PIQUA — Edison State Community College held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of its Robinson Student Career Center.
The new center, located on Edison State’s main Piqua campus, was established in the effort to “bridge the gap” of career pathways exploration and the employment process.
“This center was designed to reflect Edison State’s role in connecting students to the careers of their dreams,” Edison State Community College President Doreen Larson said on Wednesday. “Those careers are ready and waiting here in our cities, in our counties and in our state.
“This center is not only a highly visible and uniquely beautiful entrance to the Piqua campus, but it represents the highly valuable and highly affordable Edison State education that serves as an entrance to a rewarding career and an overall high-quality of life for our students, their families and our community,” Larson continued.
The RSCC includes areas for career counseling, access to job search resources, conference rooms, student work spaces and various other career services.
According to Larson, the center is named after Pat and Thom Robinson, major donors for the project and longtime supporters of the college.
“A little over two years ago, Pat and Thom Robinson visited this campus in Piqua, and they got excited about our efforts at Edison State in helping students identify career tracks and to connect students with local employers,” Larson said. “Typical to Pat and Thom Robinson, their first question was, ‘How can we help?’”
Speakers on Wednesday included Jack Hershey, president and CEO of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges; Randy Gardner, 10th chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education; Tami Baird Ganley, chair for the Edison State Community College Board of Trustees; and Dylan Warren, Edison State Student Senate director of administration.
“As a student, I’m excited about the opportunities presented by the Robinson Center,” Warren said. “It’s a major upgrade to the campus and the physical look of it. More importantly, it will provide a link for students to move from schoolwork to a fulfilling career.”
Also in attendance on Wednesday were the Robinsons, Pat and Thom, themselves, who also gave a brief address.
“This is so exciting,” Pat said. “It’s just a thrill to be a part of this. (Thom and I) do sit around at home occasionally and think, ‘What can we do? We need a project,’ and when this hit, we thought, ‘Oh, boy, this is going to be fun.’ And it has been.
“It’s such a transformation, and it’s got to be exciting for all the new students coming in,” Pat continued. “Thank you for letting us be a part of it; I’ll be proud forever.”
Thom added that he also is proud to have been a strong supporter of Edison State throughout the years and looks forward to continuing to do so. The Robinsons have contributed to several other Edison State projects, including the addition of the Robinson Theater.
“Today, I can’t imagine where we’ll go from here,” he said. “This won’t be the last time; this is the third time we’ve had an addition, and I’d like to be around when we do the fourth one.”
