Through the years the AIM Institute has helped create programs that have had a lasting impact on Nebraska. The following are comments from those who have benefited from our initiatives.
Nancy Williams
Technology Director
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands
IT Leadership Academy Graduate – Class 1
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend the AIM Institute IT Leadership Academy. It has been one of the most transformative experiences of my career. It was well worth the investment of time and resources to attend the monthly sessions. Attending the academy has been a huge confidence booster. It has provided me with tools to help me personally and has impacted my work at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands. After the Strategic Planning session at the Academy, I shared the materials with the President/CEO and Chief Professional Officer. Utilizing those pieces was instrumental in our two-day strategic planning session that was convened to draft and implement organizational change that had not been attempted in the last 20 years! We are still in the implementation phase but expect to be a stronger, leaner, and more effective organization with resulting outcomes that will impact our youth and communities for generations.”
Therese Laux
Music and Media Technology
Omaha North High Magnet School
Apple Distinguished Educator 2007
“I keep coming back to how much AIM has affected so many people from North over the years. One would have to travel to Chicago to find a program even close to what we have in Music and Media Technology. We owe you so many thanks, yet you continue to give. You gave my kids the opportunity to perform, and to share with those in the community a snapshot of today’s youth and of North. We all had a great lunch and a fantastic speaker. How could it be any better? I appreciate all you and your colleagues at AIM do every day to provide opportunities and new perspectives for everyone in our area. You make a difference. It’s always an honor to be associated with you. My sincere thanks for all of your generosity.”
Omaha North High Magnet School eBand, led by Therese Laux
Shelly Lee
Student at Creighton @ Bryant Resource Center
“I would like to thank the people at Creighton @ Bryant Resource Center for their help with learning the basics of Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Excel. I had computer skills but was not comfortable with using these programs. I went to class two days per week [to learn] the basics that I needed in order to achieve my goal of a full-time job. Without the skills taught to me I would not have been able to pass the test at the interview. I will be using these skills in my new job as a test administrator at Bellevue University.”
The Creighton @ Bryant Resource Center houses one of several community technology centers (CTCs) that offer free IT training to students and adults of all walks of life in an effort to bridge the “Digital Divide.” The AIM Institute secured funding to equip and operate the CTCs through a Department of Education grant. Because the program was so successful, AIM and its business partners offered to continue funding the CTCs after the grant expired.
Dr. William E. Spurgeon, P.E.
Instructor, Information Technology
Western Nebraska Community College
Site Coordinator for Midwest Center for Information Technology (MCIT)
“MCIT has had a tremendously positive impact on our faculty. It has helped us with training and industry certification in this constantly changing area of academics. The annual Working Connections Conference provides a reasonable alternative to training and has helped build good working relationships among IT educators across the region. This has resulted in a greater sense of collaboration and synergy by sharing ideas of what is new and what works well in the classroom.”
AIM obtained funding for MCIT through a National Science Foundation grant and provides project management for its initiatives and the annual Working Connections IT Conference.