LINN — Saturday’s Show-Me State Tech (open house) provided students, parents, and community members the opportunity to visit the campus, interact with current students, alumni, and faculty, see state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, and apply to the number one college in the country.

Marketing Director Brandon McElwain noted the college hoped to increase enrollment in the Heavy Equipment Operations Management program.

“Basically, we’ve doubled that program,” he said. “Every summer, the hope is to have 200 graduates and 200 interns, which would double the size of the program. So, there’s a lot of need for those particular students, especially with building I-70. I’m sure I-44 is gonna be right behind it, so we’re trying the best we can to fill that workforce. We just need the students, and we have some openings this fall.”

Academic Dean Shawn Berhorst noted the program recently received a $15 million grant. “We just bought an entire fleet of heavy equipment,” he said. “It’s shocking the number of pieces of giant machines we have up there running. We’re (constructing) a brand-new building, and we have opened some new ground.”

Students learn a lot in a hands-on environment, using millions of dollars’ worth of equipment. “It’s a good program to check out,” Berhorst added.

The Ag program also continues to grow. “We recently acquired a couple of farms, and we’re in the process of building a new building,” Berhorst noted. “We started a cattle herd and have some sheep.”

On Saturday, pregnant sheep were examined using portable ultrasound equipment.

“We’re on the on the cusp of buying a herd of sheep, so we’re gonna expand in that direction, too,” said Berhorst.

The Drafting and Design Engineering Technology Department is another area that is seeing significant growth, noting that the recent Career Fair saw many companies seeking graduates for employment. “I think 115 companies were looking for our drafting students,” said Department Chair/Instructor Ken Niekamp. “A lot of our students already had jobs, so it was very limited for the companies. It’s good for our students, maybe bad for the companies, but it’s unreal. The job opportunities for these students are there.”

Niekamp noted Drafting and Design Engineering Technology graduates are similar to nurses in the role each plays to others. While nurses work closely with doctors, drafters work closely with engineers and architects. “So, everything in this world that’s being built starts with someone designing it, laying it out and doing prints,” Niekamp said. “Our students help with these prints and work closely with the engineers and architects. There’s so much industry right now that the job market is just unreal.”

State Tech boasts a 99% job placement rate.

Overall, McElwain said he’s pleased with State Tech’s direction. “We seem to be trending slightly on the slight uptick again,” he said. “We’re hoping to have about 100 more students this coming year than we did last year, and we’re just north of 2,400, so we’re still moving in that right direction.”

For more information, visit statetechmo.edu.