When Kenil帕特尔 first walked onto 蒙哥马利县社区学院’s Pottstown Campus in 2015, he had no frame of reference as to what a college experience should 就像.

帕特尔是土生土长的波茨敦人，也是第一代大学生. 印第安人的儿子 移民，帕特尔被选为 波茨敦承诺早期大学项目, which provides high-achieving, low-income Pottstown High School students the opportunity to finish their first year of college 在MCCC during their junior and senior years 高中.

Thanks to his experience 在MCCC, he earned enough college credits while still in high school to attend Drexel University and participate in the five-year co-op program. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology, before landing an engineering 在利默里克发电站工作.

Patel credits MCCC for laying the educational foundation for all of his professional 目前的成功.

“bt365体育备用网站的课程很棒，”他说. “这真的让我能够收集 30个大学学分.”

As a student, Patel 说 he was able to take advantage of many of the programs available to students free of charge including the tutoring center and counseling services.

As a high school student, Patel remembers walking onto a community college campus 一开始会感到害怕.

“I was taking a human development psychology course at one point and there was a bunch 护士也选修了这门课程。. “随着年龄的增长，这有点吓人 我和其他同学差距很大，但是每个人都很友好. 所以，这是一个美妙的 opportunity to really learn how people interact even with those age gaps.”

After graduating from high school, Patel transferred to Drexel University in 2017 开始一个为期五年的合作项目. 通过这个项目，像帕特尔这样的学生可以轮流参加 在班级和大学认可的雇主之间. 学生每六个月轮流上课 of work for an employer followed by six months in a classroom setting in their second, 第三和第四年.

从2023年秋季开始 德雷克斯承诺 will provide students who have earned an associate degree at an accredited community college in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey with a renewable scholarship for 50 percent of the cost of tuition as they work to complete their bachelor's degree as a Drexel 龙. 

For his first co-op, Patel matched with the Limerick Generating Station. 第二次 co-op, he matched with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia as a remote project 大流行期间机械工程实习生经理.

“I got to really learn a lot about project management,” he 说, “which was really 很酷的.”

For his third and final co-op, he was back at the Limerick Generating Station.

“It was wonderful trying to see all the different groups at the power plant,” he 说. 这让我得到了面试的机会，也让我在那里全职工作.”

Patel credits all of his success to the foundational education he received as a student 在MCCC.

“这绝对教会了我责任，”他说. “准备上课. 德雷塞尔的学期只有10周，节奏确实很快.”

Patel 说 because he was able to take all of his general education classes 在MCCC and his credits transferred, he was able to jump right into his core major classes 德雷克塞尔.

“It allowed me to identify 我想做的事 in college,” he 说 of his time at MCCC. “I definitely took an interest in engineering and discovered my passion for 我想做的事.”

In 2022, Patel finished his degree in engineering technology with a mechanical engineering 德雷克塞尔的浓度. 现在他把学到的知识和技能运用到工作中 每天上课. 他在波茨敦高中和MCCC的时光，然后 在德雷克塞尔，他说:“奠定了基础.”

“I learned a lot about engineering and the fundamentals of what engineering is,” he 说. “它绝对有助于我在发电厂拥有的系统. 我自己压缩过了 air, closed 很酷的ing water systems and fire protection for the power plant as a strategic 系统工程师.”

Patel’s job requires him to make sure each system is constantly working and performing 最优. He often will troubleshoot to make sure his systems are reliable and is always looking to upgrade the equipment, especially once they’ve been in service for 30多年.

“So not only is the foundation of my education starting from Montco, but it’s also 沟通也很重要，”他说. “在高中学习沟通 同时参加bt365体育备用网站的课程. 这真的让我学会了沟通和发展沟通 skills, which has really been the number one tool in my toolbelt as an engineer.”

Among the general public, Patel 说 there’s a lack of knowledge about what goes on 就像利默里克的那个发电站一样. 首先，这是水汽倾泻 从冷却塔里出来的，不是烟.

“It is carbon-free energy, compared to coal or fossil fuel energy,” he 说, “which 意味着对环境更清洁.”

Constellation, which runs Limerick Generating Station, he 说, promotes a safety-first 注重团队合作和包容的文化.

“这是我们日常对话的一部分，”帕特尔说. “我认为这非常重要 把安全放在第一位. 不仅对员工，而且对公众.”

The Limerick Generating Station hosted a community night in September 2023 featuring representatives from different departments at the facility to explain their roles 并为该地区的其他组织提供表格，帕特尔说.

“It was really awesome to see the company interact with the community,” he 说, “and 分享关于核工业的知识.”

When reflecting on his time as a student 在MCCC, Patel 说 not only did it give him the foundational tools needed to be a great engineer, but he also learned how 在社交上冲破束缚.

他说:“我想我最终变成了一个更喜欢社交的人。. “我想我有点 bit of an introvert and I think some of my friends now would say I’m a bit of an extravert. 它在沟通和工程方面确实对我有帮助. bt365体育备用网站真的给了我很大的帮助 了解如何与不同类型的人沟通. 每个人沟通 一种不同的方式，认识到这一点非常重要.”

From starting with no frame of reference for what college would 就像, to now engineering multiple systems at the Limerick Generating Station, Patel’s journey is proof that MCCC的教育可以为你的未来打下基础.

Learn more about Patel’s experience by listening to his "Montco on the Move" 播客.