We want to make sure that you’re starting out the Fall semester feeling good, feeling connected and feeling a sense of belonging. The bottom line is we want you to be successful. We’re going to help you get there.
Austyn Bennett got right to the point when asked why he enrolled at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
“Affordable. Convenient. What more can you ask for?” said Bennett, who graduated from Milwaukee’s Rufus King High School in the spring and plans to study computer numerical control machining at MATC.
Bennett was one of nearly 1,000 new MATC students who attended orientation this month. The new students learned about financial aid, available scholarships, public safety, counseling services and the Student Resource Center.
MATC President Dr. Anthony Cruz welcomed them to the college.
“We want to make sure that you’re starting out the Fall semester feeling good, feeling connected and feeling a sense of belonging,” Dr. Cruz told the students. “The bottom line is we want you to be successful. We’re going to help you get there.”
While learning all that help, the new students enjoyed a DJ spinning high-energy tunes and answered quiz questions to win MATC merchandise.
After the main session, students attended breakout sessions to hear from current students and to receive specific information about their academic programs.
“Stay on task as much as you can,” said Reese Thao, a student in the Associate of Science program who works in the Student Resource Center. “Surround yourself with people who bring you up, not push you down. MATC has so many resources; all you need to do to get help is to ask for it.”
The sessions were held August 7 through August 13 at the Downtown Milwaukee, Mequon, Oak Creek and West Allis campuses. In all, 939 students registered for the sessions, along with 425 guests, said Equan Burrows, dean of student experience.
“We’re here to see that you start things right,” Burrows told students at the start of the August 12 session at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus.
While orientation is the beginning of an exciting educational experience, it’s not too early to envision the end goal, Dr. Cruz said.
“We want to make sure that each and every one of you walks across the stage at our commencement ceremony,” Dr. Cruz said. “We want to make sure that you cross that finish line and get that degree so you can transfer to the college or university of your choice, or go to work.”
For Takiyah Evans, that finish line will be a new career. She graduated from Milwaukee’s Riverside University High School in 2011. She never attended college and began raising a family. This year she decided to enroll in MATC’s Medical Assistant technical diploma program.
“I want to do better for myself and for my family,” Evans said. “I want to go farther than I have. My children are old enough to watch me do this, so here I am.”
Evans said she was aware of MATC’s quality healthcare programs, so enrolling at the college was a no-brainer. Going to college classes as a 33-year-old mother of four is a little different, she said.
“I’m excited and I’m nervous, but I’m ready to make this work,” Evans said. “You have to start somewhere.”
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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 35,000 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 45 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.