Education Guide 10.18.26 - Flipbook - Page 5
| Sunday, October 18, 2026
multi-purpose areas for meetings and
events.
In addition to the Notre Dame of
Maryland students, Fourier Hall also
serves the community. The Renaissance
Institute, a group of senior citizens who
continue to be life-long learners, holds
classes in the school library.
“For all the departments in Fourier,
the renovations for them came from a
student-centered perspective. The renovations will help them get ahead or
provide a better experience for their
major – something that sets them apart
from being in a generic classroom environment,” DeTurk says.
On Oct. 19, Carroll Community
College will host the grand opening
of its new 10,000-square-foot Ratcliffe
Applied Technology and Trades Center
that will provide a home for four trades
programs. The center focuses on handson training in four disciplines: electrical, automotive, plumbing and welding, growing needs across the region.
It’s part of the larger Ratfcliffe Works
Project, which is devised to provide the
skills for individuals to meet the high
workforce demands for the trades, says
Kelly Koermer, vice president of workforce, business and community education.
Patricia Davis, vice president of
administrative services, notes that these
four trade disciplines are in highest
demand across the region. The school
examined labor statistics and projections and coupled that data with information provided by area employers
regarding their needs. Even with this
expansion, Davis says the college continued to have a waiting list for both the
welding and automotive programs.
The new center offers these students
laboratory space that allows industry-specific and hands-on training in
these disciplines.
“That components is super important,” Koermer says. “It allows for applied
learning, not just thinking about this in
the abstract. It will double the number
we serve and expand our capacity in
welding training. We want to provide a
bridge to serve our local employers.”
It will also provide opportunities for
cross training as well. If a plumber is
working on something that has an electrical component, he can learn how to
do it here, Koermer adds.
“We need trade and infrastructure
roles. These jobs are both AI-proof and
AI-fueled,” Davis says. “There are imme-
diate jobs waiting for them when they
graduate. We’re excited about this center and the opportunities it will provide.”
In August, when nursing students
returned to McDaniel College, they
began their fall studies in a new, stateof-the-art facility in the McDaniel College
Kahlert Nursing Education Center at
LifeBridge Health’s Carroll Hospital. This
educational approach places student
learning in the same type of health care
environment where they may one day be
employed.
The nursing program, which began
in 2024, is geared to provide a pathway
for graduates to stay and work in Carroll
County. The in-hospital educational center was established in a de-commissioned unit on the medical facility’s third
floor. It includes two primary areas. One
is specifically dedicated to teaching, and
includes classroom space, skills laboratories, simulation laboratories, debriefing spaces, places for students to study,
computer lab space and a lounge. The
other area is primarily office space designated to the teaching faculty.
Nursing Program Director Heather
Gable says there is a distinct advantage in teaching nursing students in a
hospital setting. It immediately drives
home the importance of the professional
setting, and, form early on, allows the
students to form a professional identity.
“This is a distinctive program for the
school to be embedded in a hospital.
We are becoming integrated within the
5
Students at the new, state-of-the-art facility in the McDaniel College Kahlert Nursing Education Center at LifeBridge
Health’s Carroll Hospital.
hospital. Our education spaces complement what the hospital has and allows
us to become integrated within the
community of the hospital,” Gable says.
When students graduate, they will
leave the program as nurse generalists. During their time at McDaniel, the
students will be exposed to a number of disciplines, including geriatric
care, acute care, emergency care and
more. Having gone through a LifeBridge
Community Hospital, Gable says the
students will also have been exposed
to a number of different care facilities,
including community, rural and urban
hospitals.
The first cohort, which began in
August, includes 34 students. Once the
program is running at full capacity, the
space will be able to accommodate up
to three cohorts at any given time, Gable
says.
“The way the program is laid out,
when they’re applying to McDaniel
College, they’re applying to a nursing
program,” Gable says.
