“We’re a leader in providing diverse & innovative educational programs”

July 8th, 2008: Our own Colleen Condon was “gracefully” interrupted by President Mary Thornley during her introduction. Dr. Thornley stated, “I know how this works and I was instructed by my mentor, General Grimsley, to leave at you best before they tell you “you best leave now.”

Ms. Thornley did a wonderful job of walking our club through a small portion of the vast opportunities offered by Trident Tech. She highlighted the newest campus extension: St. Paul’s Parrish that specializes in welding, reinforcing the college’s overall goal of providing training to the poorest parts of Charleston County [those who have the least amount of money for gas to travel to jobs away from their homes] and ensure local employers use local talent. Trident recently teamed with Dorchester County and the federal Department of Commerce and received a $1.3 million grant to expand vocational opportunities. Their Aeronautical studies training is one for all to boast. Supporting the first airplane made of carbon fiber (25%), Trident trains the pipeline for over 600 employees who posses the highest level of technicial training supporting Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Tident started the program from scratch and now supports a center for accelerated start-up (CAT) that is the finest in the United States.

For the sake of time management, Dr. Thornley chose to highlight 2 more of the 12 academic divisions at TTC:

– Culinary Institute of Charleston: over 77,000 square feet of state-of-the-art training including a beverage operations laboratory.

– Nursing: TTC’s greatest “brick and mortar need.” Trident is SC’s largest producer of nurses since 1985. “We produce 500 a year and have a need for 1075.”

Reported by Bill Crowe, Keyway Committee Chair