Gateway Technical College’s Elkhorn Campus – as well as its students and programs – were the highlight of a recent visit by Wisconsin Technical College System President Morna Foy.

Gateway Technical College President and CEO Ritu Raju hosted Foy, who toured the Elkhorn Campus and visited a local facility where Gateway health program students were working.

Foy took in a firsthand look at Gateway’s operations, spending the day talking to area business leaders and students. She even learned how to perform a simple weld and some computer numeric control operations from Gateway students.

“The Elkhorn Campus is changing and evolving,” said Foy. “I haven’t been to this campus for a number of years and it looks completely different than it did before. The energy level, the folks who are working here and the students – the campus really has an exciting and positive feeling to it.”

The Elkhorn Campus visit was one stop of Foy’s “Tour of Excellence,” which includes a visit to each of the state’s WTCS campuses.

“I get the sense that the Elkhorn community is really growing and looking forward to its future, and they expect and are confident that Gateway will be part of it,” said Foy.

Each campus visit on the tour will showcase the unique contributions of the talented individuals who call that campus home.

The visits will also honor the connections each campus has to the industries and employers in their regions – connections that directly ensure the vitality of Wisconsin communities in every corner of the state. For Elkhorn, Foy’s visit included talking to area manufacturers, health care providers and students, as well as the Gateway Edge program which gives high school students another way to earn college credit.

Foy said technical colleges are critical to area communities and their economy.

“The beauty of technical colleges in Wisconsin is that they are built to evolve and change as their local communities evolve,” said Foy. “We don’t just engage with our local communities and employers in asking them how we can help, we actually partner with them to make the changes.”

Several Elkhorn-area manufacturing leaders were on hand to talk to Foy, and she pointed out that the industry is key to the economy.

“The industry changes in ways that require new skills and that’s where technical colleges such as Gateway come into play,” said Foy. “We are designed to evolve with the industry, regardless of what the industry needs. They will need workers to get them to the next level, and those leaders and workers will have gained their skills and trade right here at a technical college.”