Nashville State offers ‘bridge to opportunity’ to education, training for in-demand careers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Reimagine college. A school that meets students where they are, with seven campuses across Middle Tennessee, also financially with the help of scholarships, and at different stages of life, whether it’s while students are still in high school or decades later when they’re ready to further their education or change careers.

“I see community colleges as a bridge to opportunity,” said Dr. Shanna Jackson, president of Nashville State Community College. “Adults come back to get retrained; high school students start with us and then transfer to four years or go right to work. We’re here for the local community, so this is a place where you can get education and training in a variety of different disciplines and a lot of high-demand careers.”

Nashville State Community College has about 7,400 students. Jackson said there was a dip in enrollment during the pandemic, but it’s bouncing back. “We actually have the largest number of fall applications of any community college in Tennessee.”

Nashville State has more than 80 degree and certificate programs including the arts, hospitality management, nursing and information technology, or IT.

“The IT skill gap is something we are trying to solve,” Jackson said. “We celebrated with Cat Financial, our first federally-registered IT apprenticeship program. Two students have now graduated with their AAS degree, and they are Cat Financial employees. They finished their apprenticeship program, and now they’re pursuing their bachelor’s degree. Cat has supported them all along the way.”

Those two IT graduates are Jorge Rosario and Ramiro Valdez.

Cat Financial, the financial services arm of Caterpillar Inc., welcomed Rosario and Valdez as full-time employees with benefits while they finished their associate’s degree and gained on-the-job training.

“Every single skill that I learned at Cat Financial, or Nashville State, I was able to combine into me becoming a better person and a better career in the future,” Rosario said.

“It opens many doors for you,” Valdez said. “Starting a program, getting the experience, creating a lot of great connections, it’s definitely paved the path for me and for my career.”

Nashville State is focused on paving the path for more students, as the college continues to grow.

“We’re building an expansion in Clarksville, and we’re building a brand-new center of higher education in Dickson,” Jackson said. “The footprint and being able to have the facilities to support the programs and services for students is critically important.”

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Nashville State has partnered with Metro Nashville Public Schools for the Better Together program. It offers dual enrollment classes and early college programs, which give students the opportunity to graduate with their high school diploma and their associate’s degree at the same time.

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