Posts by Bridgerland Technical College
Hailey Wallis – Platinum Perform for Drafting
Hailey Wallis is the Platinum Performer for Drafting at Bridgerland Technical College.
Her story begins in high school, where she would spend her days dreaming about building her own tiny home. Her dreams led her to research the construction of houses. The minute she found blueprints for a home, it was over. Drafting was the career for her!
While Hailey worked towards her certificate, she started a part-time job at Visionary Homes. After working there for five months, she was offered a full-time position upon graduating from the program.
Jennalee Major – Platinum Performer for Medical Assisting
Congratulations to Jennalee Major, our Platinum Performer for Medical Assisting.
Jennalee admits that before coming to school, she had a very different viewpoint on what a Technical College offered.
She remembers walking down the halls of Bridgerland Technical College for the first time and seeing all the programs. She realized that you could do anything you wanted by attending BTECH because of the variety of programs and the job outcome for students.
Her experience at BTECH has fueled her ongoing passion for the medical field and she looks forward to loving her new career in Medical Assisting.
Press Release: Health Sciences Building Update With Renderings
Bridgerland Technical College is excited to announce that they will be working with the Method Studio and Layton Construction team to design and build their first new Health Sciences building.
The Layton/Method team brings extensive knowledge of the nuances found in technical education. They have completed 40 projects together, including nine technical college buildings and dozens of university projects.
This two-story, purpose-built, 79,000 square foot Health Sciences building will house seven health career programs, preadmission courses, conference rooms, and a lecture hall. The facility will help to promote technical education through a branded, modern, cornerstone building at a high-traffic intersection (600 West and 1400 North). Construction will also include a new outdoor space for students to gather.
Wendy Carter, Executive Vice President, states, “The Method Studio/Layton Construction team came prepared from day one with questions, designs, and recommendations for this new building. Ultimately, their enthusiasm, passion, and vision carried them forward as the strongest design/build team for this project. We are ecstatic to work collaboratively with them as they turn our dream into reality.”
Each interior space will feature high-tech hands-on learning with purpose-built classrooms, labs, and support spaces. There will also be opportunities to display health care learning opportunities in each of the labs and classrooms.
Bridgerland Technical College worked to evaluate the competitive proposals of six amazing and talented teams.
Yvonne Manning, Department Head for the Practical Nursing program, states, “There were so many excellent design choices, and it wasn’t easy to narrow this down. Method Studio and Layton Construction understand the technical college experience. They made us feel confident in their ability by listening to our ideas and concerns and providing a plan that creates the best student experience possible.
The groundbreaking for the Bridgerland Technical College Health Sciences building will take place in the Spring of 2022 with our esteemed colleagues and the Chamber of Commerce. Construction for this state-of-the-art training facility will finish in August of 2023.
Sydney Haynie Platinum Performer for Cosmetology/Barbering
We are pleased to announce this year’s Platinum Performer for Cosmetology/Barbering, Sydney Haynie!
Sydney decided to do the Cosmetology/Barbering program because she loves doing hair and has dreamed of becoming a hairstylist since she was little. She began in high school and easily transitioned to an adult student after graduation. Despite being in high school, Sydney commented that the adult students welcomed her with open arms.
After graduation, Sydney would like to get a job in a salon before opening up her own business. When asked how other students may find success and confidence in their program, she said students need to have a continued motivation and drive to learn. They can’t go into the program expecting to only put in minimal effort. Successful students are committed.
Sydney’s instructors greatly impacted her experience in the program. Sydney explained that she has always been a shy person, but her instructors helped her open up and express herself. Sydney said they accepted her for who she is.
We were so happy to meet Sydney, and we look forward to seeing where she goes in the future!
New Program at BTECH: Data Analytics
Bridgerland Technical College is pleased to announce the opening of a new Data Analytics program! This program introduces students to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and tools relevant to initiating data projects, sourcing data, transforming data, analyzing data, and presenting data.
The College is thrilled to have Joanna Coltrin, the new Department Head for Data Analytics, on board. She has been working diligently to launch the program in January 2022.
Joanna received her Master’s degree in Statistics and has seven years of teaching experience. Throughout her schooling, Joanna has had the opportunity to work with various statistical software for complex data projects. In addition, she has had opportunities to lead web scraping projects where groups analyzed large amounts of data and then presented the data at national conferences. Joanna has also published articles about extracurricular research projects.
