See what South Central College students and alumni are up to, as well as find information on strategies that help students succeed.
For several years, Career and Technical Education (CTE) careers have experienced increased growth. CTE refers to courses and programs designed to prepare students for careers in current or emerging professions that can be completed in two years or less. Students benefit through learning real-world skills and practical knowledge in their selected career focus.
The programs are flexible, forward-thinking, student-centered with modern labs, and well worth the investment. SCC works with industry partners to develop a curriculum that prepares students with the skills they seek. The programs connect students with high-skill, high-demand career options.
SCC’s Culinary Arts Program prepares students for a career in the food service industry. Maisey Auringer, Culinary Arts student, has always loved cooking, and now she’s on her way to making it into a successful career. SCC instructors Chef Michael Broughton and Chef Liz Kliewer guide her to be the best she can be in the kitchen. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for Chefs and Head cooks 2020-2030 is growing at 25%, much faster than the average for other industries.
Today, more than ever, employers want to hire employees who can hit the ground running with the academic knowledge and technical skills needed to succeed.
SCC’s Career and Technical programs include:
If you are looking for a degree that can prepare you for a wide range of career options, then an Arts & Sciences degree may be perfect for you.
An Arts & Sciences education focuses on a holistic approach by opening your mind to new perspectives. An Arts & Sciences degree makes you more versatile. You may have one specific specialty, but you’ll be equipped for a variety of careers and will be able to adapt to changes in the marketplace.
One of the programs within the Arts & Sciences field of study at SCC is Graphic Communications. “I love Graphic Communications because of how versatile it is. I can go from photography, print, design, and illustration, and then screen printing so I can make custom-designed shirts. I really like the idea of having people wear my art,” said SCC student, Vanessa Rodriguez.
Like Graphic Communications, other programs within the Arts and Sciences area prepare you for specific careers, including Multimedia Technology, Family Serves and Early Childhood Education.
Other Arts and Sciences programs provide a more general array of courses, exposing you to ideas and topics that range from art to science to math. This broad foundation knowledge inspires critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity that you can then apply to an endless range of career fields and professions.
If you are undecided about what exactly you want to do, an Arts and Sciences degree gives you two years to take courses in different areas and develop an educational plan that allows you to explore different facets of your field of interest.
When you study Arts and Sciences, you get it all. It makes you a well-rounded and well-educated individual with a broader understanding of the world in addition to your area of study. You will be equipped to succeed in any field.
Within the Arts and Sciences area, SCC offers both a general Arts and Sciences associate degree as well as Minnesota State Transfer Pathway Degrees that are guaranteed to transfer to all seven Minnesota State universities. Save thousands on your bachelor’s degree. SCC offers many benefits but completing the first two years of your bachelor’s degree while earning your associate degree is always a win-win.
No matter what you choose to study, make sure you do what you love, then you’ll always love what you do!
Agriculture careers go well beyond farming. Contributing to the worldwide food supply – what’s not to love? Agriculture provides a rewarding and fulfilling future.
Many job seekers may not be aware of the incredible, high-paying opportunities agriculture has to offer. It’s an industry that is constantly evolving and consistently in need of new talent. Ag careers provide job security, competitive pay rates and the chance to make an impact.
SCC Ag student Zachary Mohr has been working on the family farm and is now enrolled in an SCC’s Agribusiness program. “I love agriculture because every day is different; you never know what it’s going to bring. I love seeing the crops grow in the growing season starting out as a little seed to finally being able to have the reward of harvesting your crop,” said Mohr. “I enjoy working outside, continuing the family business and working beside my dad.”
Zachary is continuing the family farm tradition. However, experience on a family farm is not a pre-requisite to succeed in the field of agriculture. Attaining an agriculture degree can ensure you build upon the foundation you already have from your hands-on experiences, with education on the latest innovations.
For over 50 years, SCC has been educating the next generation of farmers. SCC offers a variety of agribusiness programs ranging from production to management and service to educating the next generation of ag professionals.
No matter what you choose to study, make sure you do what you love, and then you'll always love what you do!
South Central College (SCC) is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week and want to shine the light on the amazing work being done by our partners!
Apprenticeship (also known at SCC as Learn-Work-Earn) is a time‐honored method for preparing workers to master occupational skills and achieve career success. Under apprenticeship programs, students can earn a salary while receiving training through supervised, work‐based learning paired with related academic instruction.
