Inside IALR

MINI EPISODE: How ATDM Rebuilds Career Paths

• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

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0:00 | 12:14

In this special mini episode, IALR President Telly Tucker sits down with Casie Hansen, who recently graduated from the Non-Destructive Testing track of the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM). Casie shares how she discovered ATDM, what it was like to uproot her life and start over in her 40s and how the program’s training and wraparound support helped her step confidently into a completely new career path. 

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ATDM Program Snapshot

Casie Hansen

If you're thinking about reinvesting in yourself, completely needing to switch up your career or just further your education, believe in yourself, invest in yourself, and and show up, and it'll happen.

Tracks And Outcomes

Meet President Tucker And Casey

Caleb Ayers

Welcome to another episode of Inside IALR. Thanks for joining us. Uh, this will be a fun episode because you will not be hearing much from me. So uh in just a few minutes, we'll turn it over to an interview that our president, IALR president Telly Tucker, did with a recent graduate of our Accelerated Training and Defense Manufacturing program. Uh if you've kept up with IALR much at all, you've probably heard us talk about this program. Um, but I'll give a quick rundown uh before we hand it over to the interview. So ATDM, as we call it, or Accelerated Training and Defense Manufacturing, is a four-month training program that prepares adult learners for careers in defense manufacturing, uh, specifically in the maritime industrial base. And that's essentially the companies that are making parts and components for ships and submarines as well as the shipyards that are actually putting them together. The crazy and cool part about this program is that housing and tuition are covered by scholarships. So people come from all over the country with all kinds of you know previous career experience. We have, you know, people who are fresh out of high school, we have people with decades of previous career experience in other fields all showing up together to learn these skills. Um there's five tracks that students can choose from. There's CNC machining, non-destructive testing, additive manufacturing, welding, and metrology. And all of these are very important skills for the maritime industrial base. Like we said, those companies that are working with ships and submarines. We have an 85% graduation rate, and 85% of those students who graduate are placed in a job within 30 days of graduation. All types of wraparound services are provided while students are here. Housing is provided to them at no cost, tuition is no cost. There's career services teams that are helping to connect these students to the jobs that are hiring or to the companies that are hiring for those jobs. Uh this started as a prototype training program in several years ago, and we are now expecting to reach full operational capacity where we're training a thousand students a year uh starting next year. And to date, we have well over 1,300 graduates. And actually, interestingly enough, uh just on Friday, so a few days ago, a cohort of 124 students came onto campus and started their four-month journey in this program. So this interview is with, like I said, our president Telly Tucker and Casey Hansen, who is a student who participated in the program and graduated on February 27th, so just a few weeks ago. So if you're interested in joining ATDM as a student or your company thinks you might be able to hire some of these students, visit ATDM.org to learn more. But without further ado, I'm going to turn it over to President Tucker and ATDM graduate Casey Hansen.

Telly Tucker

Hi, I'm Telly Tucker. I'm the president here at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, Virginia. Today we celebrate another graduation of ATDM, which stands for Accelerated Training and Defense Manufacturing. This program is a 16-week intensive, rigorous uh skill, trades, and manufacturing training program whereby students with no experience can come and entertain a level of proficiency after 16 weeks and 600 hours of training. Today with me we have a special guest here, and she's graduated just earlier today. Her name is Casey. Welcome. We are so glad you're here.

Casie Hansen

I'm glad to be here.

Telly Tucker

Tell us a little bit about yourself, where are you from and what's your backstory?

Casie Hansen

All right. Um, so I'm actually originally from Baton Rouge, um, but I've lived in Virginia for a couple of years now, um, in Ruther Glenn. So not too far from the facilities here, about three and a half hours. And yeah, I've kind of been all over the East Coast, so this has been uh a new experience, new place to to discover.

Telly Tucker

Awesome. So Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Danville, Virginia.

Casie Hansen

Very different.

Telly Tucker

Yeah, I would imagine so.

Casie Hansen

Mostly food.

Telly Tucker

Yeah, I'm I'm a I'm a big fan of uh of the Creole cuisine. So tell me, how what was the journey like to get from Baton Rouge to Danville, Virginia?

Casie Hansen

Well, I have family here, thankfully, um, and and I'm lucky for that. But yeah, um, as soon as I heard about the ATDM program, um, I I was kind of doing a job, you know, there that I was felt a little stagnant, you know, so um so I decided to pack up and and I was here, you know, the next week when I got the call.

Finding ATDM And First Steps

Telly Tucker

Now tell me the story. You said um you don't have social media, but so so how did you find out about ATM?

Casie Hansen

Actually, my mother, um, you know, which is not expected, but I have no social media presence whatsoever. And and she ran across it on on Facebook, uh texted it to me, and I honestly I did not I thought it was a scam. You know, I'm like, there's no way that they are providing all of these amenities, you know. I mean, you you you stay in in the apartments on campus, um, you have a free education, we're gonna train you for on-job everything, you know, and and prepare you for for a career. And I'm thinking, no way is this actually real. Um, and then I got a call from the cre recruiter, and um, and it's real, you know.

Telly Tucker

So you heard it here to our audience, it's not a scam. It is not so um you studied and graduated in what we call NDT, non-destructive testing. Maybe tell our audience a little bit about what is non-destructive testing.

