KTECH

Tylor Harrika with Redstone Federal Credit Union brought some pizza for our class today, then it was time to get down to business with the Game of Life!

As a Financial Education Coordinator, Tylor walked students through real-life financial scenarios they could encounter down the road. It was a chance to put some of the things they’ve been learning about budgeting, saving and investing into practice, and see how those choices can make the unexpected a little easier to handle.

Congratulations to Naomi and Bryce! They’ve earned their latest certifications in robotics programming and operation.

These are the kinds of skills that can open doors in today’s manufacturing and automation industries, and adding certifications like these gives our students another way to stand out as they prepare for the workforce. Way to go, Naomi and Bryce!

Mechatronics students are continuing their fluid power curriculum, and this week they got some hands-on time in the labs!

They're putting what they've learned into practice as they work with fluid power systems and get a better understanding of how they're used in manufacturing and automation. It's another opportunity for our students to build skills they can put to work in the real world.

Soldering class starts soon!

Learn a new skill, earn a certification and add something valuable to your résumé. This two-week class starts October 21, so there's still time to get signed up and start expanding your skill set.

Get registered today!

The last two weeks we’ve been covering some important ground for our students in Life Lab: finances. There’s not much point to making more money if you don’t k ow how to spend and save it wisely, after all!

Last week CB&S Bank branch managers Letitia Bass and Crystal Plummer gave the class a lesson in Budgeting 101.

This week, Brian Mitchell with Regions Bank was here to talk about credit and investing.

We are so thankful to have partners who can share these super important skills with our students as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives!

This morning we invited all of our KTECH Ambassadors to the Isenberg Event Center for breakfast and an update on KTECH. They also got to hear from Class 25, and while we don't like to brag (oh, who are we kidding, we actually DO like to brag on our students), they did an amazing job!

They had great questions for our Ambassadors, and there were quite a few conversations happening between students and prospective employers long after the presentation ended.

That's exactly what we love to see at KTECH: students making connections, asking questions and building relationships that can lead to what's next!

Life Lab today was all about something we don’t always make enough time for: taking care of ourselves. 💜

We started with health and nutrition, where Leslie Johnson, MS, RD, CDCES, talked with our students about building healthy habits and making choices that fuel their bodies well. Then came the fun part — putting it into practice!

The students rolled up their sleeves and meal-prepped their own lunches, making four different recipes. With just $90 spent, they created 16 meals — a pretty great lesson in healthy eating, planning, budgeting and independence all at once!

Then Connor Humphrey shifted the focus from what we put into our bodies to how we take care of ourselves from the inside out.

His class focused on breathing, stretching, yoga poses and meditation — simple tools that can make a big difference when life starts moving faster than we’d like.

Because the truth is, we spend so much of our lives running from one thing to the next. Add another responsibility. Check another box. Take care of someone else. Keep moving.

Today was about doing the opposite.

Today was a step back.
A deep breath.
A reset.
A reminder that taking care of ourselves isn’t selfish — it’s necessary.

That’s what Life Lab is all about: giving our students practical skills they can carry with them long after the lesson ends.

A huge thank-you to Connor Humphrey, Co-Owner/Instructor at Light On Yoga Fitness, and Leslie Johnson, MS, RD, CDCES, Founder of Green Bean Grove and Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, for investing their time and expertise in our students today.

Sometimes the most important lesson is simply learning to pause, breathe, and take care of yourself. 💜

Our KTECH VR students are getting down to business on their individual projects for the semester! Today, they were literally mapping out the levels for the VR experiences they'll be building over the first part of the semester. Then, they'll bring their skills together to tackle one big class project.

We can't wait to see where their creativity takes them!

Courtney Franklin from Mazda Toyota Manufacturing led Life Lab this week and it was all about being organized and efficient!

She introduced the class to the 5S system that MTM utilizes: Sort, Systematize, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain. Then it was time to put those lessons to work!

The students rolled up their sleeves and did a little house cleaning around KTECH, starting with some of our storage areas. They sorted through items, organized what we need and figured out what was no longer serving a purpose.

A hands-on lesson in workplace efficiency AND a cleaner, more organized KTECH? We’ll take it! 😄