Hughesville, MD – It might have been pouring down rain outside, but the sun was shining Tuesday, April 25 for the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) at the dedication of its new Center for Trades and Energy Training at the regional Hughesville campus.
“This is a day that will change the lives of thousands of people in Southern Maryland,” said CSM President Bradley Gottfried.
The retiring president said that during his tenure, six new buildings have risen from the dust, but the college had never faced challenges like the ones associated with putting the new regional campus together, from water and sewer to “dealing with so many agencies.
“And yet, we continue to move forward,” Gottfried added.
Gottfried stressed that it took a regional effort between the governments and local businesses of Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties with a significant contribution from the state of Maryland to make the dream a reality.
“There was a time when if you went to Charles County Community College you could get an associate’s degree in architecture or a teacher’s degree, but if you wanted to become an electrician or a welder, not so much,” he said. That started to change when the college built the first trades campus in Waldorf.
“There is that saying, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ and they came,” Gottfried noted. When it came to the new Hughesville regional campus, he said it was important that the center be centrally located so that all three counties could benefit from its many attributes. Those include HVAC training, plumbing, electrical, welding and carpentry. The new facility will also house The Maryland Center for Environmental Training.
Kelly Schultz, from the Maryland Department of Labor and Licensing, said the new center may well become a model for other community colleges throughout the state.
“This project has already demonstrated that we as a region work together,” Charles County Commissioner President Peter Murphy said. “This facility is going to make so much available for so many individuals.”
Charles County purchased the property for the new campus, which will also house the Health Services building in the future.
As if to hammer home the difference the new campus can make, student Barbara Scotland told the gathering that after 14 years at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant and another 11 years teaching at the College of Southern Maryland, she decided to learn a trade and became a certified plumber using the college trades.
“I found the program as challenging and rewarding as any of my college degrees,” Scotland said.
Gottfried noted that at the College of Southern Maryland’s 2017 graduation, scheduled May 18, seniors from CSM’s trade campus will graduate for the first time in the college’s history.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