SCC students are taking advantage of these valuable work-based learning opportunities. Our Learn-Work-Earn programs help local employers fill the need for skilled worker in high-demand industries. At the same time students recieve a paid position in their career field while learning from experienced mentors in a program that is designed to minimize student dept.
Currently Seneca Foods is offering Learn-Work-Earn positions as Agricultural Mechanics starting at 16.75 an hour for SCC Agribusiness Service Technician students. Under the guidance of mentors, apprentices at Seneca benefit from good-paying wages and relevant on-the-job training, as well as having their spring 2022 tuition paid by the company.
For more information about SCC’s Learn-Work-Earn Apprenticeship opportunities at South Central College, contact Kelcey Woods-Nord at
Apprenticeship Programs are a Win-Win for SCC's Agribusiness Service Technician and Mechatronics Students
SCC students are taking advantage of valuable work-based learning experiences for the Fall Semester. These Learn-Work-Earn apprenticeship programs help local employers fill the need for skilled worker in high-demand industries and provide students funding to support their education while earning a living wage.
Our students experience several benefits from participating in an apprenticeship, including
- Having a paid, flexible part-time position in their career field
- Learning from experienced mentors while finishing their education
- Graduating from college with minimal debt
Recently Seneca Foods offered apprenticeship positions as an Ag Diesel Technician for first-and-second-year Agribusiness Service Technician students. These students benefit from a good-paying wage and receive on-the-job training. Students have the opportunity to work along experienced mechanics.
V-Tek, Inc. also offered apprenticeship positions for first-and-second-year students in SCC’s Mechatronics program.
For more information about SCC’s Learn-Work-Earn Apprenticeship opportunities at South Central College, contact Kelcey Woods-Nord at
Hello! My name is Ana Garcia Castellanos, and I am a second-year culinary student. My favorite class is World Cuisine and Cultures because we learned so much about other cultures, their food, and how food is the center of many cultural activities around the world.
I am currently a cook at Nolabelle Kitchen and Bar in downtown Mankato! In the future I would love to work in a fine dining restaurant in a big city. I want to have the experience of knowing some of the most influential chefs in the country and learning how they support sustainability through their businesses.
A chef who inspires me is Bo Songvisava, a chef from Thailand. Firstly, because she is a woman. Secondly, I appreciate that she works directly with farmers without intervention of third parties to buy her fresh produce. Thirdly, besides the fact that all her products are organic and eco-friendly sourced, she also encourages zero-waste in her restaurant. With a Michelin Star and being one of the best Chefs in Asia, I really feel very inspired by her love to own traditions. My favorite recipe is Chicken Tikka Masala, because I love Indian food and what it represents. Every Indian recipe has a lot of the many curative spices, for example, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, coriander seeds, etc.
You can learn more about the program on the Culinary Arts webpage.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Cook Time: 5 hours and 5 minutes, to 7 hours and 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Internal Temperature: 165°F
Ingredients
- 6 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 4 tsp ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 4 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups whole-milk yogurt
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
- 3 Tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 6 cardamom pods, crushed
- 2 dried chiles de árbol or ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, like San Marzano
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¾ cup chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
- Steamed basmati rice (for serving)
Procedure
- Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, and cumin in a small bowl.
- Whisk yogurt, salt, and half of spice mixture in a medium bowl; add chicken and turn to coat.
- Cover and chill 4-6 hours. Cover and chill remaining spice mixture.
- Heat ghee in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion, tomato paste, cardamom, and chiles and cook, stirring often, until tomato paste has darkened and onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add remaining half of spice mixture and cook, stirring often, until bottom of pot begins to brown, about 4 minutes.
- Add tomatoes with juices, crushing them with your hands as you add them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often and scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot, until sauce thickens, 8-10 minutes.
- Add cream and chopped cilantro. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 30-40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack inside sheet. Arrange chicken on rack in a single layer.
Brian Mayo has always enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together. Today Mayo is SCC’s 2021 Outstanding Alumni North Mankato campus honoree. After graduating from St. Peter High School in 1995, he enrolled in the Machine Tool program at South Central College (then South Central Technical College). While attending college, he worked at APT Machining and Fab – the family business owned by his parents.
