operator during inter-continental ballistic missile, space shuttle, and satellite tracking missions. From there, he joined the Global Positioning System (GPS) ground antenna team on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean for Litton. Within a year, he went from being the Lead Technician to the Site Manager. This was the start of his long career in leadership and management. After performing well at Ascension, he received an offer to become a Systems Engineer in Colorado Springs, CO on the GPS system for National Systems & Research. Lockheed Martin (LM) recruited him to join their GPS team as a Hardware Engineer running projects to upgrade multiple aspects of the GPS ground segment. Gregory moved up through the ranks at LM and went from running projects to running integrated project teams and large functional areas.
Throughout the years, Gregory realized that even though his initial degree from NCK and the experience he gained over his career was very valuable, he also needed to expand his skills. Therefore, he moved completed a BS, and MBA from Colorado Christian University. Gregory has also started and run several companies in oil production, stock market investment management, and he authors books, conducts seminars, provides success coaching, and business consulting. For more information visit www.gregoryserrien.com or find Greg on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gregoryserrien.
Reflecting on his very successful career, Greg remarked, “I would have never made it anywhere in life without the great jump start I received at NCK. It was a great education and I learned so much about electronics. I have been able to explode from a very humble start, to an extremely successful corporate career and in multiple entrepreneurial endeavors, due in large part to my start at NCK.”
Alumni Association Regional Chapters
We are still recruiting Chapter Leaders for our Alumni Association Regional Chapter inititative. The Chapters would allow alumni in a region to meet with other alumni in the area and would be the starting point for scheduling alumni activities and social gatherings. Please contact Mari Tucker, mtucker@ncktc.edu, 785-623-6167, for further information or to offer your time and talent. Thanks for your consideration!