Graduating from a traditional, four-year college, I didn’t have the privilege or experience of learning from the skilled professionals at Arizona Automotive Institute, Platt College, and South Texas Vocational Technical Institute. While I was able to learn many of the same important life lessons you instill upon our students – professionalism, sacrifice, service, leadership, respect and discipline. I cannot help but wonder how great it would have been to be one of your students.

• To work side-by-side with a master welder bending molten metal
• To learn medical ethics and patient care from nurses who have experienced the joy of life and sadness of death throughout their career as part of their calling, credo & DNA
• To sweat under the hood of a tractor trailer or automobile with someone who could tear an engine apart and rebuild it in their sleep
• To trace the veins of a patient with a Medical Assisting Instructor on route to a perfect stick
• To replicate a sterile operating environment ensuring the field and formation exceeded the expectation of a seasoned Surgical Technologist
• To roll egg whites delicately, flip a crepe perfectly, or flambé a dessert elegantly as my chef instructor stood watching with admiration, pride and nervousness
• To properly learn dosage calculations, effectively administer air management techniques and recite recent revisions to medical record coding
• To be on the roof of a commercial building identifying faults in an air conditioning unit with an instructor who knew the problem before we took our first step up the ladder
• To take impressions and fabricate crowns, as a Dental Assisting Instructor stood by as a mentor & cheerleader
• To mimic the graceful motions of a Professional Massage Therapist as they outlined a flawless Swedish technique
• To sit completely awestruck in a class where a general education or CAS instructor was able to effectively connect theory to reality, and reality to my career aspirations

As we close out National Teacher Appreciation Week, I know I am a better person for working with, and learning from, each of you. As a company, we stand in complete admiration of your contribution and commitment to student success. You are the reason our educational model works. You are the reason our students work. Their experience, in your presence, creates life-long opportunity, tangible change, and a better future.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Zawisky

President & CEO

Filed under: Instuctor's Corner, Special Events Tagged: Ancora Education, Michael Zawisky, South Texas Vocational Technical Institute, STVT, Texas