“Be big.”

A speech encouraging development, both professionally and personally, by Northeast State Community College President James King, helped put the final stamp on the postsecondary career for 333 students from Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) – Elizabethton.

TCAT, based near the Stoney Creek community in Carter County, held their 2018 graduation exercise on Thursday, Aug. 2, inside Seeger Chapel on the Milligan College campus. According to information provided by the school, the 2018 class included 306 students who enrolled in full-time training in programs that took around 12 to 20 months to complete, with over 130 majoring in Practical Nursing.

Whether it be nursing, welding or pipefitting, the work performed by students will be recognized by the workforce in the future, according to King. While serving as the NESCC President, King — who also served as Tennessee Board of Regents vice chancellor since 1999 — added there is always a joy to see the development of technical students making the leap into the career from school into the workforce.

During the keynote address of the graduation, King spoke about the hard work and dedication of students and staff alike, and encouraged graduates to continue to put in the same amount of work they did in school for the workforce. He added the staff at TCAT has given the students the proper tools necessary to adapt to the ever-changing workforce.

Another highlight from the graduation was the sizeable amount of Carter County students recognized. Over the 300-plus mentioned, 97 students were based from the county. Graduates from the area include:

•Administrative Office Technology — Elizabeth Carr, Gwendolyn Crowe, Valerie Hathaway, Carly Mattea Jennings, Jacqueline Landis, Zandra Mullins, Valnessha Redd, Makaylah Cheyenne Shell, DonRae Taylor and Taylor Laughters Townsend

• Automotive Technology — Scott Byrd, Casey Hayes, Jerry Kramer, Jonathan Miller, Daniel Miller, Kevin Stover, Jon White, Cody Williams, John Worley and Kelly Young

• Computer Information Technology — David Floyd, Nicholas Guinn, Sam Lyons and Ashley Williams

• Diesel Power Equipment Technology — Caleb Guinn, Dylan Lowe and Jacob Stephens

• Electricity-Electronics — Josh Echols, Justin Bliss, Lance Dugger, Brian Freese, Tyler Higgins, Joshua Hitchcock, Jeffery Hitechew, Aaron Lowe, Nathan Norris, George Ogle, Joseph Parlier and Jordan Yelton

• HVAC/Refrigeration — Dalton Adcox, Andrew Birchfield, Jeffrey Hughes, Stone Hutchinson and Tristan Whitehead

• Machine Tool Technology — Dakota Ashley, Bret Hicks, Ethan Lusk, Dakota Meece, Logan Barnett and Adam Lewis

• Millwright Skills — Justin Hinkle, Kenny Matheson, James Proffitt, Thomas Stewart and Andrew Stonecipher

• Pipefitting — Curtis Dean Carden, Joshua Caleb Carver, Jackson Eryasa and John Paul Russell

• Practical Nursing (April graduation) — Chelsea Alexander, Lauren Barnett, Chelsea Burem, Susan Heaton, Brittny Meiss, Ariel Nelson and Heather Smith

• Practical Nursing (August graduation) — Brian Amason, Kaitlin Campbell, Bailey Crum, Sheena Davis, Julie Decker, Tyler Hooks, Diedra Ingram, Macy Keller, Traci McClain, Sarah Morales and Charity Statham

• Practical Nursing (prospective December graduates) — Amber Hubbard and Alexis Vines

• Welding — Matthew Bentley, Cory Bowers, John Bowling, Jachary Buckles, Lucas Coffee, Cris Cox, Dalton Fair, Gary Hughes, Jacob Nelson, Michael Peterson, Kevin Presnell, Cody Reece, Jamie Reece, Taylor Rickus, Casey Shell, Kristopher Simmons, Connor Walsh and Austin Williams.

Other graduates range from Washington and Unicoi counties. Various other states, including North Carolina and Virginia, were also represented.

TCAT – Elizabethton is NC3 certified, allowing students to receive top of the line certification opportunities prior to entering the workforce. The Carter County postsecondary facility also hosts various workshops and events with the other TCATs from across the state and has a working partnership with various businesses in the region, including Snap-On and Eastman.