Room T200 consists of a strong group of individuals who support and inform students in nontraditional occupations (NTO). These degrees vary from Architecture and Construction, IT Network Specialist to Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement. Nontraditional professions are the jobs that employ 25 percent or less of one gender group. Since the growth in these fields is rising for women, the demand for support and guidance throughout the programs is crucial for successful outcomes.
WIT consists of a staff of four remarkable women who believe in the importance of networking, mentoring, supporting and establishing the right tools for women in nontraditional programs. Nutan Amrute is MATC’s Nontraditional Occupations Coordinator and currently works with three student representatives. Brittany Ardrey was always building in her younger years. Her father, an electrical engineer, taught her at an early age the function of different gauges on power lines, the purpose of windmills and how cellphone towers were made. She has always been interested in how things were constructed and is naturally good at art. Ardrey is pursuing her degree in Architectural Technology at MATC.
Ocie Buckner found her passion while attending Washington Tech High School (a Milwaukee IT school). She attends several events to obtain information from the center to help guide and check in to see how their program is going. Her leadership skills have also taken her to a role as vice president in student government at MATC. She’s getting more and more involved and doors are opening. Buckner is working towards her IT Computer Support Specialist degree.
Yubi Suarez started volunteering her time at a juvenile prison and provided support in the lives of many young women. She raised her children and worked in Human Relations until ultimately deciding to follow her dream. Suarez is on her way to obtaining a Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement degree. All of these women are in different programs, yet hold the same goal of helping other women complete their educational goals by providing a place to connect with others in nontraditional programs as well as supporting and assisting with professional guidance.
The downtown center is definitely gaining popularity; however, the other campuses are in need of centers for WIT. The MATC campuses combined have 203 women in the Criminal Justice program, 65 women in the EMT program, and 40 women in the Landscape Horticulture program. The WIT has been marketed very well through a Job Shop event this past spring as well as with recruiting tables set up at all campuses informing students of the services WIT provides. Suarez stated, “The last recruiting event we had was set up at the Oak Creek Campus and we obtained 43 signatures from interested students.” The amount of support this center has received from the beginning to the present is incredible.
According to WIT Coordinator Nutan Amrute, “The Associate Dean of Technology and Applied Sciences, Terese Dressel, is actively involved in the center’s activities since day one. Other MATC members Angela Olson, Educational Assistant Criminal Justice Program, and Dawn Alvarez, Senior Specialist Program Improvement Grant, help us in the planning and implementation of support activities for NTO students,” stated Amrute. Amrute also added, “WIT offers networking opportunities/workshops/speakers series-designed as per student demand. WIT requests faculty members, students, women in technical fields to join and share any suggestions.
The group meets twice a month from noon to 1:00 p.m. The upcoming meeting dates are November 9 and December 7, 2012, at the Downtown Campus in Room T200 and October 26 and November 30, 2012, at the Oak Creek Campus in the Cafeteria. More information can be found on www.facebook.com/ MATC Women-In-Technology.
