Nine Months Later, Three Students Find More Than a Career Path

A year ago, none of them knew exactly what came next. 

College didn't feel like the right fit. A career wasn't mapped out. The future looked more like a question mark than a plan. 

Today, Jorge Campos, Michael Frame, and Ethan Ellithorpe are completing Eastern Iowa Community Colleges' (EICC) Process Technology (P-Tech) program and beginning internships that will lead to full-time careers at LyondellBasell. For all three, the nine-month program offered more than technical training.  

"I had, like, no direction I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't want to pay for college,” he said, adding that he didn’t have a job lined up either.  

Campos felt much the same. 

"I recommend this program to anybody that doesn't know what they're going to do after high school," he said. 

EICC's P-Tech program was developed in partnership with regional employers, including LyondellBasell, ADM, and 3M. The program combines classroom instruction, hands-on training, plant tours, and job-shadowing to prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing and process operations. 

Industry partners also invest directly in students. Participating employers cover half of the program's tuition, reducing the cost to approximately $3,700.  

Ellithorpe saw the value immediately. 

"For the investment, you get a lot in return," he said. 

Less than a year after entering the program, students can transition into careers with starting salaries that often exceed $60,000 annually, along with benefits and advancement opportunities. 
 
The three Northeast High School graduates entered the program together and quickly discovered it was more than a classroom experience. 

They toured facilities, shadowed employees, learned from instructors who’ve spent decades working in industry, and began building relationships with the companies where they hoped to work.     

"What I enjoyed the most was definitely the connections you make," Ellithorpe said, adding the tours and job shadow experiences let him see what the job is like ." It helped him transform an unfamiliar industry into a place where he could see himself building a career. 

"It wasn't just somebody who went to school to teach the class," Ellithorpe said. "It's somebody who actually lived it, did it for a long time, and made a very successful life." 

The hands-on nature of the program reinforced those lessons. Students worked with equipment similar to what they would encounter in the field, taking apart valves and instruments, learning how systems function, and gaining practical knowledge they could immediately apply. 

"We got to bring machinery to the college and kind of tear it apart, see what's inside of them and everything," Frame said. "It was a really cool opportunity." 

Now, with the classroom portion complete, all three students have started a 12-week internship at LyondellBasell. It serves as a bridge to full-time employment, giving them real-world experience before stepping fully into their new roles. 

For Campos, the future feels closer than ever. 

"It's going to help me out a lot in the future," he said. "Hopefully, one day start a family." 

Campos also sees opportunities beyond the job. As a bilingual employee, he wants to help bridge communication gaps for Spanish-speaking contractors and coworkers. 

"I'm glad I'll be able to help," he said. 

Frame is eager to begin learning alongside experienced operators and witness a rare plant turnaround - a large-scale maintenance event that only occurs every several years. 

"Not many operators have seen that," he said.  

For Ellithorpe, the excitement comes with a healthy dose of nerves. 

"I'm pretty excited, but pretty nervous, too," he said. "Just to start and see their expectations for us." 

Ellithorpe knows opportunities like this don't come along often. 

"Money creates opportunities," he said. 

That reality hasn't been lost on their families. 

"My dad always jokes I'll almost be making more than him ," Frame said with a laugh. 

Ellithorpe sees the impact in broader terms. 

"I'll be making probably the same or just a little bit less than my whole household combined," he said. 

The numbers matter, but they aren't the whole story. The program gave three recent high school graduates something harder to measure: confidence. 

Confidence they belong in the industry. Confidence they can build successful careers. And confidence the future doesn't have to wait. 

"It's only nine months out of your life," Campos said. "You're really just investing in yourself." 

For these three students, that investment is already paying off.