Mother by day, Barton Pharmacy student by night

Carrie Hogg and her daughter Peyton in downtown Russell.

 January 27, 2017
Story and photo by Micah Oelze

CTE Month 2017: This feature is the first of four stories to be released by Barton Community College in February in celebration of Career Technical Education (CTE) Month.

CTE Month® is an annual celebration held in February of CTE community members’ achievements and accomplishments nationwide. CTE Month 2017, with its tagline of "Celebrate Today, Own Tomorrow!" gives you the chance to inform others of the innovation and excellence that exists within your local CTE programs and raise awareness of the crucial role that CTE plays in readying our students for careers and our nation for economic success. Check below for more information on how you can get involved.

Mother by day, Barton Pharmacy student by night

8:30 strikes and Carrie Hogg puts her daughter, Peyton, to sleep after another long day as a stay at home mother. She leaves the nursery and makes her way to the computer to study for the next 4 hours on her night off of work.

Hogg studied at Barton for her first certification, which she received in Phlebotomy. She said the medical field had interested her since she was a child.

“I have always been fascinated with the science of the medical field,” Hogg said. “My mom used to always joke when I used to talk about it at the table, ‘Okay. You can’t talk about this here, I’m eating.’”

The job availability in her location and field was lacking. Hogg decided it was in her and her family’s best interest for her to return to school. With her previous positive experience at Barton, Hogg chose to return to further her education.

Hogg needed a fully online solution to accommodate her demanding schedule.

“As I was going through the online programs, Pharmacy Tech popped up and honestly, it just sounded interesting,” she said. “There was no interest for me prior, I just took the first class to see how I liked it and it just grew on me.”

Hogg enjoys the constant evolution and pace of the Pharmacy Tech field.

“It is always changing, there are different situations all the time,” Hogg said. “I have always liked a fast pace and I don’t like routine; routine to me gets boring.”

For the single parents who may be in a similar situation and are interested in going back to school, she says give it a shot.

“I would tell them to go for it,” she said. “If you want it bad enough there is always time, no matter how crazy your schedule is.”

Hogg plans to complete her Pharmacy Tech certification by end of the spring 2017 semester.

Barton Career Fair

CTE month will culminate with a Career Technical Education Fair from 1-3 p.m. March 1 in the Case New Holland Shop in the Northeast side of the Technical building. Registration opens at 12:30 p.m. and optional campus tours start at 10:30 a.m.

The fair is available for 8th grade students, high school students, current Barton students, community members and will feature demonstrations, hands-on-activities, refreshments, prizes and photo ops with the Barton mascot.  To sign up, contact Denise Schreiber at (620) 792-9324 or schreiberd@bartonccc.edu.