Success Stories

Kylee Dill

Graduate, Computer Technology and Network Administration

"A job is something that you go to every day. A career is walking in and loving it - just getting in there and doing what you are meant to do."

For most of us, finding our life's purpose is essential to happiness. Today, after graduating from WTI with her Computer Technology/Network Administration certification, Kylee Dill feels sure that she has found her calling.

"I like helping people. I like helping them solve their problems with computers," said Kylee. Now, she spends her days as a service desk specialist, helping customers of Buchanan & Associates sort through their technology issues.

She credits her success with hard work and the dedication of WTI faculty. "I would tell them thank you so much for investing their time in my future. I was here every night for 18 months and they became like a second family to me."

Shawna Faudel

Graduate, Medical Assistant

"Now that I've graduated, I've got a job that I absolutely love and I'm doing exactly what I want to do."

Being in the medical field was always a dream for Shawna Faudel. Her first visit to WTI, she toured the campus and saw other students training for medical careers. "Everybody was very accepting and encouraging me to begin school." The instructors encouraged questions, something Shawna appreciated about her experience. "I feel like I got a lot of one on one with the instructors and that they did take a personal interest in my success."

Now, with her medical assistant certification from WTI, she has her foot in the door and a new job she loves. "I'm helping people every day - seeing somebody walk out with a little big bigger smile than they came in with, and thanking me."

Tommy Williams

Graduate, Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning/Refrigeration

"It feels great knowing that you get paid to do something that you like."

Sometimes in life, we reach a point where a bigger income is priority one. Tommy Williams had reached that point.

"I did it really for my family," said Williams. "I needed to get a trade, to learn something that was going to take me far." He knew a little already about heating and air conditioning, and figured it was something everybody needed. Today Tommy is working in his field and bringing home a bigger paycheck. He loves what he is doing and is the first to admit, his life is changed.

"A job is something that you feel like you have to do, but a career is something that you enjoy. And that's what I got here at WTI."

Pamela Frederickson

Graduate, Medical Assistant Billing & Coding Specialist

"Coming back to school was not scary. I had children who were in college so we challenged one another."

When Pamela Frederickson graduated from WTI in 2009, the feeling for her was one of elation. "I felt very pleased and very happy that I was going to be able to have a career that would be good for me, and also helpful for others."

Like many WTI students, she had college-aged children. Sharing their education experience became a friendly competition. "That was very good because they didn't want to be outdone by mom."

Pamela loves that she is passionate about her work now, and she found WTI's follow-up support helpful in terms of resume-building and career placement. "You can always come back to the school and speak with someone even after you graduate."

Chanell Sparks

Graduate, Medical Assistant

"It's pretty much changed my life. This is real life, real people who need help and I get to give them the best care they can get."

Chanell Sparks was a waitress at a retirement home when she realized her passion for health care. When she toured WTI, she noticed the students were wearing medical scrubs. She was impressed with the atmosphere and teachers.

Today, after earning her Medical Assistant certification, she works as a registered medical assistant at Wichita Clinic in Andover, checking in patients, taking vital signs, giving injections and EKGs, and refilling medications. She is also looking into going back for her LPN.

"It's not easy," said Chanell. "It took sacrifice but the best part about it for me is that I finished. When I set my mind to do something, I do it and I don't give up."

Kasandra Bogatay

Graduate, Medical Assistant Billing & Coding Specialist

"I always had a hard time with studying and knowing the next step. This was all laid out for me and I was able to see the goal within a 12-month timeframe."

Kasandra Bogatay knew where she wanted to live even before she knew what she wanted to do with her life. Since spending time in Springfield, Missouri, as a child, she recalled how much it felt like home. So when she began studying in WTI Wichita's Medical Billing and Insurance Coding program in 2008, she saw it as her ticket back to Springfield.

Today, settled in her new city and new career at Cox Health Systems, Kasandra sees her time at WTI as a life-changing experience. "The teachers were so helpful, I always felt like I could go to any of them for help." It was Kasandra's medical externship, arranged at her current employer, Cox Health Systems, that gave her access to future opportunities. "They helped me create a specific internship at the hospital in Springfield. Now I'm working there as a hospital coder, and I love it."

Today Kasandra is relocated to a city she loves and a career she chose. Her advice to others pondering career change? "Make sure you're committed and don't let anything hold you back."

Jordan Howard

Graduate, Computer Integration Technology

The teachers are awesome. They gave me a lot of confidence and to be honest, I wish they had a more advanced program because I really prefer not to go to any other school. Jordan Howard went to the dentist one day and landed his first contract IT client. Still excited from his recent graduation in Computer Integration Technology, he talked about his training in an industry he loves. Somewhere between the routine cleaning and X-rays, he landed his first outsourced IT support client. Now that's networking. "I've always liked computers and liked taking things apart, it's always been a passion of mine," Jordan said. So far he's performed a network revamp, added a wireless network, set up a back-up plan, and upgraded the office's computer hardware. If you ask Jordan about his experience studying and graduating from WTI, he'll tell you, "It's the best thing that happened to me in my life.almost." Being a husband and a father of three would be the #1.

Brandy Wolfe

Graduate, Medical Assistant

"Before, life was hectic and I didn't know where I was going. I was working, but my kids didn't have a fulfilled life. Best thing I ever did was go back to school."

Brandy Wolfe began 2009 a 27-year-old single mom struggling with limited income in an unstable job market. A year later, well into her WTI medical assistant studies and preparing for her medical externship, she is anticipating a promising career doing what she's always wanted to do.

"I love working with people, working with kids. In the medical field there are so many choices and there's always a need for medical staff," said Brandy, now in the final months of night classes for her medical assistant certification at WTI.

