MATC is great. The counselors here helped me a lot in navigating scholarships, figuring out my class schedule and getting me tutoring help when I needed it. It’s been a great experience.
While playing video games as a kid, Kyree Nash-Guzman’s controller broke.
He didn’t cry. He didn’t complain. He didn’t ask his parents for a new one. He calmly took it apart, found the problem and put it back together. It worked as good as new.
The analytical problem-solving and innate technical skill he discovered years ago have blossomed into a technical diploma thanks to a partnership between Milwaukee Area Technical College and Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc., an international firm that provides heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), fire and security equipment for buildings.
In 2021, MATC received $100,000 as part of the Johnson Controls Community College Partnership program. The aim was to equip students with knowledge and skills in high-demand HVAC, fire and security, and building automation system programs.
With the funding, MATC helped upgrade the HVAC lab at Milwaukee Public Schools’ Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education. The college also provided a success coach to help students succeed in HVAC courses at Obama.
Nash-Guzman was one of 28 Obama students in the partnership’s pilot program. This month he will receive a Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating Service Technician technical diploma from MATC and become the first student in the pilot group to complete a college program.
“Kyree has always been a bright and hard working student,” said Diandra “Di” Marbley, a retention coach in the college’s Manufacturing, Construction andTransportation Academic and Career Pathway. “He showed enthusiasm and promise early on. I believe this is a testament to the grant and a huge success story for both MATC and Johnson Controls.”
Nash-Guzman’s technical diploma is the culmination of four years of HVAC training. He started during his sophomore year at Obama. “I didn’t know anything at all about HVAC,” he said. “But the school thought I was a good fit for the program. Once I started it, the hands-on aspects really clicked for me.”
The pilot group spent about 90 minutes each day reading and learning about the technical aspects of HVAC work and then working on equipment. A year later, he was hooked on HVAC.
“I decided to attend MATC during my junior year,” said Nash-Guzman, who grew up across the street from Obama. “We visited the college several times so I knew what it looked like. Plus, it made sense to continue on the path I had started.”
He graduated from Obama in June 2024. He earned two scholarships from the Wisconsin Department of Instruction and one from Johnson Controls. He also received a Technical Excellence Scholarship, which the Higher Educational Aids Board awards to high school seniors who demonstrate proficiency in technical education.
At MATC, the book work and the math got tougher, but Nash-Guzman revelled in the extensive hands-on work. He lived at home, left every morning at 5 a.m. and rode two buses to attend classes at the college’s Oak Creek Campus.
“Kyree has been an absolute pleasure to have in class,” said instructor Douglas Drzycimski, who taught Nash-Guzman all about heat pumps.
Last winter, the furnace in his parent’s house went on the fritz. “We got air, just not hot air,” he said. “I thought it was a cracked heat exchanger. My mom called an HVAC guy, and he found out it was a cracked heat exchanger.
“At the time, I probably could have fixed it if I had the right tools. But now, I know I could fix it,” he added. “I have the knowledge and the confidence.”
This summer, Nash-Guzman will work installing furnaces with one of his high school teachers. “I want to take a year off to get some real experience in the field,” he said.
He plans to return to MATC and get an associate degree in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Technology so he can open his own HVAC business one day.
“MATC is great,” he said. “The counselors here helped me a lot in navigating scholarships, figuring out my class schedule and getting me tutoring help when I needed it. It’s been a great experience.”
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.