诺兰听ness: EC a place of growth for family

16年来, respect for the purple and gold has run deep for 诺兰听ness, EC的首席电工, 还有他的三个孩子.

Harkness’s relationship with EC began after he “saw a job posted for an electrician at 埃尔迈拉大学 and it seemed like a good fit,他分享道. “It’s been a good job and a great place to work.”

在成为一名电工之前, Harkness was a youth minister and promoted his ministry around the country through publications like The Christian Post and a syndicated radio show for teens called "Teen Talk Radio.在他开始在EC工作之后, he started taking Marketing courses as well as creative courses in photography and graphic design to pick up practical skills that would further his ministry work and help financially.

“As a student myself here, I knew the faculty were excellent. 在校园里, 和人们在一起, I felt warmth and friendliness - a type of family atmosphere. There was an acceptance and I felt that my children would do well here.”

他们做到了.

在接受这个角色后不久, 哈克尼斯的老二, Cherith Harkness ' 10, transferred from another college to take advantage of the tuition assistance offered to employees and their dependents. She attended her junior and senior years, earning a bachelor’s in Education.

It was an adjustment at first, shared 诺兰听ness. 然而, Cherith Harkness quickly made friends and thrived academically, enjoying the close relationship with her professors and peers.

“To this day, one of her roommates at EC remains her best friend,” he said.

毕业后, Cherith Harkness成为了一个家庭的保姆, which led to a position at a charter school for gifted children.

“She always wanted to be a teacher,” explained 诺兰听ness, adding that she loves where she works.

诺兰·哈克尼斯开始在EC工作的时候, 他的大女儿, 夏洛·哈克尼斯·麦格萨门13年, had already graduated from another college with a bachelor’s in Psychology. She had originally planned to become a counselor but decided to pivot to Education. 全职工作时, 她获得了欧共体的教育学硕士学位, 参加网上和夜校课程. 她现在在巴斯哈弗林高中工作.

His youngest child, Aaron Harkness ’14, attended all four years at EC. Interested in the military, Aaron Harkness participated in the ROTC program. Since graduating, he worked in the military and has done well. He earned the rank of Captain and received positive performance reviews.

“他目前在一个疏散小组服役, helping to get people out of dangerous situations,诺兰·哈克尼斯分享道.

When asked what advice he has for parents considering whether to send their student to EC, 诺兰·哈克尼斯说, “Because the character of the staff here is caring and loving and patient with young people, I think they can be confident while their children are here. And they’ll get a great education in the process.”

“I would encourage them to visit and meet as many people as they can when visiting EC. Talk to faculty and staff and participate in programs to get a feel for the atmosphere. Talk to students who are here and find out what they feel. I think anyone who does that will get a sense of the real culture of the school.”