November is Colorado Apprenticeship Month

November is Colorado Apprenticeship Month which is a statewide celebration that gives businesses, communities, and educators the opportunity to showcase their apprenticeship programs and apprentices while providing valuable information to career seekers. Arapahoe Community College (ACC) truly believes in the transformational power of apprenticeship programs as we have seen them transform the lives of our students by providing a mechanism to obtain economic mobility through an earn while you learn experience. We are proud to be able to provide these apprenticeship opportunities to our community at ACC and will be celebrating this month by highlighting the work we have done with our employer partners, students, and community partners to make earn and learn experiences possible at the college! 

To kick off the month, please meet our apprenticeship team:

Name:
Amanda Olmedo

Describe your role at WCP:
My position is the Apprenticeship Navigator, and I work directly with apprentices to ensure they are successful in their program. 

What was your dream job as a child?
I wanted to be an engineer as a child.

If your childhood dream job had an apprenticeship program, would you participate now?
I believe there are some apprenticeships out there for engineering! I think I would participate now, if I felt that I knew exactly what the job entails. I have not looked into what engineers do on a day-to-day basis and I don’t think it is how I envisioned it when I was a kid.

Name:
Keysha Boggess

Describe your role at WCP:
I oversee our healthcare and public service apprenticeship programs. I collaborate with our employer partners to deliver exceptional programming for ACC apprentices.  

What was your dream job as a child?
Talk Show Host

If your childhood dream job had an apprenticeship program, would you participate now?
Of course! What a dream to be able to learn from a pro and have a mentor like Oprah or Drew Barrymore show me the ropes. 

Name:
Ashley Maloney

Describe your role at WCP:
As a Program Manager for Apprenticeship Programs, I coordinate with employers, community organizations, and college instructional and student service departments to develop and facilitate earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship programs. I currently focus on apprenticeship programs for Technology and Business occupations.

What was your dream job as a child?
Throughout my life and starting very young, I've had a common theme for my dream job which is to help people. My first dream job at age 5 was to be a waitress and progressed from then until high school to be a flight attendant, nurse practitioner, social worker, then teacher.

If your childhood dream job had an apprenticeship program, would you participate now? 
I am sure there are apprenticeship programs for flight attendants. If I was designing it, I would add in language courses, intercultural communication, conflict resolution and perhaps some tourism courses to learn more (and travel) to many cool places!

Name:
Shao Yeung

Describe your role at WCP:
My role at ACC is the Director of Employer Engagement and Apprenticeships at the college. I help support the Workforce and Community Programs department in connecting with employer partners to create customized training opportunities and apprenticeship programs.

What was your dream job as a child?
Shaolin Monk

If your childhood dream job had an apprenticeship program, would you participate now? 
Shaolin Monks essentially train as apprentices already, and it would be cool to be a Shaolin Monk/Nun.  I don’t think I have it in me to live at a monastery anymore because of the strict lifestyle, but who knows…maybe one day. 

Name:
Debbie Shackleford 

Describe your role at WCP:
My role at ACC is Workforce Training Coordinator. My main responsibilities are employer engagement and coordinating the Littleton Leadership Academy.

What was your dream job as a child?
Marine biologist (wanted to work with whales)

If your childhood dream job had an apprenticeship program, would you participate now? 
Absolutely! The Shoals Marine Lab offers a Research Apprenticeship.