Page 323 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

Peterson recruiters still draw from a number of college diesel programs, including:
• Shasta Junior College (CA)
• Santa Rosa Junior College (CA)
• College of Alameda (CA)
• Lane Community College (CA)
• Linn-Benton Community College (OR)
• Centralia Community College (WA)
• Walla Walla Washington Community College (WA)
• Idaho State University
• Montana State University
• Utah State University
• Trade schools like UTI and WyoTech
But by far the biggest results have come from the ThinkBIG program.
THINKING BIGGER
ThinkBIG California began back in 2002 as a partnership between San Joaquin-Delta College in Stockton and the six California Cat dealers at the time—Peterson, Holt of California, Quinn, John- son, Shepherd, and Hawthorne. It was a long-term solution to a growing deficit of qualified techni- cians within the heavy equipment industry. “Our program at Delta College is maxed out, and has been since 2012,” says Mace Gjerman, one of the founding members of ThinkBIG California. “We
The first year of ThinkBIG Northwest program at Portland Community College in 2006
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