New England Tech: Turning Passions into Careers

Members of the New England Tech team welcome Providence Rotarians. Left to right: students Harry Lopez and Kiera Lawlor, event coordinator Melissa Haig, President Mike and Steve Kitchen, NEIT VP for Corporate Education & Training.

Steve Kitchen, Vice President for Corporate Education & Training, gave us an update on the big changes taking place at New England Tech. Just a few years after moving from Warwick to an unused corporate building in East Greenwich, the school has expanded its property holding to over 200 acres and begun construction on new facilities, including dorms, that will make it a 24/7 campus. One of the challenges in this transformation, Kitchen says, is to maintain the school’s focus on student needs while growing from over 3,000 students to about 5,000 in the next few years.

Two current NEIT students discussed their experiences at the school::

Harry Lopez, who has completed his Associates degree and is now working on a B.S. in Information Technology, said he never much liked school and only approached New England Tech because he knew he needed some skills to get a job. When he unenthusiastically told the admissions counselor he wanted to take auto mechanics, she asked if he’d thought about anything else. That simple “student-focused” question opened his mind to new possibilities and turned him toward a budding IT career.

Kiera Lawlor came to New England Tech knowing she wanted a career in architecture and is well on her way to a Bachelor’s degree after getting her A.S. with a 3.7 GPA. She said she enjoys the real-world combination of lab and studio studies. In her spare time Kiera is secretary of the East Greenwich Rotaract Club and was an artist team member at our Street Painting Festival.

New England Tech continually monitors the Rhode Island economy to make sure it’s providing training for jobs that local employers need.

Steve Kitchen of NEIT takes Rotary members on a tour of the East Greenwich facility