By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

It’s the satisfaction of helping a student find their path forward that makes her day, Roane State Community College’s Wendy Floyd says of her innovative job as a “success coach” for new students.

Case in point: A new student last year was “a little lost and unsure,” Floyd said, except for one thing: He didn’t want to be in the classroom anymore. “He was totally undecided about what he wanted to do.”

Floyd said she suggested “a certificate program that was a little more ‘hands on’ than a traditional associate’s degree.”

The student is now in the mechatronics certificate program at Roane State’s Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility in Clinton “and is doing well,” Floyd said. That program teaches students how to program and maintain complex machines used in manufacturing. [Read more…]