 Terrie Rubac's path to success began when she was
introduced to the world of commercial arts at a job fair at Union
City High School. She started down that path in 1977, by enrolling
in classes at Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno.
Since graduating from a class of 22 at Union City High School,
Rubac has moved on to success in the business and industry field
as the chief financial officer (CFO) of Heritage Press. Starting
off as a paste-up artist, she progressed to CFO, using many of
the skills learned in classes at Canadian Valley.
"Heritage Press is a modern printing company in El Reno
that provides printing services and custom finishing applications,"
Rubac said. "It's grown from a three-person company in 1974
to more than 90 employees with customers across the nation."
That's one reason Rubac is someone who can be described as a
CareerTech Champion.
Champions are alumni of programs or student organizations of
Oklahoma's Career and Technology Education system who have found
success in a career, attributing much of that success to their
CareerTech experience.
Rubac started work at Heritage Press five days after graduating
from Union City and Canadian Valley in 1977.
"I learned many job skills at Canadian Valley," Rubac
said. "For instance, what an employer wants and what an
employer doesn't want. In my commercial arts classes, I learned
how to avoid saying 'that's not my job.'"
Rubac's career at Heritage Press started as a paste-up artist.
When due to technology advances that division was being phased
out, she began cross training in accounting.
Today, her knowledge as a
commercial artist continues to pay off, helping her make insightful
decisions as CFO.
 "If another CFO was hired,
they probably wouldn't catch on as quickly and understand the
terminology used by printers and artists here," Rubac said.
Rubac and Heritage Press are strong advocates of career and technology
education. Heritage Press is currently a Training for Industry
Program (TIP) client at Canadian
Valley Technology Center. TIP trains new and expanding company
workforce talent at local technology centers.
"CareerTech education provides structure for young
people as well as business and industry. Students learn the basic
skills necessary in a particular field," Rubac said.
Rubac suggests high school students get a class list from a technology
center and pick a class as an elective. A student can gain practical
experience in a career, that will help them be successful down
the road.
"The CareerTech system is rewarding, because it teaches
you more than skills," Rubac said. "It provides what
employers are looking for." |
