Kristina Koch wants her students to embrace their career potential. As the director of the Northwest Career and Technical Center in St. Albans, Vermont, she is determined to give them the tools they need to succeed in a wide range of vocational fields.

          “When they graduate from this two-year program, I want them to have as many certifications as possible so that they can find a good-paying job right out of high school,” she said.

Jumpstarting a career

          Founded in 1977 as the Sunderland Pierce Vocational Annex at Bellows Free Academy, the NCTC became its own facility in 1989. As career and technical education has evolved over time, so too have the programs at the NCTC, but its mission remains the same: to provide programs that enhance career awareness, promote lifelong learning, and develop the skills necessary to become reasonable and productive citizens of the community.

The NCTC offers 10 program options for high school students, ranging from automotive technology to medical professions and the culinary arts to cosmetology. NCTC programs are geared toward those looking to get a head start on their future by obtaining training, college credit and career experience while also earning their high school diploma.

          Koch, a former St. Albans police officer and Maple Run school resource officer wasn’t planning to become an educator. However after the district discontinued the SRO program in 2021, she cast about for a position that would utilize her skillset while offering the working mother the career/life balance she was looking for. That’s when she learned that the NCTC wanted to revamp its public safety program.

Previously, the program was centered on fire services. However because most of the state’s fire departments are staffed with volunteers, this focus did not give students a jumpstart into a high-paying, high-in-demand career. When Koch stepped in as director in 2022, she designed a program for those who want to become police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, Transportation Security Administration workers, border patrol agents and more.

          “My students engage with every aspect of public safety,” she said. “One year is concentrated on law enforcement and one year is centered on emergency management. In addition to the certifications they receive, they also earn credit at the Community College of Vermont.”

          Throughout their time in the program, students learn about laws and procedures, handcuffing, interviewing, forensics, hazardous materials, terrorism, EMT work and incident command. They earn training and credentials in CPR/AED and first aid, Federal Emergency Management Agency incident command procedures for law enforcement, and Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 remote pilot certification. They also go on field trips, police ride-alongs and job shadowing excursions so they can see the options that are available to them.

          “Sometimes they have no idea what jobs they qualify for at the age of 18,” Koch said. “Like most states, you have to be 21 to be a police officer in Vermont. So how do you keep them engaged for those three years? You show them what kinds of jobs they can do in order to get their foot in the door.”

Practicing what she preaches

          When it comes to keeping her options open, Koch practices what she preaches. In addition to her work in local law enforcement and within the school district, she also has experience in immigration enforcement and as a game warden, and she remains a member of the U.S. Air Force.

She works hard to maintain her community connections so that when a student needs a mentor or a job shadowing opportunity, she knows who she can turn to for help. Koch said it is very important for folks in vocational training centers to remain active networkers in order to show their students what the community has to offer them.

          Koch is living proof that there is opportunity out there for those with a transferrable skillset and the desire to embrace all of the options available.

Although she never imagined a time in which she would become the director of the NCTC’s Public Safety program, she is constantly working to make sure she is up to the task. In addition to taking transition to teaching courses in order to obtain her teaching license within the next few years, Koch is tweaking her curriculum and learning how to connect with different types of learners.

It isn’t always easy, but she isn’t the type of person to back away from challenges. She doesn’t want her students to either. “In some ways, being a teacher is a lot more stressful than being a cop,” she said. “I have 24 kids who all learn in different ways, and you have to make sure that every type of learner can be accommodated. You learn how to motivate those who aren’t motivated, listen when they need to vent and read what’s going on between the lines of their lives. It’s like being a social worker, a parent and a teacher all at once.”

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