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TTEC is one of only two sites in the area that offers the Pearson
testing center and the only center opened on the weekends.
Boutté takes particular pride in the fact that such
accessibility is available to those in the teaching
business.
“Every single person that comes through our doors has a situation that
is unique and different. I cater to each student
individually to increase their success. Each of our students
have a goal and we make it our mission to ensure they reach
it without going into debt,” explains
the president.
Boutté
owned her own
vocational training school for over 20 years providing
career training and community development programs
throughout the Houston, Texas market.
“Coming from a generation of poverty, I knew we were poor. No one else
knew we were poor,” she say. “When I got pregnant, I decided
to attend vocational training school. At the time the
minimum wage was $3.25. After graduation I got a job making
$8.25 an hour.”
This educational experience helped Boutté to become self-sufficient in
her life at a time when many single mothers would have had
to depend on supplemental government assistance.
After earning her bachelor’s of business administration, she worked in
the corporate arena. “Working exposed me to different types
of people with new ideas and I gained an appreciation for
new experience,” she recalls.
Determined to make a difference in underserved areas, and to provide
opportunities for exposure to others, she returned to the
vocational school arena to acquire employment.
“I wanted to give back to the type of community I, myself came from.
Unfortunately, I found most schools no longer catered to
women like myself. It had become all about the money. That
truly broke my heart,” shares Boutté
Still determined, she found a position at a local vocational school.
With her get-it-done attitude and her love for her students,
she evolved her position to program coordinator.
With a special emphasis on valuing diversity, she kept students engaged
as they learned new methods tailored specifically to each
classroom.
“I’ll never forget, my first classroom had 35 Black and Hispanic female
students excited to learn. Unfortunately, I was given no
books, supplies, or curriculum for the class amongst many
other hurdles. Still, I rose to the occasion. After a couple
of years, I felt led to start my own school,” shares Boutté.
A local real estate developer in Texas heard about all the great things
she was doing in educational training and made a donation.
Smiling she recalls:
“He built an entire school and gave it to me, no strings attached. It
was a beautiful blessing.”
Not only did this developer pay for the school, he also furnished it,
paid for the Internet, telephone, cable, electricity —
everything.
As the school progressed and she began working on new programs, she was
introduced to Len Hopkins, Founder of Ternion International.
Ternion Group International is a Christian Faith based
company.
They found common ground on the firm belief that good training mixed
with “paying it forward” is the foundation of achieving
personal success.
“Paying it forward” is when someone does something for you, but instead
of paying that person back directly, you pass it on to
another person instead.
“We had a business meeting. Len showed me his vision, and I showed him
mine. They were almost identical,” she says.
Ternion reached out to Boutté shortly thereafter, excited to duplicate
her program with aspirations to open up 440 locations across
the U.S.
“I became the president of TTEC because they were able to help me expand
what I’d been doing successfully for the past 22 years on a
national level. My dream school expansion has come true,”
she adds.
TTEC’s innovative ways of teaching aim to put students into a good mood,
so that they are more likely to retain information. She
fondly states, “We always make a point of creating personal
relationships with our students and their families. What
sets our school apart is the love we freely give and our
open-door policy.”
After doing research, she found that Ohio had one of the highest
unemployment rates for African Americans and disadvantaged
communities in the U.S. Excitedly, Boutté explains, “I’d
like to incentivize more companies to come to Toledo. We
train the workforce. I believe if the State of Ohio
petitions more out of state companies considering
relocation, job growth could consistently increase. I’ve
seen many instances where Texas has petitioned California
for their businesses. Tesla considering a headquarters move
to Austin is an example.”
TTEC recently received a letter from the LeBron James foundation. “I
anticipate us sharing a tenacity for new learning methods,”
she shares. “My dream is to also offer programs that teach
students to be entrepreneurs capable of creating companies
here in Toledo.”
The community is fully embracing TTEC in Toledo. Several churches in the
area donate tools and supplies to the school regularly.
Ternion continues to develop strategic partnerships with
community-based organizations to better prepare students.
Bishop Duane Tisdale from Friendship Baptist Church
facilitates the school's innovative life classes.
“When our students obtain employment we strive for them to make
substantially more money than they have in the past. With
this in mind we also teach life skills. We don’t want to
see our graduates prioritizing designer clothing or $200
sneakers over core money management. Instead we want them to
be able to understand how stock prices change based on world
events like the pandemic. We teach life skills through our
curriculum, including money/credit management. We also
teach the value of owning property. We do a little bit of
everything,” President Boutté proudly explains.
TTEC encourages the hospitals, doctors’ offices, and companies they work
with to help make their students great employees by gaining
hands on experience through externships and mentoring. She
says: “Upon graduation, our experience has consistently been
that our partners eagerly want to hire and refer our
students.”
TTEC is enrolling now in the following programs:
• Fiber Optics Technician
• Medical Assistant
• Computerized Accounting Specialist
• Network and Computer Systems Administrator
• Computerized Accounting Specialist
• Phlebotomy
• Computerized Office Administration
LOCATION:
5212 Hill Ave Toledo, Ohio 43615
419-214-1333
www.ternionschools.com
General Class
Schedule / Calendar
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday thru Thursday
1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday thru Thursday
6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday thru Thursday
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