Students Visit Indian Hills Community College

A group photo from the CACC trip to IHCC in Iowa

It's a three hour drive to Ottumwa, Iowa from Columbia, but it's worth every second for the students making the trip north to check out Indian Hills Community College. Two CACC instructors accompanied 24 students on an overnight college visit to the nationally recognized Laser/Electro-Optics training program with the hopes of becoming acquainted with the campus and curriculum.

CACC and Rock Bridge senior Jordan Davis will be a freshman in the 21-month program in August. "I went on the trip because I want to become familiar with Indian Hills' campus and meet people I'll be working with in the fall," he noted, adding that the 21-month program will be "intense, but will be worth it when I come out of college with a lot of career options."

While on campus Career Center Laser/Photonics students visited the IHCC Advanced Technology Center and participated with IHCC Laser/Electro-Optics students in lab and real-world problem-solving activities.

The Career Center partners with Indian Hills through the articulation process.  This partnership provides our students a jump-start into the IHCC Laser/Electro-Optics degree program by awarding eight semester hours of college credit for the competencies they master while studying Laser/Photonics Technology at the Career Center.

"We love sending our students to Indian Hills," said dual credit and articulation coordinator Sharon Nelson. "This trip is so positive.  The kids learn about a potential post-secondary option and spend the day in Ottumwa.  It's a great experience."

For more about the Lasers-Photonics program at CACC, check out this video!