{"id":12938,"date":"2012-10-28T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T15:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=12938"},"modified":"2012-10-28T02:22:16","modified_gmt":"2012-10-28T07:22:16","slug":"companies-near-and-far-have-interest-in-apsu-chemical-engineering-technology-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2012\/10\/28\/companies-near-and-far-have-interest-in-apsu-chemical-engineering-technology-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"Companies near and far have interest in APSU Chemical Engineering Technology Graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – A map of the United States hangs in an upstairs hallway of Austin Peay State University\u2019s Hemlock Semiconductor Building (HSC) with a sign above it that reads, \u201cWhere are they now?\u201d The map is covered with arrows pointing to the companies nationwide where graduates of the University\u2019s four-year-old Chemical Engineering Technology Program (ChET) now work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you can see, it is concentrated around middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky,\u201d Dr. Chester Little, director of the APSU ChET program, said. \u201cI have one there in Topeka, KS, and one in Los Angeles. One in Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University\u2019s Hemlock Semiconductor Building<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2008, APSU was awarded a $6.4 million grant from the state of Tennessee to develop the associate degree program, following the announcement that Hemlock Semiconductor would build a new production facility in Clarksville. Two years later, the ChET program moved into the new, state-of-the-art HSC building, named after the company because of its generous $2 million donation.<\/p>\n

But that name sometimes causes a bit of confusion. Many people mistakenly believe that ChET students can only get jobs at Hemlock, and when the company fulfills its hiring needs, no more jobs will be available.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not the case,\u201d Little said. \u201cWe realized over a year ago that we\u2019re going to have to look for other companies for our students, and some companies found us. For our students who aren\u2019t geographically restricted, who can go out within a 200-mile radius, those people find jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 20 companies \u2013 including Nissan in Franklin, Lamberti Synthesis in Chattanooga and Division Five Fabrication in Russellville, KY \u2013 have either hired students from the program or promoted students who already worked for the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese businesses have recognized the value of this program,\u201d Little said.<\/p>\n

Kyle Doyel, president and CEO of the Nashville-based Kyzen Corp., immediately saw the worth of the APSU program. When his precision cleaning chemistries and services company needed expert technicians, they contacted ChET students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe interviewed a number of students, and we\u2019ve been just thrilled with the quality of the candidates,\u201d he said. \u201cThe program itself is exactly what we\u2019re looking for in what we do. We probably have three people from that program here.\u201d<\/p>\n

[320left]A few months before ChET student Chelsea Jewell graduated, she started looking at her different career options. Little encouraged her to apply to Kyzen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my first interview with Kyzen, I was asked specific questions about the internal intricacies of one of our most common machines,\u201d Jewell recalled. She answered the questions easily, having worked with similar machines at APSU. She also impressed her interviewers with her ability to write about complex, technical subjects.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the strongest skills I gained from the program is the technical writing aspect,\u201d she said. \u201cI have to be able to convey my testing methods and analyze the results. My technical reports must then translate those results to our customers in industry terminology. I\u2019ve been told that my writing skills were what helped me stand out for this job.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May of this year, Kyzen hired Jewell. She is one of several APSU ChET graduates employed by the company. Little said it isn\u2019t unusual for these companies to hire more than one of his former students.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we get a student into a place, they\u2019ll most likely ask for number two and number three within a year,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat that says to me is that they think so highly of my students that they want more.\u201d<\/p>\n

This past summer Little took a road trip, visiting companies that have hired his students and stopping by others to let them know about the APSU program. He said the program still has a good relationship with the Hemlock Semiconductor Co. in Clarksville, but he specified that there are more opportunities for students who can leave this area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf for some reason you have to spend the rest of your life within 10 miles of Clarksville, you\u2019ve picked the wrong career,\u201d he said. \u201cMost of these jobs are in the chemical industrial parts of the country, not Clarksville or even Nashville.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that isn\u2019t much of an issue for his students any more, he said. When the program first started, the University was overwhelmed by a frenzy of applicants. Many of those individuals knew nothing about chemical engineering technology and had no real interest in the field.<\/p>\n

[320right]\u201cWe now have students who are not interested in the initial splash and hoopla,\u201d Little said. \u201cThese folks are legitimately interested in this program, and I expect our retention to be higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s good news for chemical engineering technology companies looking for skilled workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program up there has a lot of nontraditional students, so you have people a little more mature and know what they\u2019re going to do in life,\u201d Doyel, the CEO of Kyzen, said. \u201cThat tended to be one of the attractive things to us. We\u2019ll continue mining their good students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The companies that have hired, promoted or made offers to ChET graduates include:<\/h4>\n