By Miles Flynn | Southern Indiana Business Report
BEDFORD – For some time now, Amy Redman’s been on a personal mission to highlight how much today’s North Lawrence Career Center has to offer and to help people break the old habit of referring to it as the vocational school. “The career center of today is not the same as the vocational school of yesterday,” she explained. Now, Redman is excited to be starting in her role as NLCC’s new director. She takes over for Brad Street, who resigned ahead of the 2021-22 school year. She’s being joined by Steven McNabb, the center’s new assistant director.
Redman’s history in Lawrence County education goes back a long way. After earning a degree in family and consumer science education from Purdue University, she spent 12 years teaching just down the road at Mitchell High School. Subsequent work as a professional development specialist with Jeffersonville-based Five Star Technology Solutions allowed her to build new relationships with schools across the area and to broaden her own horizons.
Redman explained the goal of the organization is to help integrate technology into local curricula by working to place eCoaches or technology coaches into schools. The experience with Five Star helped her decide to pursue a master’s degree at Ball State University in career and technical education, with a directorship license. “I wanted to be an administrative leader,” she said, “and I love the practicality that a career center offers.”
She said a career center’s power to help prepare the workforce to find employment immediately after graduation or to step into post-secondary training is a mission she believes in. “So many companies and industries are now willing to pay for their employees’ education,” she noted. She said NLCC can help local students develop skills to open doors like those.
In such a specialized field, Redman is especially grateful she was able to find an opportunity that’s just a short drive from the family farm in Williams in western Lawrence County. There, she and husband Patrick are raising two boys: Dane, 7; and William, 4. “I’m very, very excited and very thankful the NLCC is willing to put me in this position and they believe in me,” she shared.
She officially began in the role on July 21, and besides the start of school Aug. 4, one thing Redman is particularly excited about is working with employers around the area to ensure the offerings at NLCC align with the requirements of local jobs. She explained the needs assessment is just one of the action steps of the NLCC’s strategic plan that will get a high priority now that the COVID pause appears to be in the rearview mirror. “We’re going to hit the ground running,” she said.
One outgrowth of the survey that she’s expecting to see will be the development of more local educational opportunities in the fields of electronic and cyber security. They’ll join a list of subject areas that presently includes agriculture, auto collision repair and auto services technology, computer sciences, construction trades, cosmetology, early childhood education, electronics, engineering, family and consumer science, graphic design, health sciences education, precision machining, radio and television, welding technology and the relatively new offering of criminal justice. Redman explained the criminal justice program is in its second year now and can help prepare students for a wide range of careers, from law enforcement to roles in the court system. “I’m very excited to see that program expand,” she said.
Redman is pleased that NLCC enjoys excellent connections with the local business community and with groups like the Lawrence County Economic Growth Council. “There’s certainly strong support,” she commented. She said the NLCC also benefits from a great working relationship with the partnering schools in its Area 40 territory, including Bedford, Mitchell, Medora, Brownstown, Orleans and Shoals.
Redman estimates that approximately 1,000 students take part in NLCC classes now, and she’s hoping to see that number continue to grow. While classes are open to juniors and seniors now, she said the state’s rolling out a new program of study to include more sophomores. In addition, she said NLCC continues to work on providing more programming for younger students. One example is its preparing for college and careers class, which goes all the way down to eighth grade. “I would love to just broaden the experience of students in all of our area,” Redman said.