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Alumni Owned Businesses

​​​​The businesses below are owned all or in part by alumni of the Central Ohio Technical College. If you are the owner of a business, a graduate of COTC, and would like for your company to appear on this list, please submit your business information to t ...

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Kori Caughenbaugh

Kori Caughenbaugh made a choice to stand out from the rest. First, she decided to enter the traditionally male-dominated world of architectural engineering. Second, she decided the best way to begin her career was to earn a two-year degree and get started ...

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Angela Simmons

When Angela Simmons graduated with a nursing technology degree from Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) in 2003, she knew she wanted to help save lives in her community. Simmons didn't realize then that she would help open and manage a medical serv ...

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Tim Blunn
Group of radiologists at Grant Medical Center

Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) alumnus Tim Blunn's journey to his career as a computed tomography (CT) technologist began with an accident. Blunn was still living in England when he suffered a soccer injury that significantly dislocated his kn ...

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Julio Valladares
Alumni Julio Valladares receiving Community Service Award

In 1981, 18-year-old Julio Valladares traveled to Newark, Ohio, with the El Salvador National Baseball Team to compete in the international Babe Ruth World Series. Now he calls Newark home and is doing his part to give back to the town that gave him a new ...

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Braden Patchett
Alumni Braden Patchett

Before enrolling at COTC, Braden Patchett already had a long work history in the restaurant business. But for the St. Louisville resident, all those years amounted to only one thing—employment that was just a "J.O.B." leaving him "Just Over ...

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Alumni Spotlight

COTC alumni are engaged, committed leaders who are making a difference in their professions and communities. We invite you to read their stories. ...

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Archana Rajendran
Archana Rajendran standing next to ultrasound machine.

Archana Rajendran of Westerville believes she wouldn’t be where she is today without the hands-on training and personal attention she received from the professors at Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). Rajendran participated in a recent photo shoot cel ...

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The Right Thing
white female in lab coat standing smiling, man in officer uniform standing smiling, white female with black hair standing and smiling

Mike Johnson had a motto: Always do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Perhaps that is why all of his children pursued careers protecting and caring for others. And they all began at COTC. ...

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A Career to Build
Woman in lab coat smiling at camera

Mara Weber began a traditional four-year degree at The Ohio State University at Newark but realized it wasn't the right path for her. She wanted to get a degree quicker allowing her to get into the healthcare setting and begin making a difference. Be ...

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Jeff, Julie and Collin Pillow

The day his son graduated from COTC was one of the proudest moments of Jeff Pillow’s life. It may sound cliché, but this wasn’t just another milestone to adulthood. Collin became the third member of the Pillow family to attend COTC. Mom Julie was the firs ...

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Sheriff Randy Thorp
Sheriff Randy Thorp in uniform holding a blue number one foam finger

Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp is now serving his fourth term in office, and he believes a great deal of his success can be credited to Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). “Growing up I thought about a career in law enforcement a lot, but I didn’t ...

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Bryanna Stigger
Brianna Stigger in Ohio Union

Like many teens, Bryanna Stigger was unsure of what career to pursue or what college to attend. COTC was close to home and affordable, so it was a convenient choice. It turned out to be a transformational choice. “COTC was the foundation of my career jour ...

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Jennifer McDonald
Jennifer McDonald with foam number one finger at the Licking County Chamber of Commerce office.

The president and chief executive officer at the Licking County Chamber of Commerce knows the value of a Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) education from both sides of the table. Jennifer McDonald is a COTC graduate. She received a business management ...

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Chase Ghiloni
Chase Ghiloni stands with arms crosses, smiling in office.

When Chase Ghiloni graduated from Newark High School in 2001, he didn’t think college was all that important. These days he has a different opinion. Ghiloni is now the vice president of marketing at First Federal Savings in Newark, Ohio, and credits his s ...

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DeLane King
DeLane King standing in front of police cruiser.

An interaction with a police officer during his youth made Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) alumnus DeLane King want to make the same kind of difference in his community. King is now a Granville police officer after starting his career with the Hebro ...

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Vickie Sant
Vickie Sant sands in the COTC Knox campus lobby for a portrait.

