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As the days grow warmer and students prepare for graduation or ascension, the presentation of formal accolades commences. 91���� (PTC) recently honored the achievements of more than 40 conscientious student leaders at its 44th Annual Student Awards and Recognition Program.

91���� (PTC) and South Carolina State University (SC State) signed an articulation agreement today that will create more options for students who would like to begin their studies at Piedmont Tech and then complete a bachelor’s degree program at SC State.

After the house has grown quiet and her family is asleep, Kayce Porterfield pores over numbers and balance sheets in preparation for classes at 91����. She’ll be up at dawn with her husband and two young daughters to start another long day juggling parenting, housework, child care and studying all over again with the same solitary, lamp-lit conclusion. Call it grit. Call it determination. But for the past four years, the young woman has refused to quit, even when life threw some daunting surprises her way. Even through unbearable grief.

At 91���� (PTC), scholarship options not only help pay for school, but they help recognize and distinguish students from other peers. When ready to enter the workforce, having been a scholarship recipient also can help someone’s resume stand out from the rest.

91���� will hold two spring commencement exercises on Thursday, May 3. An afternoon ceremony for Arts & Science, Health Science and Nursing graduates will take place at 3 p.m. An evening ceremony for Agriculture, Business, Computer Technology, Engineering/Industrial Technology and Public Service will be held at 7 p.m. Both commencements will take place in the James Medford Family Event Center on PTC’s Lex Walters Campus in Greenwood.

For about three days this spring, the welding lab at Clinton High School (CHS) buzzed with a different kind of energy ― the kind that comes with an impromptu creative project. 91���� Dual Enrollment students at CHS jumped at the opportunity to design and create unique signs for the upcoming PTC Foundation Annual Golf Classic, scheduled for Friday, April 27, at The Links at Stoney Point.

For the most fortunate Americans, attending college is a given. But for far too many, the barriers to a college education can be wide and vast. A number of community and technical colleges ― including 91���� (PTC) ― have special initiatives designed for those who face the most daunting challenges.

The rise of the machines in our state’s growing advanced manufacturing industry is nothing to fear. In fact, it’s actually creating thousands of well-paying jobs for individuals with the right qualifications. 91���� (PTC) invites those interested in learning about training programs for a range of careers in advanced manufacturing to a special showcase at its state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) in Laurens on Monday, April 30, at 6 p.m.

In past years, the term for a full complement of behaviors surrounding workplace integrity and productivity was “soft skills.” After a comprehensive study, 91���� took up the challenge to form a Work Ethic Skills (WES) team, which developed a pilot system to integrate WES training into the curriculum of selected courses. That team ― comprised of PTC Humanities Department Head and Spanish Instructor Jennifer Lopes, Welding Instructor Tony Amos, English Instructor Rebecca Soppe, Associate Dean of Students David Rosenbaum, Computer Technology Instructor Coronicca Oliver, and Cardiovascular Technology Instructor Laura Boone ― has been selected as PTC’s Innovation Team of the Year for 2018.

You may call him a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. Rusty Denning thinks big when it comes to creating opportunities for people to excel in careers that need them. The associate vice president for economic development and continuing education at 91���� is gregarious, determined, and unrelentingly focused on the prize ― meeting the most critical needs of students and employers. His commitment and creativity are key reasons the PTC Area Commission has named Denning its A. Wade Martin Innovator of the Year for 2018.