August 2021

T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E

The entry of the Ledwell Building at Texarkana College is decorated with inspirational quotes, the story of Betty and Buddy Ledwell, and Mr. Ledwell’s high school mechanical drafting work. photo by Matt Corneliius

solar panels and start to look at where, maybe they’ll think of Southwest Arkansas.” Stepping into the beautiful Betty and Buddy Ledwell Workforce Training Center on the Texarkana College campus, you are first greeted by the quote, “There are no problems, only opportunities,” which adorns the entry wall. The facility began hosting classes in Spring of 2019. The entry of the Ledwell Building has been thoughtfully designed and

use to prepare their students, including an impressi ve simulator that allows student to feel as if they are sitting in the seat of a piece of heavy equipment. The simulator has large screens that mimic real-life scenarios. The instructor can switch out the controls to mimic a variety of heavy equipment pieces. “It simulates excavators, dozers, a backhoe, and even cranes. But the industry need that we have right now is that there are not enough heavy

the walls are decorated with inspirational quotes, the story of Betty and Buddy Ledwell, and Mr. Ledwell’s high school mechanical drafting work. Programs found in the Ledwell Building include Construction Technology, Industrial Maintenance, Electrical Technology and Electronics Technology and Instrumentation. TC Vice President of Operations Brandon Washington explained the focus of

the college’s trade programs. “Anything that we do, or purchase, we get direction from our local advisory board or local employers. They give us direction because we want to make sure, first and foremost, that it’s going to benefit the students and make sure they are an asset from day one.” In the Heavy Equipment Operator simulation lab, Construction Technology Instructor Mike Lee explained some of the technology they

equipment operators. There’s a skills gap that happened when the current generation of operators retired, and because traditional college was pushed for so long, we didn’t create a skilled labor force to take over these particular positions,” Lee explained. In addition to the heavy equipment simulator, there is also a computer lab set up in the classroom. The computers are used for the students to learn a variety of industry

65

L I F E & S T Y L E

Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs