December 11, 2017
Yakima, WA – December 11, 2017 – North Coast Electric has been a great supporter of Perry Technical students since 2011. Some of the ways they do this is by offering internships, student discounts on their tools, career opportunities for graduates, and campus visits to speak to classes. The need for student support is growing, but they say the need for students is growing as well.
“We are always looking for good talent with the skills that align with our industry,” says Christina Ide, HR Director. “Grads are trained with skills that apply to the real world. Perry Tech collaborates with employers like us to ensure that students are working with the most current products and learning the latest trends.”
One of the Perry Tech grads North Coast Electric has hired is Kolton Wentz, Selah native and 2017 Perry Tech Instrumentation grad. He is now an automation specialist, traveling all over the northwest. “Once I got into the flow of things I realized that everything goes back to the fundamentals that are taught at Perry,” Kolton explained. “I've been able to go to some advanced classes and have no problem keeping up with the guys who have been doing this stuff for 20 years. As long as I had a good solid foundation with the fundamentals of automation to look back on, I realized that the rest just builds off of it.”
Kolton (pictured above) received a scholarship while at Perry Tech, and says his education helped mold him into a successful, hard worker. “I started learning from day one and loved some of the unique challenges that the instructors present for you to solve,” Kolton said. “Everything that I learned is pertinent to the problems that I see from day-to-day.”Annually, North Coast Electric provides two scholarships available to Perry Tech students in the Electrical and Instrumentation programs. Additionally, they provide in-kind donations to the school.
Last year, companies like North Coast Electric helped the Perry Technical Foundation award a total of $419,000 to deserving Perry Tech students. Currently 16 companies are contributing to the scholarships, but we would love to make that more. 100% of scholarship donations go directly toward helping students with their tuition, books, and tools. More than 90% of Perry Tech students receive financial aid, so the need is great and always growing. If you’d like to partner with us financially to help Perry Tech students succeed through scholarships, please contact the Foundation office by emailing [email protected] or you can donate directly and securely on our website by clicking here.
