For Amy Gilkerson (Accounting ’22), the future always involved a stop at Mitchell Tech.
“I would talk to my brother about what life was like in Mitchell and at Mitchell Tech. He had smaller classes and got to know the instructors and the people in Mitchell,” she said. “I kind of wanted that small-town feel” that the family appreciated in Pierre.
Having enjoyed her high school accounting classes, Gilkerson signed up for a Tech Camp.
“The students who helped out were super-friendly, and they had a smaller class size,” she said. “It was exactly what I was looking for.”
Her senior year of high school, Gilkerson learned about the Medical LaboratoryTechnology program at a career exploration event, and initially she signed up for that program, thinking she would enjoy the fast-paced nature of that career path more than working in an office.
“I found everything interesting in the courses and labs, but I realized it wasn’t what I should have done,” she said. “I realized that I liked that program, but it wasn’t really what I wanted.”
So, she transferred into Accounting.
“The Admissions team made the transition smooth for me and made sure I had everything figured out,” Gilkerson said.
While her brother’s Mitchell Tech experience led her to campus, when she graduated, Gilkerson said, she left with a second family. “We got to know each other and instructor Annika Russell-Manke on a personal level. The instructors really want to get to know you – you’re not just a student to them. We all worked together, and if we had questions, we could ask the instructor and get detailed information. We had a lot of the same general classes, too, so, between classes, all of us would stay and work on homework together.”
Gilkerson said she is grateful for her time at Mitchell Tech and the skills she was able to take back home to Pierre, where she works in a tax accounting office.
“I love my job and the people that I work with,” she said. “I am glad that I followed my gut and my heart. I am glad I chose Mitchell Tech.”