The Data Analytics program will be available in the evening at the Logan Campus – West building. Weekly classes will be held Wednesday nights from 6 – 9 p.m. The remainder of the program will be accessible online during the week for individual assignments. New cohorts will be starting approximately every three months. Data Analytics will be available for beginners and those who have related education or industry experience. Areas of emphasis will include Python, SQL, and Tableau, while R and Microsoft Power BI will be optional.
Bridgerland Technical College is at the forefront in offering this type of training. Opportunities for analyzing data exist in almost every industry in today’s world. We look forward to having this new program at our school and can’t wait to meet the new students who want to further their careers in Data Analytics!
Meat Services – Participates in State Fair
Meat Services received an invitation to participate in an informational booth at this year’s Utah State Fair in September. The event provided 4-H and FFA students, from all over Utah, with opportunities to explore agricultural education.
“Since this is the first year not a lot of people really knew about us. But we did get to talk to quite a few kids who were interested in our school. We had a video about our program playing at our booth for everyone to watch.”
Meat Services also offered fun games for State Fair participants to play and win free BTECH merch such as t-shirts, hoodies, and hats. Apart from talking to students, the Meat Services instructors were also able to meet with members of the Utah Beef Council. Jason commented that the council was interested in learning more about Meat Services and their role in agriculture services for Utah.
Overall, this event provided great connections and exposure to Meat Services and allowed others around the state to learn about the hands-on training experience at Bridgerland Technical College
Cache County Suicide Awareness Night
To help spread awareness about mental health, Cache County held an “Ignite the Light” concert on Thursday, September 30th, at 6:00 PM.
Alex Boye and other local bands came together to perform at the Cache County Fairgrounds. Not only was there great music and entertainment but food trucks also provided free food to the public!
Bridgerland Technical College was a proud participant in the event. We had one of many tents sharing resources and information about mental health. Resources for our students include the SafeUT program and app that helps youth stay healthy and safe in schools. SafeUt provides high-quality, confidential counseling services and it is available to download and use at no cost to our students.
Emma Jones – Platinum Performer for Practical Nursing
Emma Jones, a stellar student from La Quinta, California, has been chosen for this year’s Platinum Performer in Practical Nursing!
Emma’s instructors commented that she is happy, positive, and wants everyone to have a good day. Emma maintains high grades and is helpful to her peers. She is also willing to stay late to do extra labs.
Emma started down the college career path as an Interior Designer but didn’t find that it was personally fulfilling her needs. She was working as a CNA and would find herself having conversations with the nurses about their phenomenal training at BTECH. She quickly became intrigued with the Practical Nursing program.
After doing a little more research, she knew right away that a Nursing career would be a better fit, and she hasn’t looked back.
After graduation, Emma plans to transition into the Weber State University RN program. She would also like to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.
High School Students Make Cookies for Cache Humane Donation
The Cache Humane Society recently had a dessert auction to raise funds for their Community Clinic.
The auction included all kinds of desserts donated from various bakers throughout Cache Valley. One of these donations came from Culinary Arts at Bridgerland Technical College.
Jonathon Walters, a Culinary Arts instructor, shared some details about the program’s involvement with the auction. “We donated three different kinds of desserts made by the high school students in our class. We have double chocolate crinkle cookies, a lemon blueberry pound cake, and peanut butter blossom cookies.”
Getting involved in the auction was a personal decision for Johnathon.“We were doing some baking projects, and we just wanted to make sure that we had an outlet for that. We also believe that it’s important to support our community, and this was a way for us to do both.”
Mattracea Semrad – Platinum Performer for Therapeutic Massage
Congratulations to Mattracea (Mattie) Semrad on becoming the first Platinum Performer for the new Therapeutic Massage program!
Mattie chose Bridgerland Technical College because of the learning style, the atmosphere, and the people. She said her favorite thing about the program and the school was how much support students had from the staff. Additionally, Mattie wanted to thank her instructor, Cheri Gillham, for her efforts in helping all of her students succeed.
Now that Mattie has finished the program, her dream job would be working for herself and having her own business. She would also like to work with home care and hospice cancer patients to improve the quality of their lives through massage.
We are so happy that Mattie had a fantastic experience in the Therapeutic Massage program. We look forward to seeing where she goes from here!