News

Black Hills Tire owners Weston and Tenise Chapman, Western Dakota Tech graduates and 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, are sponsoring a Western Dakota Tech scholarship in the honor of the late Jim Schnaible.

Jim was an instructor for the Automotive Program at Western Dakota Technical College for 31 years before retiring in 2004. He unexpectedly passed on Dec. 5, 2020.

This is an excerpt from Gov. Kristi Noem's 2021 State of the State Address (as prepared) from Jan. 12, 2021, regarding South Dakota's Technical Colleges and workforce development.

"...South Dakota’s technical colleges have received national awards, attention, and funding for the high-quality programs they offer in key, growing industries. All four of our tech schools are in the top 4% of the country for upward mobility. Students who graduate from our colleges are fully equipped for high-demand, technical careers the moment they receive their diplomas.

Seven students have recently graduated from Western Dakota Tech's Professional Truck Driving Program. These graduates will help fill the high and projected increasing need for truck drivers.

Nineteen Western Dakota Tech (WDT) Practical Nursing students were honored for completing the program during a virtual Pinning Ceremony Dec. 18. These graduates will help fill an important need in the workforce for entry-level nurses in the health care environment.

The Pinning Ceremony is a traditional symbolic welcoming of Nursing Graduates into the Nursing field. Although the event was not in person due to the pandemic, faculty read notes in the video ceremony from the students saying who would pin them and their personal thank-you remarks. Link to view the virtual Pinning Ceremony: https://www.facebook.com/westerndakotatech/videos/462404264743798/.

Click below to watch the Fall 2020 Practical Nursing Program Virtual Nurse Pinning Ceremony that debuted Dec. 18. Congratulations!