Collegio Online

High-schoolers welcomed at tech center

More than 600 visit 'tech-day' open house

Kammeron Hunt, Collegio Reporter

Media Credit: Adam Vogler/Collegio Bobbi Gay, a sophomore in commercial graphics at Pittsburg State University, shows Pittsburg High School sophomore Ashley Randall how to use a digital camera during Technology Day, an open house at the Kansas Technology Center on Friday, Sept. 29. Randall was attending the event as a part of her sophomore focus class, which is meant to give students an opportunity to learn about various careers. High school seniors crowded the hallways of the Kansas Technology Center (KTC) at Pittsburg State University on Friday, Sept. 29. Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., seniors from various high schools were taken on tours of the technology center. Instructors and students of PSU presented demonstrations and information to the seniors using poster boards and simulations of their areas of specialization. Career Day has been held in the fall and in the spring ever since the technology center moved to its building in 1987. John Iley, chairman of the Technology Studies Department, says that a lot of effort goes into organizing the open house. "A lot of planning takes place ... each program determines what they will provide in the presentations," Iley said. "It involves a lot of effort in the faculty, the students and staff guides." Several of the students said they enjoyed the open house, and not just because it provided them with a day out of class. "The wood-trimming presentation was the most interesting, because we got the PSU carvings," said Kristina Bransletter, a senior from Nevada, Mo. Kourtney Smith and Rebecca Jeffries, also from Nevada High School, said they enjoyed hearing about some of the photography assignments in the Graphics and Imaging Technologies Department. PSU students also participated in the demonstrations. For example, Matt Evans, a graduate assistant in the Electronics Department, presented a sensor and micro-controlling demonstration using hands-on demonstrations, a video and poster board. As the students wandered the hallways, teachers and parents watched. Rosie Maloney and Dezel Gibbons, teachers from Wyandotte, Okla., brought 12 students to the KTC tours. "All of the students we brought were interested in technology careers," Gibbons said. Maloney and Gibbons said they helped the students find out what areas they were interested in and then let them off on their own. Bonnie George, professor in Graphics and Imaging Technologies, helped the students find their way around the building. She stood in a hallway and coaxed students to tell her what areas interested them the most. The tours gave the students opportunities to browse several types of career options.

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