Are you or is someone you know dreaming of a new career? Rogue Community College prepares hundreds of people every year for skilled roles in the Rogue Valley workforce. If lack of skills or knowledge is holding you back from taking the next step in your career path, we can help.
Jessica Simpson and Peter Goodwill know this firsthand.
“After I got out of the Navy, I moved to the Rogue Valley and enrolled in RCC in the automotive technology program,” said Jessica, a Rogue Valley native and RCC graduate. Her training led to a successful job as an auto mechanic, where she discovered a passion for auto design. Jessica decided to build on her RCC education by pursuing a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. That degree eventually led her back to the Rogue Valley, where she took a job as operations manager for Linx Technologies, a wireless components manufacturer in Merlin.
“My background was lacking electronic engineering knowledge, which I needed for my new role. My first instinct was to return to RCC and take some electronics classes. That gave me all the training I needed to not only do my job but also speak the language of electronics,” Jessica said.
During her tenure as a hiring manager at Linx Technologies, Jessica got excited whenever an RCC graduate applied for a job. “We like to hire RCC graduates because, being an RCC graduate, I know for a fact what a great education they’re coming to us with,” she said.
Jessica is a huge believer in RCC as a training ground for real-world jobs and long-term goals. Equipped now with confidence and business acumen, thanks to RCC, Jessica recently stepped down from her role at Linx in order to pursue a real estate license and write a novel. “RCC taught me to believe in myself,” she said. “I didn’t even know how an engine worked when I started the automotive program, and now I can completely repair any car you give me. Just about anything that you want to learn about, you can learn it at RCC.”
Peter Goodwill agrees. Two years ago, he began working as an engineering technician for Linx Technologies while he was still completing his degree in electronics technology at RCC.
“Everything I learned at RCC had some sort of application at my work,” Peter said. “I would learn things at school and the very next week put them into practice in my job. RCC’s emphasis on hands-on learning and practical knowledge very much prepared me for the work that I was doing.”
Prior to enrolling in RCC, Peter worked odd jobs but felt he didn’t have the skills needed to secure a future. He knew he wanted to pursue electronics and decided to move his family from northern Idaho specifically to attend RCC and find work in his chosen field.
“I really like that RCC is a local campus and not a huge, sprawling facility,” Peter said. “It’s easy to get around in, yet they have a lot of professional-level equipment for hands-on learning—things you wouldn’t typically find at a two-year college. And every teacher that I met at RCC had a passion for what they were teaching. That really came through in their willingness to help students.”
Peter says RCC was also a wise financial decision because he was able to cover his tuition through federal student aid. “This allowed me to earn a degree and get a good job without going into debt,” he said. “I’m in a better position now than I ever was before, and I feel that is largely because of the program at RCC. It allowed me to have a financial future for myself and my family.”
For more information about career training programs, or how to get started at RCC, visit www.roguecc.edu/gorogue.