Change Starts Here

By Emily Jax, '16 Last spring, I graduated from Trident Technical College, packed up my Chevy Cruze and drove to Minneapolis, where I was eager to start a new job as a registered nurse at the Mayo Clinic.  It was a long journey – about 1,300 miles - but my personal journey started years ago, and there were many twists in the road. When I was a young child, I was often scolded by my parents for being disobedient and not listening. But what they did not realize at the time was that I lived in a very quiet world of my own and it turned out that I could not even hear them. I was eventually diagnosed with moderate sensorineural hearing loss in both ears, which meant much of what I heard was muted, if I heard anything at all. When my parents realized what was going on, they took me to an audiologist and, at the age of five, I received hearing aids. Even though the hearing aids were helpful, I still struggled. I was insecure and thought that my hearing loss would limit me. When I

Just a few short years ago, I found myself in the position of having to choose between feeding my family and paying the electric bill. No parent should ever have to make that choice. I was working two dead-end jobs and still living in poverty when I realized that work experience wasn’t all employers were looking for and that I needed at least a 2-year degree. I knew I had to make a change, but I didn’t think I had any options. Then I saw a television commercial about Trident TechnicalCollege and I knew it was where I needed to be. I learned that tuition at TTC is less than half of most other colleges and that with financial aid and lottery assistance, I would have to pay very little out of pocket. I would be graduating from college debt-free! Attending Trident Tech was the smartest decision I ever made. It changed my life in ways that I never thought were possible. I met people who genuinely cared about my success, and the encouragement and motivation from my instruc

Mary Thornley leads the official groundbreaking with (from left) North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey, Charleston County Council Chairman Elliott Summey, state Rep. James Merrill, state Sen. Larry Grooms, InterTech Group CEO Anita Zucker and TTC Area Commission Chariman Rudd Smith.  Trident Tech celebrated the beginning of a new era in advanced manufacturing Nov. 4, breaking ground for the S.C. Aeronautical Training Center, which will be built on 25 acres of undeveloped land on Main Campus. Funding for the $80 million, 224,000-square-foot facility came from multiple sources -- the state, Charleston County, the City of North Charleston, federal grants, private donations and college resources. The new building will house the college’s Aeronautical Studies programs, readySC training for Boeing South Carolina, and other readySC advanced manufacturing training. It will also provide classroom and lab space for the college’s advanced manufacturing continuing education programs, a

Roxanne Jones, Instructor, Child and Youth Studies A couple of years ago, I was helping a student register for classes. When we were finished, I asked if she had any other questions or concerns that I could help her with. She hesitated for a moment and then told me that she didn't think she would be able to buy her books. I asked if she was on financial aid and she said yes, but last term she could not buy books for two of the four courses she registered for. Although financial aid covered all of her tuition, it did not cover all of the books she needed for her classes. So she bought what she could out of pocket and borrowed books from other students whenever possible. She ended up failing two of her courses that semester. I was shocked to hear this and wondered  how does this happen ?  I got her in touch with Financial Aid, who connected her with a counselor, and it looked like she was going to end up in the exact same situation, without money for books. Someone sugge

Great weather, a special golf course and superb food – all combined to make the 2 nd   Annual TTC Pro Am golf tournament a huge success.  Held at the Country Club of Charleston , the TTC Pro Am netted over $51,000 for the Trident Technical College Foundation.  Sun Trust Private Wealth was the presenting sponsor. “We are very grateful for all the members of the community who supported TTC students by playing or being a sponsor for the TTC Pro-Am," said event chair Skip Godow, who is a member of the TTC Foundation Board of Trustees . "We are lucky to have a passionate and dedicated committee who were committed to the success of the event." The opportunity to hold the event at The Country Club of Charleston was also a key factor. According to Godow, “The Country Club only holds two tournaments a year for outside groups. Being able to hold the TTC Pro-Am at this wonderful place with it’s long history and tradition made our tournament especially attractive.” 

Going from a scared, troubled child to a goal-oriented, professional woman in just a few short years would never have been possible without Trident Technical College (TTC). My happiest memory was when I was five and visited my very first film set in my hometown of Covington, Georgia. Seeing so many people and hearing them shout, “places, people!” made me realize this is exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. I set out to learn everything I could about the film industry by setting up mock sets, taking old cameras apart and destroying any electronic equipment I could get my hands on. But my innocent, childhood dreams were quickly forgotten. My mother began to struggle with drugs and alcohol, and I was often left to fend for myself with little food and no running water or electricity. When I was 15, I was alone in the house and heard the front door open. Two large men came bursting into my bedroom, brutally attacked and attempted to kidnap me.     They told me that my m