Hinds Community College Blog

The Machine Tool Technology program on the Raymond Campus, along with the program instructor, Mr. Norman Trimble are excited to announce that William Tolbert placed 1^st in the state of Mississippi in the Precision Machining competition which was held recently in the Jackson metro area. This qualifies him to compete in the SkillsUSA National Championship which will be held this summer in Kansas City, Missouri. This contest brings together gold-medal winners from separate competitions at secondary and post-secondary levels across the United States. It is a multimillion-dollar event that occupies a space equivalent to 16 football fields.

Will has used these skills to gain employment at Milwaukee Tool while continuing his education. An interesting side note is that Will also placed 1st in the state in Precision Machining while a high school student at Forest High School located in Forest, Mississippi. 

In addition to Will the following students enrolled in post-secondary and secondary CTE programs in the Hinds district also placed.

Post-Secondary Winners

• William Tolbert - 1st Place Precision Machining, Hinds CC Raymond Campus

• Kolby Redmond - 2nd Place Masonry, Hinds CC Utica Campus

Secondary Winners

• Josh Manning - 3rd Place Job Interview, Pearl Rankin Career Center                     

• Kody Britt - 3rd  Place Precision Machining, Hinds Community Career Center Vicksburg 

• Frankie Greer - 2nd Place Cabinet Making, Hinds Community Career Center Vicksburg              

SkillsUSA–Mississippi is an organization serving high school and college and professional members who are preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. It is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives; working together to ensure America has a skilled work force. In Mississippi more than 2,300 students and instructors join annually with 300,000 students and instructors joining SkillsUSA annually at the national level. 

Automotive Machinist Technology…..Career training, credentials—and a paycheck in your pocket!

I was thinking…..what do you want to be when you grow up?  What about a career as an automotive machinist? Let’s take a moment of your time to explore this option and see if it might be a “good fit” for your skills and career goals. The automotive machinist would be hired to order to build, maintain, repair or rebuild engines. They have been trained to know how engines operate, diagnose problems, and make repairs. The job of the automotive machinist can vary somewhat depending on the type of engine, but generally, he or she will have all the skills and knowledge necessary to address any issues an engine might have. Occasionally, the automotive machinist may be responsible for creating new parts for an engine requiring the machinist to use computer numeric controlled machines. The machinist must be capable of working on both gasoline-powered and diesel-powered engines.

Employment Potential
Typical jobs filled by students who have completed the Automotive Machinist program include working for local automotive machine shops doing cylinder block work, cylinder head work, and tear down/inspection/assembly of automobile engines. Approximate salary range for beginning entry level employees would be around $12 per hour.

Possess these qualities….this might be the career for you! 

Analytical skills. They must understand highly technical electronic and written blueprints, models, and specifications, so they can craft precision tools and metal parts. 

Manual dexterity. The work of automotive machinists must be highly accurate machining parts to an accuracy of .0001 inch which requires workers’ precision, concentration, and dexterity.

Mechanical skills. Machinists must be mechanically inclined.

Physical stamina. The ability to endure long periods of standing and performing repetitious movements is important for machinists.

Technical skills. Machinists must understand computerized measuring machine.

For program information, contact Thomas McBrain at 601-857-3439 or TMcBrain@hindscc.edu or visit the Automotive Machinist Technology website. 

The Business and Marketing Management Technology students on the Raymond Campus of Hinds Community College recently were invited to tour the headquarters of Puckett Machinery. The Caterpillar heavy-machinery dealer recently opened a 150,000-square-foot, $30 million facility, with approximately 200 employees in Flowood, Mississippi. Puckett Machinery has 5 additional dealerships located in Mississippi.                                            

Kennon Ferguson, Puckett Machinery sales manager and husband of Barbie Ferguson (Raymond campus Business and Marketing adjunct faculty), personally guided students on a tour that included the Marketing, Information Technology, Sales and Parts divisions of the company.

Mr. Ferguson emphasized the importance of the vision, mission and values of the company to the students by relaying to them that their purpose was to remind them of why they were there, where they wanted the company to go and how they wanted to get there. The core values at Puckett are integrity, excellence, teamwork and commitment. 

In my former career I got to frequently hear former Gov. William Winter, who is still going strong in his 90s, and Jim Barksdale, chairman of the board and president of Barksdale Management Corp. who created the Barksdale Reading Institute out of his own funds. Both talked about public education and their aspirations to make it better.

I got to see both of these guys again at the Feb. 19 HEADWAE luncheon honoring a student and faculty member from each of the public and private colleges in Mississippi. Barksdale is serving as HEADWAE chairman and Winter was the keynote speaker.

Hearing Winter speak always makes me want to stand up and shout, “AMEN.” I restrained myself, however, because I didn’t want to get myself ousted from the meeting.  But it was tempting. Quoting Winter’s words on paper can never adequately capture the passion from the former governor who was the force behind the creation of kindergarten and compulsory attendance in our state.

Winter talked about two basic functions of higher education: Instilling in individual students the understanding of their serving as responsible and compassionate citizens; and building civic relationships that make for strong communities.

“Colleges should create experiences to develop civic responsibility. Higher education is the vehicle for the next generation to learn more about civic responsibility,” he said. “We must learn to live together and be united by shared values. Nowhere in our society can these lessons be learned better than on college campuses.”

Winter also talked about the state of race relations in our state as well as the the polarization of the political parties that is partly based on religion.

“There should always be room for honest dissent and reasonable compromise,” he said.

Honoring our student Caleb Upton of Natchez and faculty member Jane Flowers of Vicksburg made the HEADWAE event worthwhile. Seeing the two other respected education leaders again just capped it off.

I was thinking what do you want to be when you grow up...a doctor, lawyer, professional athlete, teacher or a nurse? Pretty traditional career choices, aren’t they? Why did you choose those? Probably because those are the jobs held by your parents, relatives and people you see every day in your community. Have you ever thought about being an auto mechanic, biomedical technician, land surveying technician or machinist? Probably not, but maybe you should. These are just a few of the thousands of highly skilled careers out there that require a career certificate, a technical certificate or a two year AAS degree versus a bachelors, masters or doctorate degree.  

Are you a whiz at math? Land surveying, architectural engineering or engineering drafting might be the road you should explore. Do you love art class? Maybe a career in graphic design is in your future. Love animals? Think being a veterinarian and eight years of college is the only way to get there? Take a look at the veterinarian technology program. All of these are highly-skilled, highly-paid career options that are available to you at Hinds Community College in the Career and Technical Education division on the Raymond campus.

So here we go….A to Z with CTE on the Raymond Campus! Agribusiness Management, Architectural Engineering, Automotive Machinist, Automotive Technology, Automotive Vehicles and Accessories Marketing, Aviation Maintenance, Barber/Stylist, Biomedical Engineering Technology,  Brick_Block and Stonemasonry, Collision Repair, Commercial Truck Driving, Computer Programing, Computer Network Support, Court Reporting ( Broadcast Captioning, CART, Steno Machine, Voice Writing), Diesel Equipment Technology, Electronics Technology, Electrical Technology,  Engineering Drafting and Design, Fashion Merchandising, Graphic Design Technology , Graphic and Print Communications, Heating and Air Conditioning, Industrial Maintenance, Interpreter Training,  Landscape Management, Land Surveying, Machine Tool, Marketing Management, Meat Merchandising, Office Systems Technology,  Paralegal Technology, Residential Carpentry, Small Engine and Turf Equipment Repair, Small Engine and Equipment Repair Power Sports, Veterinary Technology and last but certainly not least Welding!

There’s a famous Chinese saying: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So start the journey to explore your options as I take a look at these programs in the coming weeks!