Six members of the Broadcast Television Engineering Technology Program at Napa Valley College were selected and took more than half of the available openings of the National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation’s Technology Apprenticeship Program. This program was offered to all colleges with media training programs. Prof. Steve Goze, program coordinator, says they won six of ten available scholarships. More than 100 applications were submitted. According to the NABEF, no other single college has taken this many scholarships. The NABEF Technology Apprenticeship Program (TAP) is a six-month program designed to expose high-tech graduates and professionals to the broadcast industry.
In April, Scott Heitman, Mike West, Edwin Macalalad, Kiersten Gurule, Maria Perez and Alexander Gitana will attend the NAB convention in Las Vegas. Activities will be planned for participants to interact with leaders in broadcast technology.
In May they will attend Radio Ink Convergence Conference in San Jose at the Silicon Valley campus of Microsoft for two days.
The NVC students will then complete a two month paid hands-on summer apprenticeship, a stipend of $3,800, at a radio or television station followed by a three-day training program at a technology manufacturer.
They will wrap up their experience at NAB headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they will spend one week working with the NAB Science and Technology department developing a presentation that will be delivered via webcast at the end of their visit. All airfare, registration and accommodations costs will be included in this scholarship.
The Broadcast Television Engineering Technology Program has graduated some 400 engineers in the past 40 years and program records show that most have been successfully placed in the industry.