(energetic upbeat music) ♪ Hey (equipment whirring) - Hi everyone.

I'm Hana, and this is "STEM Works," the show where we explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, and what makes them so much fun.

We take you inside businesses and talk to professionals in their field and explore what they do.

And today we are headed over to visit with our friends at Truckee Meadows Community College to find out what it is that they do.

(machinery whirring) (upbeat music) Do you know exactly what you want to do when you grow up?

Or maybe you're more like me, and don't really know where you wanna go just yet?

With so many jobs and careers out there, it's no easy task figuring out the one thing you would like to do.

Usually the best way to learn about new things and gain new experiences is to try it out for yourself.

When it comes to learning about new career paths, community colleges are a great way to find out about possible careers.

And Truckee Meadows Community College is one of the best options for getting you on the right path to your STEM future.

They even offer a program for high school students to start earning college credits while they're still in high school.

Not only do they offer a wide variety of degrees in a huge range of fields, they encourage you to try different classes and expose you to all kinds of possible paths and careers you might not even have known existed.

And even if you decide to change directions, in most cases, the classes you've already taken will count towards your degree.

And so today we'll chat with Kaysi Archey, an instructor in the architecture program, the biology department head and instructor, Dr. Meeghan Gray, as well as Michael Schultz, the Director of Public Safety Programs at TMCC.

So come on, let's head over for a visit with our friends at Truckee Meadows Community College to see all that they do.

(upbeat music) (equipment whirring) Hope you're ready.

(screen buzzing) So tell us, what is it that you teach at Truckee Meadows Community College?

- I teach the ACE High School sophomores, juniors and seniors, the first two year design in this architecture dual enrollment program here at TMCC.

- My main job for sure is to teach biology.

Most of my day is in the classroom, hopefully spreading my passion to students.

- I oversee about nine different programs for public safety, criminal justice, fire paramedic program.

I make sure that they have everything that they need so they can be successful.

- So what kinds of skills can students learn in your class?

- So we do a lot of projects including volumetric space or taking influence from another object and transforming it.

They learn scale and proportion, the creation of blueprints, floor plans, roof plans, drafting plans, the laying out the design of the house, and then making sure that it is accurately dimensioned.

We start to incorporate code.

- Even though I'm an organismal biologist, I teach a lot of anatomy and physiology.

I teach lectures, I teach labs.

Sometimes we're outside, sometimes we're inside in labs.

- They can learn to be a dispatcher.

They can learn to be a paramedic out on a firetruck or an ambulance.

They can learn to be a firefighter, structure firefighter.

They can learn to be a wildland firefighter.

- We offer residential design, and commercial landscape architecture as well.

So we touch on all three, and then I incorporate all three in the classrooms.

- We offer classes on cells, right?

Cell and molecular biology.

We offer classes on just entomology, insects, botany, just plants.

I teach intro to animal behavior.

We teach evolution here, microbiology, anatomy and physiology.

- We have a lot of mannequins that are here for training.

Some of them are very realistic.

They're used for high-fidelity scenarios and simulation.

It helps them acclimate to what they're gonna see in the field.

- What are some of the goals of what you teach, and how does that help your students?

- First year students are just introduced to really creativity in art and architecture.

There are endless answers, and so we kind of have to open that side of their brain and get them really comfortable using that creativity muscle.

- In our department, a lot of our students are taking classes so they can become nurses, a PA program, med school.

We give them the basic set of skills to get into labs, research facilities.

- One of our main goals is to provide an environment that is as realistic and similar to what they're going to see in the field.

We were provided two simulated ambulances here, so that when a student gets out into the field after receiving education here, it's a hand in glove experience.

- Why is what you teach important?

- We dig into how this directly influences Reno.

TMCC is hyper-focused on our region, because we're so small and we have some complex problems.

And if an earthquake happens, which they do here, we need to make sure that there's a strong connection between foundation and walls.

We also talk about the wind factor that happens here, because all of that is a force on the building that we have to consider.

- Everyone should take biology even if they're not going into the field.

It teaches you the basis of all living things.

It can help you make informed decisions about all kinds of stuff that we're dealing with now, COVID, right?

Healthcare, all of these things.

It can give you a good solid foundation.

- One of our main goals is to provide a hiring pool of qualified individuals to fill the ambulances and fire trucks and emergency management positions, wildland positions, all the different positions that are associated with public safety.

- Why is TMCC a great place to teach and to learn?

- Just in this building, we have a nursing program.

We have a Rad Tech Program here.

We have welding, we have manufacturing, you name it, - Architecture specifically, there's no other school in Reno that offers that.

Students who come and apply themselves, their learning skills, they're getting hands on time with instructors.

The class sizes are very small.

- The small class sizes do make a difference.

You get to know everybody.

(screen whooshing) There's a community here.

That's why I love this job so much, because I do feel like I give back to those students and try to help shape them and get them to where they need to go.

- I love the fact that community college is accessible.

It allows a person who never thought that college was even a possibility, feel welcome, and have systems in place that can help that person navigate through their education.

- We'll get you there, don't worry.

We're gonna start that path.

We're going to guide you.

We're gonna build up that confidence so that you can move on and do great things.

- That's great.

So what do you love the most about your job?

- I love how the body works.

It is so amazing, and when I see my students go, "Oh, that's why this does this?"

It's like, "Yes, it's so cool."

- I love teaching.

It was the highlight of my week every time I'd get to go in with class and be able to help those young men and women achieve their goals, - I really enjoy the impact that we can have on the community.

So, teaching allows me to inform the next generation so they can also make an impact.

- Any other advice you might have for us?

- My recommendation for students that would be looking into getting into this field is to focus on biology in the human body.

Our students have to know human anatomy.

They have to know how the body works.

- Architecture drives their experience as a human in society.

If they want to have a good experience, they have the opportunity to design that.

- If you like something, go for it, right?

And you will find people that will support you and realize you do a lot of fun things along the way.

- If someone comes in, and they've got a good heart and a desire to do this, the rest will fall in place.

We train first the heart, then the mind, and then the hands, and we do it in that order.

- That was too cool.

Thanks to Kaysi, Meeghan, and Mike, we found out all about what they do and teach at Truckee Meadows Community College, how they help students discover the many career paths available to them, and how you too can find your favorite STEM job as a student at TMCC.

I hope you had as much fun as I did finding out about these awesome careers at Truckee Meadows Community College.

Well, that's about all the time we have, but I wanna thank you all for joining us for this episode of "PBS Reno STEM Works."

You can find out more information about Truckee Meadows Community College at their website, tmcc.edu.

For more information on these careers and others, visit pbsreno.org/STEM Works.

And as always, don't forget to get out there and discover what it is that gets you going and on the right path to your STEM future.

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