Morrow County students get close-up look at tech careers
Published 6:00 pm Tuesday, March 17, 2026
BOARDMAN — More than two dozen students recently took part in a hands-on technology career exploration event at the Blue Mountain Community College Workforce Training Center in Boardman.
The March 10 event was a collaboration between BMCC, the Morrow County School District and Amazon Web Services. Hermiston School District students participated in a similar event was in February.
Benjamin Harvey, community engagement manager for AWS, said the events are to introduce students to a variety of careers in the tech field.
“These educational partnerships help create real career pathways and opportunities for students right here in their own communities,” Harvey said. “We want to increase career awareness.”
The day included mock interviews with Amazon Web Services professionals, electrical systems training with circuit-building exercises and data center technician work, including server hardware operations.
The goal was to give students practical skills and a clearer picture of tech job opportunities available locally. Also on hand for the event were several AWS employees who graduated from area high schools and now work in the region.
Building confidence
Harvey said a career in the tech industry can seem daunting to students. Giving them a hands-on experience reduces the intimidation factor some may feel.
“For us, the primary goal is for students to feel more confident about technical careers and get them to feel like they could pursue a career in the tech industry.”
The day was broken into three labs. The first was a mock interview with AWS professionals.
“Interviews can be difficult for students who haven’t been through them before,” Harvey said. “They were asked the kinds of questions they will get in an Amazon interview.”
Another lab focused on server operations with a professor from Blue Mountain Community College leading the exercise. The final lab was an industrial systems tech lab in which students learned electrical fundamentals through circuit building.
Pre-apprenticeship program available
Students were also introduced to an Amazon preapprenticeship program in Hermiston that pays $20 per hour.
The aim of the program is to equip participants with the skills for careers that construct, connect, power and manage the infrastructure supporting the information economy.
The program lasts four weeks with 120 hours of instruction. It covers workplace skills and foundational knowledge in electrical, mechanical, fiber-optic and operational domains. Upon completion, participants will receive an industry-recognized OSHA 10 certification and the AWS I2PA certificate.
Harvey said the students came away from the March 10 event with a better understanding of the types of tech careers available.
“There was lots of overwhelmingly positive feedback,” Harvey said. “They all felt they were more confident in pursuing a technical career.
