AN OBJECTIVE LOOK AT THE CAMERON COUNTY EDUCATION INITIATIVE TRAINING CENTER

Rita Hernandez

CCEI Director

We had a guided tour today of the old Kawasaki dealership building on Ruben Torres Blvd., where Mike Hernandez III established his Cameron County Education Initiative job training facility.

My guide, Executive Director Rita Hernandez, took me to meet students in ongoing classes for Patient Care Technician and Medical Billing Specialist.  The classes, free to the students, cost sponsors about $4000 and result in a certificate showing the student qualifies at a Level 1 or Core skill level, terminology used by prospective employers.

An Industrial Electrical course is held in the evenings as well as an auto mechanics course that qualifies students for A.S.E. certification.

"This staggered scheduling allows students and even the instructor to work during the day and attend class at night," Hernandez stated.

Dealing with the accreditation issue head-on, Hernandez explained:  "That's not even our mission.  What student needs a $13 per hour job with $20,000 in student debt?  That simply adds stress to their life.  Actually, many of our students have already gone the student loan route and failed.  You only get to do that once."

Hernandez admits she targets at-need students, those who typically fall through the cracks of mainstream education.

"We help families," Hernandez said more than once, proving it by showing she knew personal details in the lives of various students, acting as an obvious mother figure.

The walls are covered with success stories, former students pictured with "Hired" written beneath the photo, local auto dealerships who sponsor students, then give them a pay raise when they achieve certification.

In a room where students learn to work with hand tools, some eclectic chairs have been built, a turtle house, a super large dog house, even a deer blind.  Outside the shop is a tiny house on wheels not yet wired or plumbed.

"We were going to have a welding shop here until we learned that many local welders were unemployed.  So my boss converted it into a Boys Club," stated Hernandez, showing me a room with a boxing ring and weight training equipment.

"This thing is full every night," the director added.

When I asked the director if she was related to Mike Hernandez III, she simply said "I'm an Hernandez."

Well, that's irrelevant, anyway.  Whatever you think of the man Rita Hernandez refers to as "my boss," it's pretty obvious the training center is filling a need, an actual gap in our educational/job training system.