Information Technology Manager Andrew Collins relied on his Ohio College Opportunity Grant to earn a management degree. Already a skilled IT professional, Andrew’s business administration education enabled him to move into the ranks of management. “There are a lot of things…I could bring here right away,” he said. “My last quarter I could tie things in to the externship and bring them right here [to the workplace].”

Surgical Technologist Catherine Wood used her Ohio College Opportunity Grant to launch a new career in a more promising field. “You know, downsizing and right-sizing, they had a different name for it every two years,” she said of her old job. The single mother knew education was the only way for her to take charge of her own future: “I did night classes, day classes…whatever it took to get me through.”

Front Desk Concierge Julius Chambers is following his dream, thanks to his Ohio College Opportunity Grant and college education. The U.S. Navy veteran is putting his management skills to work in the hospitality industry and contributing to local economic development. “Basically, everything I learned in two years at National, I’m using those skills,” he says.