The New Castle Career Center welcomes several team members into new roles including program instructors Kendra Gentry and Erica Robinson. Gentry joins the Health Science Education program team and Robinson will lead the Cosmetology program. 

Gentry’s students will benefit from her experience in trauma that she gained working in Ball Hospital’s Emergency Department along with her experience in training others gained at a nursing home. She previously served as a health assistant for New Castle Schools and also as a CMA for Henry Community Health. 

She did not see herself as a teacher early in her career but developed a desire for sharing knowledge with others. 

“It has reignited my passion for healthcare,” Gentry shared. “Seeing the knowledge click for them is exciting, and I love to see the students’ shining faces, and their eagerness to help.”

Gentry appreciates the way the Career Center prepares students for the workforce by treating them the way an employer would treat them. She noted that the Health Science program is centered around the PRIDE acronym, which stands for persistence, respectfulness, initiative, dependability, and efficiency. 

In the Cosmetology Program, students will experience a similar approach to preparing for a professional career. The program is now under the leadership of Erica Robinson, who has been in the beauty industry for 20 years as a stylist, esthetician, educator, program administrator, community liaison, and salon owner. 

“My favorite part of teaching for the career center is that I get to be with students for multiple years and I get the chance to learn and know all of my students,” Robinson expressed. “I am excited and grateful that I have an amazing team of co-workers to help me facilitate and grow the program.”

Robinson explains that the Cosmetology program has two sides: the education side and the salon side. Students are taught the fundamentals of the program through class time and hands-on education. 

“The salon side of the program is run exactly as if they were working in a salon,” she noted. They are learning to communicate, increase their technical skills, and build valuable skills needed for them to have a successful career.” 

In addition to Gentry and Robinson, the Career Center also welcomes Penny Lewis as a Health Science Assistant and announces the transfer of Dave Allen to the Engineering Program and Josh Richardson to the Property and Facilities Management Program.

For information about any of the programs offered at the New Castle Career Center, visit ncccareercenter.org.