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>> My name's Jake Hartung.
I went to Dakota County Tech in their GM ASEP program to work on GM vehicles.
It was a two-year program.
I was employed at Quinn Motors in Ellsworth at the GM dealership, where I did my internship.
I worked there for two or three years out of tech school.
And, from there, I started working part time at a race shop, building dirt modifieds.
After several years of working there, I actually bought the race shop, bought the company.
And, we now employ four people, and build and sell dirt modifieds all over the country.
So, it's become kind of a big deal.
And, it definitely, definitely fits in with my training that I had at the Dakota County Tech,
and the knowledge and experience that gained from that program.
>> What brought me to DCTC the first time was the reputation of the school and the location.
Then, I left to go hair school.
And I owned my own business for a long time.
And then, I also worked in salons.
And, then, about four years ago, I had -- I experienced the death of a parent.
And then, a few months later, the death of a sibling.
Those two things, combined, kind of made it seem like life is really short,
and that I just wanted to go back to my passion, which is photography.
I've been doing hair and makeup for a long time.
And, I was done with it, and never was done with photography.
So, receiving a scholarship made it possible for me to keep coming here.
I'm a mother of two small children.
I know that doing this for myself is also doing it for her and for my son.
>> My name's Josh Hubbard, and I'm in the Electrical Lineworker Program at DCTC.
I worked for five years at Mesabi Nugget Iron Plant in northern Minnesota.
And, when they laid us all off, we were given the opportunity
to go back to school and get retrained.
And, I chose DCTC as one of the three electrical lineworker programs in the state.
And then, DCTC program hands-on aspect of it, I really enjoy.
And, you're given a chance to actually work and do things that you're going
to do in your professional career.
But, you're doing them in a controlled environment with supervision
that allows you to make mistakes.
But, you learn from your mistakes.
And given the option to take evening classes and only go Monday through Thursday really helps me
with my family-life, since my wife still lives and works in Ely.
And, gives me a chance to go home three days a week.
>> Hi. My name is Israel M. Gray.
I'm currently enrolled in the IT program.
It's called Information Systems Management.
I'm originally from Iberia.
And, this is my second year at DCTC.
Well, I came to DCTC because, primarily, I had looked up a list of colleges
within the Minnesota state -- list of community colleges.
And, I was mostly attracted to the fact that it had
up on your website real education, real results.
Basically, did list couple of programs and how much you're expected
to make once you complete the program.
They have a priority of making sure that, as a student,
you get your money's worth from whatever you learn.
So, I thought, well, I'll give it a shot.
You know, let's see what I have.
I've got more than teachers.
I've got a team of supportive partners who are really committed to making sure
that I achieve all of my goals as it relates to classes.
I've had a talk with some of my teachers about real-life situations.
I've had teachers give me pieces of advice, as it relates to school and beyond.
They're genuinely concerned about your career and the decisions you make.
So, I think it's not just teachers who come in to just teach.
They're also, basically, like role models for you.
Because what they teach, to some extent, is what they show.
And, they're also concerned about your wellbeing.
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