Kilgore College teams with Amazon Web Services to boost tech programs

Published 3:00 pm Monday, February 5, 2024

KILGORE — Kilgore College has announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services in an effort to align the college’s tech educational programs with the ever-changing demands of the IT industry.

Tracy Skopek, vice president of instruction at KC, said the collaboration would help to “ensure KC’s students and the East Texas community have the necessary skills to be the IT workforce of today and in the future.”

KC President Brenda Kays called the collaboration a “milestone that will have a dramatic impact and benefit for our students and their ability to be competitive in a job market which requires premium technology skills.”

Kays said KC staff began meeting with AWS representatives in summer 2023 to evaluate the college’s curriculum and to develop strategies to incorporate new skills into the classroom.

The goal of the partnership is to better prepare students for careers in IT cloud support, software development and data analysis — some of the fastest-growing career paths in Texas and the nation.

“Students in these programs are already experiencing practical applications in their coursework,” Kays said of the partnership.

Ginger Dennis, department chair of KC’s computer and information technology program, said she and her department are “thrilled to partner with AWS.”

“They are helping us to identify gaps in our teaching and our materials in our networking and cybersecurity programs, as well as our software development program. Once we identify these gaps, they are helping us to come up with training modules and hands-on projects that come from their technologists in the workplace, that can help our students see how to use these skills in an actual job situation,” Dennis said.

KC student Richard Marks said he always had a passion for computers and networking, and enrolling at KC has allowed to develop real-world skills, thanks in part to the AWS collaboration.

“This collaboration between Amazon Web Services and Kilgore College is truly exciting,” Marks said. “As a student, I can only begin to imagine how this is going to change not only information technology at Kilgore College, but in East Texas, and the skills that are going to be developed in the program.”

He added that the enhanced curricula at KC inspired him to return for another degree in cloud deployment and development.

A statement from KC said the initiative “enables our students to connect directly with employers through increased access to hiring events and internships and apprenticeships that provide real-world experience.”