Northwest Tech Launches New Quinter Location
Starting in August 2019, Northwest Tech will open a new branch location in Quinter, Kansas where high school juniors and seniors from around the area will have the opportunity to earn a technical certificate or degree in Welding Technology.
Northwest Tech Hosts 8th Annual Haunted House
Goodland, KS. (10/23/2018) – It’s one of the most exciting projects of the year for most of the Northwest Tech Engineering students who volunteer, plan, and set up a haunted house for the Goodland community. The idea came from students over eight years ago to use their creative and mechanical abilities to create a spooky evening event for community members.
“It’s an opportunity for students to learn to work together,” said Engineering Instructor, Mike Zimmerman.
The Engineering program was able to upgrade their materials and equipment this year because the Sherman County Community Foundation stepped in with a generous donation. The students were thrilled.
“Our students are very inventive, so it will be a creative experience,” Zimmerman said. “Students are using the skills they have acquired from our Engineering program and putting them to use to really make the haunted house a well put together, scary experience.”
Everyone is invited to come out and experience the haunted house. It will be hosted at the Sherman County Fairgrounds on October 26th, 27th, and 31st from 6pm-9pm each night. There will also be a “children’s version” of the haunted house on October 31st from 5:30-6:00pm. Admission is $3 per person or 3 cans of food per person. All canned food and money collected will be donated to benefit Genesis of Sherman County.
Northwest Tech Receives Innovative Technology Grant
Goodland, KS. (10/23/2018) – Northwest Tech is pleased to announce it has received a $42,750 Innovative Technology Grant from the Kansas Board of Regents. These funds will support the Auto Body and Repair program and will be used to purchase a virtual reality painting simulation device (SimSpray) that will supplement the learning environment in the Auto Body Repair program.
“We are excited to have access to this technology,” commented Auto Body Repair instructor, William Morris. “Our students will greatly benefit by being able to go through simulations of different methods before heading into the paint booth. This will save a lot of time and money.”
The Auto Body Repair program requires students to experience hands-on learning and real life scenarios in order to prepare them for work in industry. The SimSpray simulator will allow students to solve many body positioning, coating technique, equipment setup, and angle scenarios in a short period of time. Using the traditional method of practice painting makes it difficult for the instructors to provide students with a high variety of circumstances in a short period of time. The SimSpray will allow instructors to isolate certain parts of a structure so students can better understand the concepts. The SimSpray software will also solve the issue of multiple students using the paint booths. Instructors will be able to introduce new methods to their students using the SimSpray before letting them use the spray booth with real materials. This will allow students to create muscle memory and a general sense of a new technique before they enter the paint booth. The SimSpray simulator and software will allow instructors to create interactive auto body scenarios that students will be able to interactively solve onscreen.
The Kansas Board of Regents established the Innovative Technology Grants to award funds to community and technical colleges in Kansas to support innovative technical courses or programs in emerging technologies or areas of skill shortages. The targeted programs for this fund are high growth, high wage and highly skilled occupations with higher than average job vacancy rates or projected growth rates. Successful grant awards must include a strong partnership and alignment with industry.
For more information on the Auto Body Repair program or how to enroll visit our website at www.fhnw.edu or call admissions at 1-800-316-4127.
Bankwest Donates $30k To Fund Softball Scoreboards
Goodland, KS. (10/25/2018) – The newly constructed Maverick Softball Fields received a very special addition thanks to a generous local donation. BankWest has donated $30,000 to fund the new electronic scoreboards that now bear the name of the local bank.
Each field is outfitted with one 7-inning LED scoreboard. The boards have the latest technology installed including wireless controls and LED lighting. The overall sizes of the boards are 12’ high and 18’ long including the sponsor panel.
"We (Northwest Tech Athletics) have been very fortunate to have local businesses like BankWest come forward and make generous contributions," said Rory Kling, Northwest Tech Director of Athletics. "They have done so much over the years not only for Northwest Tech but also for the Goodland community."
"Gifts from supporters like BankWest allow the college to continue to be a vibrant and visible part of the community,” said Northwest Tech’s President Ben Schears. “They have been one of the most generous organizations in the region for the college and we’re very grateful for all they have done for Northwest Tech and our community.”
Over the years, BankWest has been one of the largest financial contributors to the college. In 2016, Bank West partnered with the Precision Agriculture program at Northwest Tech and donated $25K to kick-start the brand-new program. In addition, BankWest provides endowed scholarships each year for incoming students.
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The Stable Grand Opening and Great Western Dining Service, Inc.
Goodland, KS. (09/10/2018) – “The Stable” is Northwest Tech’s latest eatery project, which had its grand opening this week. The newly renovated space, formerly the campus bookstore, is now an inviting common room where students can study, grab a quick snack, or just relax between classes.
The menu items include personal pizzas, paninis, sub sandwiches, salads, hotdogs, fountain drinks, and much more. “I’m excited to have a place on campus where students and community members can come together for events and a bite to eat,” said Jason Showalter, Dean of Student Advancement. The Stable will be the main gathering spot for after school events such as Trivia Nights, Open Mic Nights, cooking classes, and much more. The student life schedule of events can be found on Facebook. Follow Northwest Tech Student Life to stay in the loop with all of this semester’s activities that have been planned. Community members are welcome to attend.
Northwest Tech’s new food service company, Great Western Dining Service, Inc, operates the Stable. GWD provides contracted dining services for schools, colleges, and universities. GWD also offers catering services to the surrounding area. For more information on GWD catering, please contact James Ross at (785) 890-1574.
The Stable is located inside the Student Memorial Union on Northwest Tech’s campus. The Stable is open to the public and community members are encouraged to stop by for a meal or snack and see what is happening at Northwest Tech!
