Mary Phylow and Kaleb Evans

TCTC was Kaleb’s first choice when he was a student at Walhalla High School.  He was a dual enrollment/Technical Career Pathways (TCP) student, beginning his junior year and by graduation he had earned 24 credits, putting him just one year away from a two-year degree in mechatronics.

The TCP program’s goal is to develop a pipeline of individuals who are skilled and ready to fill in-demand jobs at manufacturing facilities across the Upstate.

Workforce development is just one of the many advantages of the program that since its inception in 2013 has provided high school juniors and seniors with a clear path to a debt-free education that prepares them for careers in manufacturing.  

Kaleb’s goal is to graduate from TCTC in 2022 and transfer to USC Upstate and study advanced manufacturing.

Mary’s career goal also is to work in manufacturing.  When she graduated from West-Oak High School in             she entered Clemson University with plans to be a math teacher. She decided not to pursue that career path, dropped out after two and one-half years, got married, started a family and worked in the hospitality industry.  Four and one-half years ago she accepted a job at BorgWarner and found her calling.  “I really like working in manufacturing. I enjoy the hands-on environment in addition to troubleshooting and problems solving,” she said.  She decided to enroll in TCTC’s Mechatronics program.

Mary leaves her third-shift job as a machinist at BorgWarner and drives to the Oconee Campus for her first 8 a.m. class.  It can exhausting some days, she admits, but she says, “It’s worth it.  I want to advance into BorgWarner’s maintenance department and I need a degree to do so,” she said. Her general education classes form Clemson transferred to TCTC.  Mary plans to graduate next spring.