Tough decisions, hard work and an ironclad support network have brought her this far. At this writing, Brandy has not missed a day of classes, a credit to her daytime employer Southwest Caging, her husband Robert and children who all cover the home front, her parents and assorted other friends.

Kristen Hall

WTI Faculty, Teaching Assistant, Medical Assistant Program

"I watched my classmates, many like myself, go from having little to no medical experience to becoming confident Medical Assistants. If I could take that leap, anyone can."

For Kristen Hall, the decision to return to school came after much soul-searching. A single mother of three at the time, she had spent her career in the financial services industry at a job she did not feel particularly invested in. She had promised herself she would return to school when her youngest started kindergarten.

Kristen had always had a desire to go into the medical profession. It was her new husband, a physician, who talked to her about the demand for Medical Assistants. Having decided on a career, she pondered her choice of schools. "Choosing WTI was a very easy decision," said Kristen. "The school was very professional and the staff was by far the friendliest of all the schools I had interviewed."

As she continued with her studies, Kristen grew to respect the knowledge and patience of the instructors. Upon graduation, she was delighted to receive an invitation to join the WTI faculty as a teaching assistant in the Medical Assistant program.

Mariah Hosick:
Aspiring Medical Assistant. & Lifesaver.

Many students enter WTI's medical assistant program with a desire to serve, help and heal others. Our medical externship program allows them the opportunity to train directly in the workplace. Last fall, Mariah Hosick trained at the Butterball LLC group in Carthage, gaining some experience in occupational health. She also engaged her training to save an employee's life.

Butterball Complex Safety Manager Todd S. Eriksen recounted the story: An employee was eating lunch when she began to choke. Mariah was sitting nearby, reacted quickly and performed the Heimlich maneuver, dislodging the food.

"I would like to thank WTI for allowing Mariah to spend some time with the Butterball LLC group," said Eriksen. "Her actions reflect great credit upon herself and the training that she has received at WTI Joplin."

WTI faculty and staff send a collective "congratulations" to Mariah for her lifesaving response to a medical emergency. We're proud of you!

Bill Boles

Graduate, Computer Technology

"W.T.I prepared me for my certifications needed to gain employment in the IT field"

Bill Boles worked for a local manufacturer for 8 years before they shut down production and laid off all their employees. Bill knew he needed to become re-employed in a promising field where he could make a good wage and support his family.

As WTI's first graduate of the Computer Technology program, Bill not only completed his course in Computer Technology but he also achieved his A+, Network +, Microsoft Certified Professional and J-Standard certifications. After graduation, he was persistent in his pursuit of a new career and worked closely with the WTI Career Services. Bill interviewed for a few jobs and then one day called Stephen Gillmore with WTI Career Services to say that he had received a job offer from Ducommun Aero Structure. In addition to a generous compensation package, Bill was also offered great benefits and some extra perks as well.

Bill also has some advice for future students. "Work hard and study and it will pay off in the end" What does Bill think of his new job? "I'm loving it"

Business is Personal
at Tom Hundley Heating & Cooling

From Left: WTI grads Brandon Nees and Michael Whitlock, Tom Hundley, WTI student Tyson Anthony, company foreman Benjamin Hundley, and WTI graduate Gama Saldivar. Not pictured: Sales & Marketing Director Thomas Hundley II and Office Manager Pam Hundley.

Hands-on skills, work ethic, motivation and persistence are high on the list of traits most employers look for when hiring a new employee. In those categories, Tom and Pam Hundley say graduates of WTI's Heating/Air Conditioning /Refrigeration program excel, which explains why four of their seven HVAC technicians in their family operation are WTI grads.

"WTI goes beyond just an 'introduction' into this very vast field," says Pam. "We've been more than impressed with the training WTI students seem to possess, more than just the basics of standard HVAC equipment." In addition to the hard skills, Pam notes other characteristics that land students on the A-list:

• Showing up (on time)
• Paying attention
• Asking questions
• Remaining persistent

"These are the traits that cause students to rise to the top of their class and onto the payroll of an established company," says Pam. And after demonstrating a mastery of hard and soft skills, potential employees face the most critical scrutiny by the Hundleys:

"Would I be proud to have this person wearing a uniform and driving a vehicle with MY name on them, knocking on the door of my very valuable customer and representing me and the company I have spent my life building?"

So far, the answer has been yes. Hundley now employs four WTI grads who came as licensed apprentices and are training with Tom and working toward their journeyman's license. As they grow their company, they will continue to call on the recommendations of WTI Director Todd Edwards who has an instinct for which of his students would work well in a small, family-owned company.

Thanks to the Hundleys who have built a great American business and continue to recognize excellence in WTI graduates!

David Lacey

Graduate, Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning/Refrigeration

"It was a lot of work but it paid off in a relatively short amount of time. Life is way too short to do something you're miserable at. You have to do something that makes you happy."

A radio commercial, years of nights and weekends in restaurant management, and a supportive WTI staff led David Lacey to his career as a heating and air technician. Now, a year after WTI Director Todd Edwards set him up on an interview at Custom Heating & Air – a job he landed – he feels he has his life back.

"I think my new career is good. There's a lot of opportunity for me which is a main reason I chose it. I can work for someone or go out on my own," said David. With the focused skill training at WTI, he developed tools for creating positive impressions and advancing in business. He also found the atmosphere inspiring at WTI, where he was in training with other students who were striving for a better life and focused on their goal.

David is still in close contact with his teachers and WTI staff, people he says who were a big influence in his life. Instructors Mike Mahaffey and Curt Nevins continue to be trusted advisors he feels comfortable calling any time. He is happy to be working for a great company. "They hired me as a helper and now, just over a year later, I've got my own truck and they've put me in a position to succeed."