By Em Jankauski
Jake Tipsward was recognized as the BattChallenge’s Year Two Outstanding Vocational Faculty Advisor Award earlier in May at the year-end competition held in Indianapolis from May 4-9.
We caught up with the Arapahoe Community College Automotive Technology faculty member, who helps lead the Colorado School of Mines & Arapahoe Community College’s BattChallenge team in a fun Q&A.
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Q: What does earning this award mean to you and the Colorado School of Mines & Arapahoe Community College team?
A: “Normally I would consider this a personal career highlight, however, I didn’t earn this award. The real heroes in the vocational award are the team members that really made this happen. Cameron Zimmer, Viv Nelson, Wesley Swieter, and the amazing (Colorado School of Mines) professor Adam Duran are the ones that made this partnership work. This is the fruit of their hard work.”
Q: What is your passion behind your dedication to these students?
A: “It is all about opportunity. Being the incredibly talented students that they are, well, it’s no good if they exist in a vacuum. The second part of the equation is the opportunity to make miracles happen.
“With creativity and drive, a student can take the smallest opening and change the world. My life changed forever when I had a teacher that believed in me and gave me just one unique opportunity; that is what drives me so hard. I will burn myself to the ground if it means these students will have broader horizons and brighter futures.”
Q: How do you hope vocational schools’ involvement in the BattChallenge will make an impact on the future of the EV battery workforce?
A: “The advisor is just there to reinforce the BattChallenge’s structure, and after that, I should know enough to get out of their way. I’ve struggled with that this year. This is their competition, their opportunity. My hope is that the vocational students find the glass ceiling placed above them and obliterate it. I can only encourage them to be so good that they can’t be ignored. I still believe anybody can do absolutely anything they put their mind to. It’s just a little harder when you are a fish and the objective is to climb a tree.”
