Fifteen weeks, 200 applicants, 10 graduates

GREEN BAY – In the midst of summer, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) gathered for the graduation of 10 ambitious students.

Each year, the Department of Corrections partners with NWTC for an accelerated certificate program for incarcerated individuals.

Electromechanical Instructor Ed Kralovec said, “We’re really excited every year with this because we have graduates that not only is it going to be able to change their life, but it’s also going to help our region become stronger and more vibrant.

“Their motivation, their determination, their ‘no person left behind mentality’...I mean, it’s a highly intense, long day for 15 weeks, and they all rise to the challenge. We love these groups, and they’re very successful, every single cohort. The average grade was 94%. That’s pretty incredible, and that’s kind of the standard with this group. Once they get in, they’re all very high achievers.”

Due to resource limitations, Kralovec said, “we have to squeeze it in…between the end of spring semester and the start of fall semester.

“They arrive every morning at 8 a.m. and it is one class from 8 a.m. to two in the afternoon, straight through…you can already see the intensity. And then they go back (to Sanger Powers Correctional Center), have a little break, but then it’s homework time and prep time for the next day. And they do that Monday through Friday for 15 weeks non-stop, and every single week starts with a brand new topic and ends with the final exam. It doesn’t stop,” he added.

By the end of the program, graduates leave with an Industrial Maintenance certificate.

“It gives them a very strong skill set working with the technologies and hardware that our manufacturing companies in our district desperately need. So it’s a very highly sought-after certificate,” Kralovec explained.

“The certificate is enough for them to get a family wage sustaining career at a local employer here, (or) odds are they’re going to be coming back to us as technology changes for updates. Others want to move forward to have the associates degree, which opens even more doors for them. So, typically, what happens is they’ll come back while they’re employed, so they’ll basically work with their employer and then work with us. But it’s strictly up to them. And that’s the beauty of this. Whatever gives them the best quality of life, they get to choose.”

Kralovec said the partnership between NWTC and the Department of Corrections is the only one of its kind in Wisconsin.

“They open it up to the entire Department of Corrections system,” said Kralovec. “So they actually have to apply system-wide, the entire Department of Corrections for the entire state of Wisconsin. We typically have close to 200 applicants for these 12 spots. It’s not just Green Bay or Brown County; it is a true state-wide impact.

“This is our only program with the Department of Corrections that offers a certificate…The tricky part (is) the equipment they were working on is literally millions of dollars. So to try to scale that out is a massive undertaking because it’s not just providing textbooks, they actually have to do a lot of hands-on work.”

Kralovec believes the program is “A huge win for all parties.”

“I mean, the students are obviously proving to themselves that they can handle high tech and gain skills,” he said. “A lot of them probably never thought that they could do that. And they’re going to go out and help out communities in our local area to make stronger companies and stronger manufacturing.

And for us as an institution at NWTC and for the Department of Corrections, it’s a huge win because this is what we want to be doing. For the faculty, we actually want to be part of this program. It isn’t like an assignment; we actually vie for who’s going to get to do the teaching for this. It’s that important of a program and it’s that awesome of a program.”