Career Academy construction on track

LINCOLN – SCC Lincoln students and faculty have become aware of a major expansion project coming together at the Lincoln campus.
The much-acclaimed Career Academy is now currently being constructed in the former south parking area at SCC. With bulldozers, cranes and yards of concrete being poured, the project is quickly moving along at a breakneck pace.
The Career Academy is a two-year program for high school juniors and seniors to earn dual-credit hours that can be used towards their high school diploma and that also qualify towards college credits for any specific pathway a student chooses. Some pathways include Architecture, Technology and Mathematics.
The Career Academy is a concept that was proposed by Lincoln Public Schools and Southeast Community College as part of the 2013 LPS expansion bond to provide dual-credit courses for juniors and seniors from high schools across the 15 county area that SCC serves.
The $153 million dollar bond issue passed by voters in February 2014 included a portion that created a partnership between LPS and SCC to create the Career Academy at the SCC Lincoln campus.
The construction contract was soon awarded to BBH Design and Hampton Construction, who have been busy since the bond passed. Construction began in June.
Since the old parking lot was being removed, the new plan has over 150 new parking spaces for students and faculty.
Since the students will be bussed in and out four times daily, Beverly Harvey, Vice President of Student Services said, “The new space will be both bus-friendly and pedestrian-friendly.”
The excitement surrounding the project is building, as it should be completed by August 2015. Then the high school students will begin to arrive to use the Career Academy, beginning their college careers at SCC Lincoln.
This will begin a new era of education that will provide a path for those students wanting to experience a new way of learning and earn college credit towards their future.