Bob Martin: Joining us today for this episode of Imagine America Radio is Karla Dzwonkowski, campus president, Lincoln Tech in New Britain, Connecticut. The topic of today’s episode of Imagine America Radio is the coronavirus epidemic and how this campus of Lincoln Tech has adapted to the current national crisis.

Welcome to the show, Karla.

Karla Dzwonkowski: Thank you. Thank you, guys, for having me today.

Bob: Could you please take a few minutes to tell us what you’ve done in order to respond to the current COVID-19 crisis across the country? Thank you.

Karla: Of course! Lincoln has followed the directive from Governor Lamont in Connecticut, and we’ve moved to a distant education model, where our students have the ability to engage in classroom learning activities using the Canvas platform. There are discussion boards, lectures, assignments, and assessments given to the students, similar to their experience in the live classroom. Their instructors are also online with them, and they are supporting the students through this process.

Lee Doubleday: Well, congratulations. This is Lee. I’m talking to Karla Dzwonkowski, campus president of Lincoln Tech in New Britain, Connecticut. Really quickly—well, first things first, I want to congratulate you and your team on doing such a great job of transitioning everything online in such a short period of time. I mean, to be able to have something for students to continue their education, and getting the teachers instructing online, I just think it’s incredible what you guys have done. So kudos to you and your team.

Karla: Thank you very much.

Lee: All right. So, jumping in here, I have a question. Let’s say I’m interested in touring your campus or getting to know you guys a little bit better. Is there a website that I can go to, or is touring something maybe that’s done virtually? How would I go about learning more about your school?

Karla: At this time, the physical campus is closed, per the order of Governor Lamont, but our admissions representatives are still readily available for prospective students and are conducting interviews remotely. There are also virtual tours available during the interview process.

Lee: Oh, cool. Okay. So, basically, I would contact admissions just like I would before, and there is a possibility that I could also do a virtual tour with the admissions rep?

Karla: Correct.

Lee: Okay. All right, now this leads me into my next question. Can I still enroll for future classes, as of right now?

Karla: Absolutely. Enrollment for all of our future classes is currently open. We have many upcoming starts that are taking place digitally, until we can return to on campus learning.

Lee: I got you, and that actually was my next question, which is: If the campuses are still closed at the time of your next start, would they just start their education online? And I’m guessing that the answer to that is yes.

Karla: Yes. Classes will still start.

Lee: Okay. Now my last question for you before I turn it over to Bob is: Are your current student services—i.e., admissions we kind of talked about, but is financial aid and career services—are all of those still available to both current students and future students?

Karla: Most definitely. Everybody is working remote right now, and we still have the ability to service all departments for all prospective students—and current.

Bob: We’re talking to Karla Dzwonkowski, campus president, Lincoln Tech in New Britain, Connecticut, about the coronavirus and what they’ve done in New Britain in order to accommodate the immense challenges that have confronted campuses like hers.

Put your hat on, if you would for me, for a moment, Karla. Imagine now that you’re a prospective student—or a guidance counselor, and they’re not going to see the kids for the rest of the year, but I’m interested nonetheless in looking at Lincoln in New Britain. Could you tell me how we—you and I, Imagine America Radio and Lincoln Tech—how we can help those particular individuals (counselors or prospective students) get more information on your school? Website, phone calls, emails, that kind of thing, please?

Karla: Sure. We understand how challenging of a time it is for high school students who are about to graduate and move on to the next chapter in their lives. Students are welcome to contact our admissions department, and they can call by calling the campus, or going to our website at www.lincolntech.edu (and choose New Britain from the list of campuses) to learn about our programs. The LTI New Britain team members are here and happy to assist any student navigating through their achievement for future rewarding careers and goals here at Lincoln.

Bob: We’re talking to Karla Dzwonkowski, campus president, Lincoln Tech in New Britain, Connecticut. Here’s my takeaways, Karla. If you want to add or change this, please feel free to stop me or interrupt me.

First takeaway that I get from this conversation with you is that Lincoln Tech in New Britain, Connecticut, is open for business and is assisting existing students. You’ve had to make major, major accommodations, but you’ve done that and you’re going to do more—and you’re committed to doing more. That’s the first takeaway.

Second, Lincoln Tech in New Britain is enrolling new students and potential new students, and you can go to the Lincoln Tech website to get information on enrollment information, admissions, open houses, start dates, etc.

Finally, I’d like to ask any interested parties that have questions—potential students, parents, guidance counselors, whoever they may be—to contact you directly, Karla Dzwonkowski, so I’m going to ask you one more time to repeat back your contact information, beginning with your email address, please.

Karla: Sure. My email address is kdzwonkowski@lincolntech.edu, and my phone number that I can be reached at is (860) 225-8641.

Bob: Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. We want to thank today’s guest, Karla Dzwonkowski at Lincoln Tech in New Britain, Connecticut. We also want to thank our audience for listening to this podcast, taking time out of their very busy and hectic schedule to listen to this episode of Imagine America Radio.

On behalf my colleague, Lee Doubleday, and myself, please be safe, and we’ll be talking to you all very soon. Thank you and goodbye.