After graduating in 1997, he continued to work in the family machine shop, becoming head of the CNC department, which at the time had five machines and two employees. In 2005, he took over operation of the CNC division and moved it to its current location in Kasota, MN. Brian and his wife Maegan purchased the CNC division from his parents in 2008 and purchased the machining division in 2015.
“The skills I learned at SCC has allowed me to do what I enjoy, and this has allowed me to create a successful business,” said Mayo.
Katrina DeYoung-Harper questioned her decision to go back to school. At the time she was facing many struggles, challenges and uncertainties about her future. Fast forward just over a decade later and she found she was SCC's 2021 Outstanding Alumni Faribaults campus honoree. DeYoung-Harper is a graduate of South Central College’s Professional Nursing program in Faribault, earning her Associate of Science degree in 2008.
She was selected to receive the South Central College Faribault Campus Outstanding Alumni Award due to her undying dedication to the nursing field and the Faribault community. Katrina was a recipient of several South Central College Faribault Campus Foundation Scholarships that, as she put it, provided not only the much needed funds but also the validation for her efforts to go back to school after some time away.
Following graduation from South Central College, Katrina went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She worked as a Registered Nurse at Northfield Hospital before becoming a public health case manager for Rice County. While not currently in direct care nursing, she works for Genevive as a Care Coordinator helping the elderly find the services they need. She has also been involved with the Hope Center, Health Finders Clinic and has been a mental health support group facilitator.
View Katrina’s Acceptance Speech on YouTube
Hi, my name is Summer Engel, and I am a second year Culinary Arts student at South Central College.
My favorite part about this program is how you can use your creativity. The instructors don’t always make you use a recipe they hand out; we are allowed to find are own or change them up whenever necessary. My favorite class is Advanced Culinary. It takes all that we have previously learned and puts it all in one class.
I currently work at the WOW Zone as a chef. In the future, I hope to own my own restaurant. An inspirational chef that I have had throughout my career is chef Christina Tosi. Christiana is so passionate about what she wants to do and is also unbelievably creative. One of my favorite recipes to make is crab cakes. You can change the taste to fit the liking of others. You can make them sweet, spicy, or savory.
You can learn more about the program on the Culinary Arts webpage.
Crab Cakes Recipe
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: 8 crab cakes
Oven Temperature: 165° F
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (or saltines)
- 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
Procedure:
- In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, egg, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, and hot sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together crabmeat, panko, and parsley. Fold in mayo mixture, then form into 8 patties.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, coat pan with oil and heat until shimmering.
Add crab cakes and cook, in batches, until golden and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes per side, remove, and cool before cutting into squares.
Hello! My name is Maisey Auringer, and I am a first-year Culinary Arts student. My favorite part of the program is learning about different foods that I have never seen or used before and learning how to cook them. I also really like being able to taste different things and learn how to pair different flavors together.
My favorite classes have been the two baking courses. I really enjoyed learning how to make bread because I’ve always wanted to make it at home, but I didn’t know if I would be able to do it correctly. I currently work as an Assistant Manager at Starbucks. I am also in the process of doing the Starbucks Coffee Academy to learn all about coffee from how and where it is grown to making coffee drinks in the store.
In the future I would love to work in a coffee shop/bakery. I would love to own my own or at least work in one of the locally owned shops. A chef that really inspires me is Chef Gunnar Karl Gislason. He is a chef in Iceland who uses the natural ingredients that he can forage in the wild. When he finds ingredients, he does what he can to use all of it. My favorite recipe is Black Bean Brownies. I love learning how to make traditional foods with different ingredients and trying to cook for different kinds of diets.
You can learn more about the program on the Culinary Arts webpage.
Black Bean Brownie Recipe
Cook time: 18-20 mins
Yield: 9 brownies
Oven Temperature: 350° F
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
15 oz black beans
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBSP cocoa powder
1/2 tsp table sault
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8x8-inch baking pan by greasing all internal edges.
- In a food processor, pulse the oats until they form a smooth oat flour. Transfer the oat flour into a mixing bowl.
- Into the food processor, blend the black beans, honey, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the black bean mixture into the bowl with the oat flour.
- Mix in the cocoa powder, salt, sugar, and baking powder until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the previously prepared baking pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool before cutting into squares.
