High school sophomores will tour Meridian Technology Center

NewsPress Staff

The halls of Meridian Technology Center will be filled with prospective students during the next two weeks as sophomores from area high schools tour campus.

With programs ranging from information technology and culinary arts to pharmacy tech and a pre-engineering academy, MTC offers more than 70 career majors for students to explore. This year’s theme, “My Way,” showcases how students at Meridian are able to customize their education to their individual needs, whether through gaining leadership skills, earning college credit, or preparing for their career.

Each of Meridian’s full-time programs are self-paced.

“We want students to see that at Meridian they can do things their way,” said Jeanie Zagar, Director of MTC’s Career Planning Center. “This is really all about them. We want them to come to Meridian and see for themselves how much fun learning can be.”

Zagar indicated that all of the career and technology programs at Meridian include a hands-on learning component and each program throughout the tour will showcase this educational aspect.

“Experience truly is everything at Meridian,” she said. “Students who enroll at MTC will learn the background and theory behind a skill, and just as importantly, they will also have the chance to put that skill to use in the classroom on a daily basis.”

Each of MTC’s partner high schools will complete a tour during the month of January. Zagar expects more than 1,200 sophomore students will take part in the recruitment event. For many of the students, this may be the first time they see how diverse career and technology education is.

“We are still ‘vo-tech’ to many people,” she said. “In reality at Meridian students have the opportunity to earn their high school diploma, their MTC certificate and college credit up to an associate’s degree in many of the programs.”

Inviting sophomores from the high schools Meridian serves is designed to help them see that at Meridian they can choose the way most suitable to them, whether through college or career success, in partnership with their home high school.

Representatives from the Career Planning Center have recently visited many of the partner high schools to showcase the training opportunities students have available at Meridian.

Parents and students can access this information online at www.meridian-technology.com/myway.

Parents of prospective students will have an opportunity to see first hand the full range of programs and services Meridian has to offer during a parent open house from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28.

High school students from the Meridian district may attend full-time training free of charge and transportation is provided. Tuition for those living outside the district is dependent on the specific career major.

MTC is a career and technology training center located in Stillwater. The center has more than 70 career majors and offers a wide variety of evening short-term courses and certifications for many diverse career fields. Meridian also offers services to businesses in need of training and development.

Each year approximately 11,000 students come to Meridian from all areas of business and industry.

For more information or to enroll visit www.meridian-technology.com or contact a career counselor by phone at (405) 377-3333 or toll-free at (888) 607-2509.