Now in her third decade at Northwest Technical College, Gwen Oster has taught (almost) every class there is in the college’s electrical construction program.

During her career, she has helped scores of NTC students find their futures in construction electrical, industrial manufacturing, business ownership or public service.

“Students think they want to go into commercial or residential construction,” Oster said, “But when they go through our classes, they see the opportunities in other areas. Some of our students go through the program and never work in the electrical field — and they’re happy with that.”

She points to the college’s lab-first environment as a critical part of this growth experience for her students. Oster says that, through the labs, students develop skills that can support them in the future — no matter their goals.

“That hands-on portion is key,” she said. “Students get the opportunity to learn how to properly install cable, make connections, bend conduit and understand the different tools. Some of our students have never touched a tool before they come here, and we give them the opportunity to try everything.”

She says the program’s Sandbox — an indoor built environment where students can practice digging trenches and running underground conduit to above-ground connection points — is one example of the innovative hands-on opportunities students get at NTC.

Through its annual Day of Giving, the NTC Foundation helped raise the funds for the Sandbox and local partners contributed materials to make it a reality.

“The Foundation and their partners were helpful in getting the funding to support that,” she said.

According to Oster, the program’s hands-on focus — and its ongoing need for single-use materials — makes support from the NTC Foundation and other partners more important.

“The biggest expenses in our program are consumables,” she said. “We have a lot of one-and-dones — we can bend conduit once, then it’s gone. The cost of wire and conduit has gone up; two years ago, THHN (wire) was $66, and now it’s over $100.”

She said students would also benefit from refreshed power tools, upgrading to battery-operated versions more common on modern worksites.

“We get by with what we have, but there are better tools out there that are easier to use,” she said.

Improving equipment aligns with NTC’s emphasis on a student-first learning environment, including the use of free Open Educational Resources instead of traditional textbooks.

“Students don’t buy a lab manual,” Oster said. “They print off what they need, and it goes right with the trainers we have built ourselves. It’s just made everything smoother.”

She also pointed to student-centric changes in NTC’s electrical theory course. That class emphasizes hands-on experience, which, according to Oster, sets it apart from lecture-heavy theory courses offered in other programs.

“We tell you, ‘This is Ohm’s Law,’ and then we show you how it works,” she said. “We’re going to show you the calculation, and then you’ll measure it with your meter and prove that it’s true. It’s physically in front of you.”

Oster and the NTC Foundation have also partnered on a new scholarship supporting women in trades, which requires applicants to be active in the college’s new Women in Trades Club.

She said that between her students and those from NTC’s automotive, plumbing and HVAC programs, the club will begin with about 10 members.

“We are going to help provide some things for mentoring this year, and to support the club,” she said. “Our goal is to have two big recruitment events — one in the spring and one in the summer — where we bring in females who are interested in the trades, provide a hands-on workshop and give them the opportunity to receive some college credit.”

She says the ultimate goal, for both the scholarship and the club, is to empower women, further demonstrating NTC’s commitment to student success.

“We want them to feel that they already know some of this when they start the program,” she said. “They’ve already used these tools, and that will give them more confidence when they go into the lab.”