MTC student achievements highlighted

Volume 38

Number 2

Spring 2007

MTC Student Achievements Highlighted

By Lauren Bourgeois
Meridian Technology Center

Katie Gage and Zac Winkle are prime examples of the unique partnership that exist today among high schools, Meridian Technology Center and colleges.

In May, Gage and Winkle, both students at Meridian Technology Center, will graduate from high school, Meridian Technology Center’s Information Technology program and Northern Oklahoma College all at the same time.

Gage, a Guthrie home school student, will graduate from high school, Meridian’s Information Technology program and NOC with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Web development.

“Meridian has given me the opportunity to not only learn the skills for Web design, but also apply them,” Gage said. “I knew I wanted to do something artistic, so I decided to get into Web design. My older brother attended Meridian, so I knew I would get hands-on training.”

Gage hopes to attend Oklahoma State University in the fall and pursue a degree in digital media.

“Katie has a bright future ahead,” said IT department chair and instructor DeAnna Little. “In addition to her technical skills, she has proven herself to be ready for the workplace by demonstrating leadership, dependability, responsibility and working well in team situations. All of these attributes will be an asset as she continues to pursue her goals.”

Winkle, of Stillwater, will graduate from Stillwater High School, Meridian Technology Center’s Information Technology program and NOC with an Associate of Applied Science in network engineering.

Zac Winkle, of Stillwater, and Katie Gage, of Guthrie, work on a project in the Information Technology classroom

Zac Winkle, of Stillwater, and Katie Gage, of Guthrie, work on a project in the Information Technology classroom.

“Meridian has helped me go for specifically what I want,” Winkle said. “Now, I will have background knowledge and more of an advantage when I enter college.”

Winkle hopes to attend the University of Tulsa or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall.

“Zac is a very ambitious young man,” said IT instructor Matthew Jones. “He has a solid vision of where he wants to go in life and he’s definitely taking advantage of all the opportunities that are coming along. With ambition like that, he’ll go far in achieving anything he sets out to accomplish.”

Gage and Winkle have both taken advantage of the cooperative alliance between Meridian and NOC that allows students to earn college credit for their career training programs. Similar agreements are in-place with OSU-Okmulgee and Cowley Community College in Kansas.

For more information on the Information Technology program, please call (405) 377-3333 or visit www.meridian-technology.com.