If you’re a fan of country music classics, you’re probably familiar with Alan Jackson’s 1992 hit, Chattahoochee, an ode to the muddy river that taught him how to swim, who he was, “a lot about livin’ and a little ‘bout love.”
Today, the Chattahoochee teaches a lot more than that. We’re talking about Chattahoochee Technical College (“Chatt Tech”), of course, the largest technical college in Georgia with more than 10,000 students across eight campuses.
Chatt Tech features a variety of cutting-edge programs relevant to the manufacturing world, two of which are led by the Kazemian family. Father Joe and son Alan head up the Industrial Maintenance & Electrical Technology Program, while son Andrew leads the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Program.
Joe, Alan, and Andrew recently attended Smart Factory Mechatronics instructor training at the Amatrol Technical Training Institute (ATTI) in Jeffersonville, Indiana, to prepare for the upcoming school year. They’re planning to further integrate Amatrol’s Smart Factory Mechatronics system into their programs to teach basic to advanced PLC programming and troubleshooting in a Smart Factory environment.
How did three members of the same family end up leading programs at the same school? According to Andrew, “it was kind of an accident.” He helped teach some classes at Chatt Tech during the COVID-19 pandemic and then encouraged Alan to apply for an open position when they both graduated.
Their father, Joe, believes the Kazemians are “the first family of three working for Chattahoochee Technical.” He likes to joke that the school is “going to name a building for us.” Not all families could withstand working together, but these three have a special bond that helps them make their programs successful. “It’s been good so far,” concludes Andrew.
Joe and Alan’s Industrial Maintenance & Electrical Technology Program prepares students for careers “in the high-demand field of operating and servicing commercial and industrial machinery.” The Chatt Tech website notes that the “dynamic, hands-on learning environment” of the program will teach students “how to install, maintain, and repair high- and low-voltage electrical and industrial systems, which include motor controls, PLCs, and fluids.”
In a Chatt Tech podcast, Alan describes the importance of hands-on experience in their program: “Typically, we try to provide everything 50% lecture, 50% hands-on. So you don’t just come to class and listen to us talk for 90% of the time and then have like a 30-minute lab.”
Amatrol’s eLearning also plays an important role. “I like the way that it’s written out, step-by-step,” notes Alan. He also finds it to be a convenient tool “for catching up when students have missed a class. I print out the skill PDF and let them go through that, or print out the actual step-by-step instructions that we would be reading and let them use that.”
Joe and Alan’s program averages about 200 students, and they are happy with the success they’ve been able to help students achieve. According to Joe, “We have made our programs grow well. Students graduate. Placement is high. Starting salaries are good.”
Andrew’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Program has also seen great success. Averaging 150-200 students, the program teaches students the knowledge and skills they need for a “career as an electrical and computer engineering technician to help engineers design and develop computers, robotic equipment, medical monitoring devices, and other electrical and computer equipment.”
Andrew’s program also “features lots of hands-on lab experience to build troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.” In a Chatt Tech podcast about his program, Andrew doesn’t mince words when he expresses his belief that his program “is the best program in the state of Georgia in regards to electrical computer engineering technology.”
Why? According to Andrew, it’s “because we try to focus directly on industry and industry needs. Students who come into this program want to come in to learn exactly what needs to be done in the field and apply that once they get a job…and our focus teaching is to directly relate the field to the classroom and help students have an understanding and learn exactly what they need to in order to be…efficient in the field, once they graduate.”
Andrew continues to push his program in new directions. For example, Andrew notes that “we’re creating a mechatronics-based certificate for specialization in our program. We have two new courses just approved by the state that utilize Amatrol equipment.”
Click below to watch an overview video of Andrew’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology Program at Chatt Tech:
About Duane Bolin
Duane Bolin is a former curriculum developer and education specialist. He is currently a Marketing Content Developer in the technical training solutions market.
