There’s probably not a profession that is changing as rapidly in today’s society as technology and that’s what attracted Warner High School junior Levi Kindred to the Information Technology Program at Indian Capital Technology Center in Muskogee.

“The program offers a wide variety of pathways to follow much like a doctor who has the option of many specialties to pursue,” said Levi. “To get there you have to obtain a series of certifications which are really like completing one big test. I think of them as mini-ACTs. And the more certifications you get, the more appealing you are to employers.”

For high school students, the IT program is a two-year, half a day commitment and is taught by Tracye Pouncil, a 16-year veteran of the program.

“We start with the foundational elements of hardware, software, networking and some programming. In the first two weeks the students learned how to take apart and put a computer back together. We talk about jobs today that didn’t exist five years ago so you have to have a passion for this because the field is so fluid and changing and sometimes those changes can be daunting.”
As Levi ends his first year in the program, the class has just learned how to troubleshoot and repair cell phones and one area that Levi has excelled in is making telephone and ethernet cables.

“Levi is a real go-getter who pursues challenges and has learned how to make telecommunications cables and he did very well at state,” said Pouncil.

That’s right, there’s a state competition for making cables.

“The competition is based on not only how fast you can make a cable but how precise you can do it, and it comes down to how much drive you have to succeed,” said Levi who throws the shot put and discus in track at Warner High. “That drive is important whether it’s here in IT or in my athletics.”

Levi also excels in other areas at Warner High where he is in FFA, National Honor Society and in the Leadership Club. Once he finishes his classes at Warner High next year and his final year at ICTC, Levi is considering going to OSU-IT in Okmulgee and then to a cyber security boot camp where you can come out with a job that pays over $70,000.

Information Technology and students like Levi Kindred are another example how Indian Capital Technology Center continues to open doors to success.