This equipment will help students learn, grow and excel in their careers. By investing in these students, we’re investing in the future of our community and our region.
For Lydia Hogsett, keeping the world comfortable is a forever job.
“No matter where you are, some kind of comfort cooling process will always be needed, and people who can work on those systems will always be needed,” said Hogsett, who grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin, and graduated from Waterford Union High School.
She decided she wanted to be one of those people. In August 2024, Hogsett started the steamfitter apprenticeship program at Milwaukee Area Technical College. For the next five years, she will work in the field four days a week and take classes each Tuesday at the Oak Creek Campus.
And when she’s in class, Hogsett will train on cutting-edge heating and cooling equipment, thanks to donations from several major heating and cooling companies.
On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the college celebrated receiving six Rheem heating and cooling systems with state-of-the-art heat pump technology and high-efficiency furnaces from Design Air, a local heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) distributor and wholesale supplier.
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The equipment is valued at about $200,000.
“This equipment will help students learn, grow and excel in their careers,” said Jeremy Wiernasz, president of Design Air. “By investing in these students, we’re investing in the future of our community and our region.”
The six Rheem units are heat pumps coupled with high-efficiency gas-fired furnaces. Heat pumps are refrigeration systems that have the capability to cool and also bring warm air in from the outside to heat homes.
See TV coverage of event“This equipment is what I’m seeing in the field right now,” Hogsett said. “Heat pumps are more environmentally friendly, and people are embracing them. We’re going to be seeing a lot more of them.
“When I see this equipment in a home or in a mechanical room, I need to be able to know how to fix them,” Hogsett added. “And I won’t know how to do that unless I get the practice.”
Capital Heating, Cooling and Electric, an HVAC contractor based in Menomonee Falls, installed the equipment in an HVAC classroom at the Oak Creek Campus. Fittingly, an MATC graduate supervised the installation, said Doni Bartley, Ed.D., HVAC/R instructor and department chair.
“That’s a testament that the instruction students are receiving will result in careers where they earn family-sustaining wages. This is a proud moment,” Dr. Bartley said. “This donation will help and impact more than 150 students each semester.”
Those students include Willette Honey, in her second year of the Air Conditioning and Refrigferation Technology associate degree program. “These look really good,” Honey said about the gleaming new equipment, festooned with red ribbons. “I can’t wait to get my hands on them.”
Also impressed was Tommy Wilhite. At 61, he is set to earn his associate degree in Air Conditioning and Refrigferation Technology later this month. “I was the oldest person in the class, but once I got here, it didn’t matter,” Wilhite said. “I’m an old dog, but I have learned a whole lot of new tricks.”
MATC works with more than 400 employee partners to train skilled professionals to fill urgently needed positions, said Laura Bray, the college’s vice president of college advancement and the executive director of the MATC Foundation Inc., the philanthropic partner of the college.
“We know there are many unfilled jobs, and we know there are populations that are underemployed,” Bray said. “We try to bridge that gap with partnerships like this.”
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“Like MATC, Rheem is deeply committed to investing in the next generation of skilled trade technicians. It is more important now than ever to find and attract new talent to address the current shortage facing our country,” said Jose De La Portilla, senior manager of education and training at Rheem. “High-quality training is essential for developing a pipeline of skilled technicians who are not only expertly trained, but also well-informed about the rewarding career opportunities available to them.”Design Air and Rheem have donated additional equipment that will be installed at a later date and will benefit multiple HVAC-related programs.
“These donations are super powerful for our students,” said Phillip King, Ed.D., the college’s executive vice president for student success. “They will have the opportunity to learn on the best equipment to best serve future customers.”
Learn more about MATC’s Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating Service Technician program
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
