CODY BOTTS-ICTC
Hulbert senior Cody Botts is looking to the future as his time in high school is drawing to a close and one of the options he has decided to pursue is the heating and air conditioning field so he is now in his second year of the Heating-Ventilation and Air conditioning program at the Indian Capital Technology Center in Tahlequah.
“I had a friend who had gone to ICTC, and he told me a little about it and then we took a tour and I thought the HVAC course might be an interesting class to take,” said Cody who plays football and basketball at Hulbert.
The class instructor for the course is Joel Sherrill, a veteran of the HVAC profession who has had a business of his own and knows all of the ins and outs of the business as he talked about the program.
“This is a two-year course and at the end of the course our students will have an Oklahoma CIB apprenticeship, a certification for the purchasing and handling of refrigerant, three certifications for ODCTE-HVACR tech, refrigeration tech and process piping with sheet metal option. And finally, they will have the opportunity to sit for the Endorsed apprentice test which can lead to a journeyman license upon completion of the required number of hours.”
Cody acknowledges that the work has been challenging “but I feel like I’m getting a grip on it.”
Cody also saw some comparisons between achieving success in the HVAC field and playing his sports in high school.
“In both you have to be at the top of your game as you’re working your way up the ladder, whether it’s going from apprentice to journeyman or advancing from grade to grade and learning more each year in school and getting to the top level where you get your chance to perform.”
Cody says he would like to play football at the college level if he gets the chance but if not, he’ll use what he’s learned to go into the HVAC field and he would advise other high school students when they get to be juniors to seriously consider looking into the opportunities at ICTC if you’re not sure that being in a high school classroom the next two years is right for you.
