It’s time to start planning New Year’s resolutions – why not make attending Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College one of them.
OCtech will hold another open house introducing its new Evening College for the Working Adult from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5.
Dozens of working adults attended the first Evening College open house in November, where they toured program areas, met with instructors and watched live lab demonstrations. Participants also learned about the scholarship opportunities available to Evening College students.
Daniel Pensel has worked in the Department of Public Utilities Wastewater Division for five years and is currently in his third semester of OCtech’s General Business program. Pensel said he hopes that by transferring to the Evening College program, he will be better able to juggle his schoolwork and his full-time job.
While he strives to earn straight A’s in his classes, Pensel said he fell behind in some of his coursework in October, when historic flooding hit the region.
“I got zeros on five assignments, and I had to work extremely hard to catch up,” Pensel said. “It’s a struggle. Work comes first, and class comes second. You’ve got to work twice as hard if you’re a full-time student and a full-time employee.”
His mother, Wanda Goff, was also at the open house and said she is hoping to earn her credentials in medical coding, which is offered completely online.
Pensel’s wife, Brittany, will complete OCtech’s Teacher Education Transfer program for Elementary Education in May. “My plan is to transfer, earn my bachelor’s degree and teach second grade,” she said.
Daniel Pensel said he, too, would like to earn a bachelor’s degree – and perhaps a master’s – once he completes his associate degree at OCtech.
“My goal is to become a superintendent at DPU,” he said. “I enjoy the people I work for and the people I work with. We get along great, and I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
The Jan. 5 open house will begin in the atrium of Building S. For information about programs-old-old-old-old offered through Evening College, scholarship opportunities and to apply, visit www.octech.edu or call 803-535-1234.
