Fort Cobb, OK – August 30, 2010 – In 1991 Leslie Cain, with her son and infant daughter, escaped an abusive marriage and fled to her parent’s vacation home near Fort Cobb. She needed a plan to provide for her family, so she enrolled in the electronics program at CKTC.
CKTC Counselor Pam McEachern became a mentor and confidant to Cain. “I don’t know how many times I found my way into Pam’s office and just vented about my life, my kids, or the world in general. She never judged. She listened to me and, without ever once saying ‘this is what you should do,’ guided me into making some big decisions,” said Cain.
“A huge bonus at Caddo Kiowa was the on campus day care. As a student and single mother I would have had an extremely difficult time juggling school and my young children. The day care being available on campus made it possible for me to attend school. It wasn’t just the physical location of the day care, the quality of care my children received there allowed me to concentrate on school, it took away the worry. My daughter had some pretty extreme health problems when she was very young. I know her care giver, Becky Perkins, saved her life. It also made me a very picky mom from that point on. I judged every child care facility from that point on by the standards I knew were possible. I’ve never found a center that I felt as secure in as I did at CKTC. “
Cain was active in CKTC’s SkillsUSA and Toastmasters. She was recognized as an Outstanding Non-Traditional Student by Oklahoma Career Tech. Counselor Pam McEachern said, “Leslie was involved with her classes and other programs on campus. She was focused and determined and she didn’t put up with anything from anybody. She knew what she wanted and she didn’t let anything stand in her way.”
After completing her program, Cain went to OSU Okmulgee where she received an associate degree. As an electronics technician she worked for Explore Pipeline, assembled Doper on Wheels at the University of Oklahoma and worked for ten years at the Oklahoma Mesonet.
“I loved working at the Mesonet. It had gotten to the point where the physical part of the job was hard for me to do. Climbing towers and hauling wire were still doable, but they were more difficult than they were ten years ago. I started looking for something else,” Cain said.
The something else turned out to be Head Start. What started as a temporary position and a leap of faith has now transitioned into a new career and a return to school, cyber style. Cain explained, “The Head Start job was a temporary nine-week position. I had been looking for a new path for quite some time and I just felt like this was a door that was opening in answer to my prayers. My new temporary job turned into a full time one and I knew that to do it right, I needed to go back to school for my Child Development Associate (CDA). I checked into evening classes at a local tech center, but the class didn’t make. I checked with OU and East Central, but the timing was off, their classes had already started. Then I found out that the classes I needed were available online and through CKTC. I knew that was going to be a perfect fit, again!”
Additional information about CKTC is available online at www.caddokiowa.com or by calling 405.643.5511.
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Photo Caption
Leslie Cain creates a path for her and her family by getting trained at CKTC.
Posted on
Mon, August 30, 2010
by Susan Biddy