What Non-Destructive Testing Involves

Casie Hansen

Right. So I actually didn't know anything about non-destructive testing before I got here. They start out, uh, you have different modules, you have uh V VT, visual training, um, you have MT magnetic particle testing, UT ultrasonic, and we just wrapped up RT uh radiographic. And you are taught to, you're kind of like the last defense um of testing, you know, what's necessary um to keep the integrity of whatever you're testing. So whether it be parts that's going on a submarine or you know, parts um all over the industry, you are checking to make sure that that is a sound piece of equipment that you're sending out that could help people you know save people's lives. Wow. So NDT is a very important, now that I know what it is, um it's a very important process.

Telly Tucker

That's incredible. Um that that sounds exciting and it sounds exciting. A little pressure field, like maybe the last line of I'm gonna ensure the safety and the quality of this part uh so that it makes sure.

Casie Hansen

A little bit, but they they prepare you for pretty much whatever you're gonna come in contact with, and and then you have people, you know, wherever you're going to work, you have people that are gonna support you and and help guide you. So it is a little intimidating, but um, but they prepare you well here.

Telly Tucker

Awesome. I'm so glad to hear that. Yeah, so big day to day, um graduation, just wrap that up. What's what's next for Casey?

Casie Hansen

I'm going to Mistros, um, right outside of Richmond, Virginia, on and Midlothian. Um they're a huge NDT company, and uh and I'll be working with Paris Johnson. So if anybody gets the pleasure to meet him in the future, he's great. Um and yeah, so I'm I'm gonna be close to family, which I'm I'm thankful for. I have a lot of uh you know students um that I've been in class with from all over the US, and we're all kind of going everywhere. But uh yeah, I'm gonna be here in Virginia.

Telly Tucker

Wonderful. So for how how does it work? Like, did you know? I mean, you obviously have family in Virginia, but did you know that you wanted to stay in Virginia and did you get to choose where you wanted to go or or did they just assign you somewhere that you how did all that work?

From Training To First Job

Casie Hansen

Yeah, so I didn't actually think that I was going to stay in Virginia. I was open to going pretty much anywhere. Um, you know, I don't have any kids myself, so so it makes me a little bit more open than than others, and I did not I didn't know that I was going to stay in Virginia. Um so when you uh apply for jobs and you talk to um you know employers that that uh could be potentially who you're working for, you know, you just kind of go with the flow. But uh luckily I was able to stay here in Virginia close to my family, but I was willing to go anywhere.

Telly Tucker

Awesome. So you talked about before program includes housing, includes transportation, um, the training, obviously, uh, and then connecting you with career opportunities. We we call those wraparound services. Could you have done this without those? And how did they help you through um or maybe helping you make a decision to try a program like ATM?

Wraparound Support That Enables Change

Casie Hansen

Yeah, I don't think that I could have done those things without all of the wraparounds, as you say. Um I do have a car, but there's a lot of students that come, you know, we're in Virginia, we're on the East Coast, there's a lot of students that come from California, you know, and they fly here and they don't have cars. Um so you know, you can get anywhere that you need to go to and from class, they'll bring you to and from class. This is a program that truly wants you to succeed and they make sure that you have everything that you need to succeed, including housing and transportation. So, you know, as you grow those bonds with your fellow classmates, you'll probably be giving some rides from time to time. But but yeah, the apartments are great. Um, and you know, like I said, they bring you to and from class. So the amenities that are offered here are pretty substantially great. Um, and I don't think that I would have been able to do this, step away from a full-time job, you know, in my early 40s and um and be able to to do that, go to school and and it's basically working full-time, you know. Yeah, 16-week compressed program, and it's rigorous. So, yeah, all of the help that you guys offer helps you succeed.

Telly Tucker

I'm so glad to hear that. Um, so as as we wrap things up today, do you have a message for other potential students out there, AT future ATDM graduates? Um, is there a message you want to send to them about the program and and uh any encouragement you might have for someone who's trying to find their future career path?

Casie Hansen

Absolutely. I went through a lot of adversity before I came here. I had some some rough years, and I didn't think that I had it in me to go back to school, you know. Um, and it is worth investing in yourself. Um it's it's something that I'm so proud of myself for achieving and accomplishing. Once you're here, you meet so many wonderful people, lifelong friends, you know, my instructors I'll keep in touch with, um, and just believe in yourself. Um I'm really glad that I did this. And I'm starting, you know, I'm starting over at age 40. That's not uh something that a lot of people can say. And and it's a very supportive program. So if you're thinking about reinvesting in yourself, completely needing to switch up your career or just further your education, believe in yourself, invest in yourself, and and show up and it'll happen.

Advice To Future Students And Closing

Telly Tucker

Fantastic. Well, congratulations, Casey. Thank you. Casey Hansen, graduate of non-destructive testing, ATDM, right here in Danville, Virginia. Thank you for tuning in and for spending a little time getting to know Casey and Harry's story better. And uh we would like to encourage anybody out there who's searching for a new opportunity, a new career path, a transformational opportunity, please do consider ATDM Accelerated Training and Defense Manufacturing.