Little did Vickie Sant know, when she began working for Mount Vernon’s First-Knox National Bank in 1976, that in January 2019 she would retire as the bank’s first female president. In fact, her experience at First-Knox was her first exposure to accounting ...

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Randy Thorp, Mark Weiner and Nick Shuster
Two men in police uniforms and one man in a suit stand inside a courtroom of the Licking County Courthouse.

On May 12, 2017, as the nation’s eyes were drawn to the tragic scene of a shooting at Pine Kirk Care Center in Kirkersville, Ohio, three Central Ohio Technical College alumni played instrumental roles in helping to contain the situation and navigate its a ...

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Julio Valladares
Julio Valladres' headshot.

A trip to Newark in 1981 with the El Salvador National Baseball Team was 19-year-old Julio Valladares’ first experience in the place he would later call home. While his native country was in the midst of a civil war, Valladares felt a sense of peace and w ...

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Jennifer McDonald and Brittany Misner
Jennifer McDonald and Brittany Misner stand next to each other outside local businesses  in downtown Newark.

Jennifer McDonald and Brittany Misner may have earned their business management degrees a couple decades apart, but they brought their business acumen to the same table in 2016 and have teamed up since then to propel the Licking County Chamber of Commerce ...

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COTC Alumna Opens Childcare Center
Portrait of Brittany Klinkert and her three children.

For Brittany Klinkert, life keeps her on her toes. The Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) alumna is not only a mother of three, but she also recently opened a Newark-based childcare center that brings an additional 20 children into her care. ...

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COTC Recognizes Three Alumni with College Awards
Portrait of COTC President John M. Berry, PhD;  alumni Bryanna Stigger; and Jay Barker.

Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) presented three alumni awards to graduates who demonstrated remarkable achievements in their careers with exceptional dedication to the populations they serve. ...

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COTC Alumna Reflects on Nursing Career
Sherry Engle stands next to a mannequin in a nursing lab at COTC's Pataskala campus.

Sherry Engle, of Pataskala, treasures the generous cache of memories she stored up during her nursing years — a career’s worth of interactions that collectively illustrate the “human touch” that she knows is vital to patients’ well-being. ...

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COTC Alumna Bolin Inspires Hope Through Change
COTC human services graduate Melody Bolin stands outside of The Main Place where she works as a mental health case manager.

When Melody Bolin, LSW, works with her clients, she knows how hard change can be.  ...

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Mother and Daughter Earn Same COTC Degree 20 Years Apart
Lora Smith stands next to Lydia Smith who is holding her COTC diploma after just walking across the stage at COTC's commencement ceremony in December 2022.

In 2002, an expectant Lora Smith crossed the stage to receive an associate degree in surgical technology at Central Ohio Technical College (COTC). These days the associate professor sits amongst the college’s faculty watching “her kids” in the surgical te ...

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Braden Feick
Brandon Fienk sits at a desk with his hand on a mouse in front of a wall of monitors.

As an energy delivery system operator associate for American Electric Power (AEP), Braden Feick is one of many “hands on deck” when a power outage sweeps through the area. Thanks to his extensive training at COTC — which dovetailed into an immersive inter ...

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Jennifer Ellis-Brunn
Portrait of Jennifer Ellis Brunn standing in downtown Newark.

From a young age, Jennifer Ellis-Brunn understood the importance of hard work and the value of education. “I was working in banking while in high school, and I wanted to continue gaining career experience while getting the education I needed to advance,” ...

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Heather Prince, DNP, APRN-CNP
Portrait of Heather Prince standing outside COTC's Pataskala campus.

As a transplant to the Buckeye State from Colorado Springs, Heather Prince used to drive past the Pataskala campus of COTC and wonder what went on there. Prince was in her 30s at the time and, as it happened, seeking a new career direction. Turns out, she ...

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Billi Gross and Matayah Berry
Portrait of Billi Gross and Matayah Berry at COTC's Coshocton campus.

For some, Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) is the beginning of their professional journey. For others, it’s a legacy they carry throughout their lives. For mother and daughter Billi Gross and Matayah Berry, it’s both. ...

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