Student Completes Education Journey

Amy Campbell of Carter County, Tennessee, a displaced worker, will complete a journey she began 31 years ago when she graduates from the Tennessee Technology Center at Elizabethton in August 2011 after completing the Business Systems Technology (BST) training program.  

Campbell began the trek in 1978 as a student in the office occupations class at the Herman Robinson Vocational-Technical School in Elizabethton.  “The scariest part was returning to school 31 years later,” Campbell said.

She enrolled at TTC-Elizabethton “to learn new business practices, utilizing the latest computer technology,” she said, when she became jobless after the local industry where she worked for 20 years closed and moved the business North.

“It was really hard to fill your day when you had no job prospects or any leads on local jobs. That’s when I decided to enroll at TTC-Elizabethton to learn more skills and become an Administrative Assistant,” Campbell said. Since then, she said she has learned "best business practices" utilizing the latest technology, a stark comparison from the meager office occupations' equipment in use prior to the proliferation of personal computers in business.

“Amy strives for excellence. She has a great work ethic, is very cooperative, and her initiative goes beyond expectations,” said Alesia Miller, her BST instructor.

Campbell's work characteristics have also caught the eye of a national organization that recognizes outstanding student achievement and promise for the future. In May, she received a $1,000 academic scholarship from the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS). Membership in NTHS is limited to students with a 95 overall grade point average, no attendance policy violations and who are nominated by a faculty member at TTC-Elizabethton.

“I feel that I have refreshed my knowledge and added skills that will help me in my career. (It) seems like everything is looking up for me now. I have a new job and still attend school in the evenings,” Campbell said.

The BST program at TTC-Elizabethton, which takes 12 months to complete, offers Diploma Awards with emphasis in Accounting, Customer Service, Insurance and Coding and Transcription.