News / Press Releases

Northwest Tech has awarded two 2^nd year students with the Presidential Scholarship. These academically talented students were granted a $5,000 scholarship to reward their outstanding achievements. The student recipients are Logan Klein of Yuma, Colorado and Rache Wente of Quinter, Kansas.

The scholarship was created by the Area Board of Control to honor students in the highest academic standing. The Presidential Scholarship Application is open to any 2nd-year students (must have completed two consecutive full-time (12+hours) semesters at NWKTC) with a GPA of 4.0 for both semesters.

“On behalf of the Board, it is my pleasure to award these deserving students with the Presidential Scholarship,” said Schears. “Both Rache and Logan embody the essence of being a Maverick. Their commitment to their studies, positive attitudes, and hard work are all qualities that are valued at Northwest Tech.”

Logan Klein will be finishing his final year of the Carpentry program this year and plans to return to Yuma, Colorado and open a small handyman business. Klein chose carpentry because he enjoys designing and fabricating solutions to a wide variety of problems in residential construction. “Northwest Tech has exposed me to many different applications and techniques which I will take into the workforce”, said Klein. Klein is currently running to be a SkillsUSA state officer to advocate for the skilled trades, and vocational education throughout the state of Kansas.

Rache Wente is in her final year of Respiratory Therapy and will be graduating in May. Wente decided to major in RT because her son’s life was saved by a Respiratory Therapist. “My son was born 6 weeks early”, said Wente, “His immature lungs refused to support his life, and he was sent to a larger hospital via helicopter 36 hours after he was born. While in the air, one of his lungs collapsed and I credit the RT on board with saving my son’s life.” After graduation, Wente will be working at Gove County Medical Center.

Northwest Tech was notified this morning that we have one individual on the Goodland campus who has tested positive for COVID-19. We are working with the Sherman County Health Department and are already conducting contact tracing to identify and contact individuals who have been in close proximity to the student. These individuals will be placed in quarantine as we follow health department protocols....

Campus Update: COVID-19 Cases

August 25, 2020
11:00am MT

We have returned safely to campus and have started the Fall 2020 academic year. We are now into the third week of classes with all programs and general education classes in operation and on-campus. While we remain keenly aware that we will likely see COVID-19 cases develop as the year continues, at this point, we have had 0 cases on our campus in Goodland or our outreach location in Quinter. We have been working diligently with the Sherman County Health Department to test students who demonstrate symptoms common for the COVID-19 virus and at this point in time, all have come back negative. When a positive case develops we will continue to adhere to HIPAA laws and protect the privacy of those impacted. We will post a notification on our COVID-19 webpage and send an email to students and employees that a case has developed.

May 20, 2020

Dear Mavericks,

I want to take a moment to thank all of our faculty, staff, and students for their efforts this spring to bring the semester to a close through virtual instruction. I know this was a significant departure from the hands-on courses upon which Northwest Tech was founded, but they made an effort to adapt and overcome. The diligence and determination shown over the past three months were admirable, and a reflection of the work-ethic we seek to develop. As our admissions team spends time talking with prospective students, one question continues to rise to the top: “Is Northwest Tech planning to be open for in-person classes in August?” It is my feeling that the time has arrived to address the question head-on, provide some context for our decision, and continue preparations to get back to the business of educating our students.

Resumption of In-Person Classes

I am pleased to announce that we are moving ahead with our plans to teach in-person classes for the Fall 2020 semester on our campus in Goodland and our location in Gove County. We are planning to resume instruction on our previously scheduled date of August 10, 2020. The health and safety of students, faculty, and staff are the foremost concern for all of us, and we will be taking steps to return to campus in as safe a manner as possible in the fall.

Date: March 18, 2020
Time: 9:00am (MT) 
RE: Northwest Tech Transition to Online – COVID-19 Response #3

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a directive closing public primary and secondary schools throughout the state of Kansas. As the situation continues to develop across the state, the time has arisen for the college to take the next preventative steps for those in our immediate vicinity. Effective today, Northwest Tech will move all classes online starting March 30, 2020, and for the duration of the semester.

While this was a difficult decision to reach, sometimes it helps to understand some of the considerations and background that brought us to this point: