Four University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana Secondary Career & Technical Education Center students recently passed the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 608 Exam. Elijah Cox, Gavin Hatley, Kage Hillery, and Clay Walraven all passed the test on the first attempt. To work in the HVAC industry, technicians who maintain, service, repair, or dispose of refrigerant-containing equipment must be certified under the EPA’s Section 608 of the Clean Air Act.

The EPA exam is not a requirement of the UAHT HVAC program; however, these students took the initiative to take the test while still in class. All of the students agreed that they were ready and well prepared by their instructor, Leo Rateliff, to go ahead and take the test. “The content we learned in our HVAC course prepared us to pass the test without having to do a lot of extra studying,” they said.

The students are taking the HVAC course for free through the UAHT Secondary Career & Technical Education Center provided to their respective high schools. The Secondary Career Center provides service area high school juniors and seniors with the unique opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school at no charge. The students all agreed that being able to take technical courses like this while still in high school gives them a great advantage. “We are able to get a one to two-year head start on our careers and save money because the classes are free,” they said. “The training provided through the UAHT Secondary Career Center prepares students to go to work quickly in HVAC or other fields. As soon as we graduate high school, we can either continue earning credentials at UAHT, start our own business, work for an HVAC company, or work for almost any industry because they also have HVAC needs. We believe every student should take advantage of these free courses.”

About the UAHT Secondary Career & Technical Education Center:
The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana Secondary Career & Technical Education Center offers FREE college credit to participating high schools. If a student is entering 11th or 12th grade next school year at one of the following high schools, they can sign up now for UAHT Secondary Career Center classes. To apply, make an appointment with your high school counselor. The application deadline is July 1, 2024.

Hope campus participating schools include:

• Arkansas Virtual Academy
• Blevins
• Hope
• Lafayette County
• Nevada
• Prescott
• Spring Hill

Texarkana campus participating schools include:

• Arkansas Virtual Academy
• Arkansas High
• Ashdown
• Fouke
• Genoa Central
• Premier High School

To apply, visit https://www.uaht.edu/academics/career-center.php.

The UAHT Secondary Career & Technical Education Center is an area secondary career center located on the UA Texarkana and the UA Hope campuses. The Center provides area high school juniors and seniors with the unique opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school at no charge. The Center’s curriculum serves as an extension of the high school curriculum offerings by providing students with hands-on experiences in a variety of career fields taught by UAHT Faculty.

To schedule an Accuplacer exam, make an appointment with your high school counselor or career coach.

For more information, visit https://www.uaht.edu/academics/career-center.php or contact Mikki Curtis, Director, at 870-722-8133 or mikki.curtis@uaht.edu.