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 As
a high school student - still trying figure out what he wanted
to do with his life - Bill Burgess decided to participate in
a machining program at Great Plains Technology Center, Lawton.Years later that vocational education program has proven beneficial for Burgess, a Lawton attorney and vice-chairman of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Burgess career tech experience gives him a unique perspective for his leadership role in higher education. He says the last few years have seen increased cooperation between vocational education and higher education. An example of that collaboration is cooperative agreements which allow students working towards an associate in applied science degree to take some courses at a college and technical courses at a technology center. From his experiences at Great Plains, Burgess understands the benefits of both career tech and higher education. "A combination of both college and career and technology education is good," he said. "It's important to have hands-on experience. The combination has been good for me." Burgess said one of the great strengths of vocational education is that it gives young people an understanding of the working world and helps them develop a strong work ethic. "The people teaching the courses at career tech are experts in the field," he said. "They know what it takes to be a good employee." Other important lessons young people can learn from vocational education are teamwork and the importance of being a valuable member of an organization, he said. These qualities help young people become better leaders. "If you are going to be an effective manager of a plant, it helps if you understand what is going on the floor," Burgess said. After graduating from high school, Burgess went on to receive a degree in business and communications from Cameron University and later received a degree in law from the University of Oklahoma. Burgess said that the machining program helped his education by sharpening his math skills. It also showed him practical uses for mathematics, he said. "It was such hands-on type mathematics that it made it is easy to work with algebraic equations," he said. Burgess, who started his own law practice in 1982, also owns Vortex, Inc., an investment corporation with extensive real estate holdings. A practical knowledge of tools comes in handy as he supervises work on his projects. It enables him to have a better understanding of which tools to buy or which tools are needed for particular jobs, Burgess said. "My machining experience has helped me enormously in my businesses," he said. |
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| posted 4/20/2001 | Story by: Manny Otiko, Communications and Marketing E-mail: motik@okcareertech.org |
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