BRIGHTON, N.Y. -- Fall enrollment is underway at MCC. Students are putting together class schedules in fields of interest.
With the demand for expertise in homeland security and emergency management increasing over the years, MCC is now offering students a program designed to deal with terrorism, cybersecurity, response strategies and tactics to protect infrastructures and resources.
"The world is changing and we have to change, that's important," said John Perrone, MCC Homeland Security Management Institute. "We can't keep doing things the same way particularly since this is kind of a different threat because we're really fighting in many ways an ideology. Some of the conventional wisdom just doesn't work."
Classes will be taught at MCC's Brighton campus with frequent visits to the Monroe County Public Safety Training Center. Nearly 100 students from a variety of backgrounds are already enrolled.
The program is designed to benefit anyone interested in a career in homeland security or emergency management including recent high school graduates, returning military personnel and public safety professionals looking for new skills. Shealyn Stauber of Greece is one of those already enrolled.
"I hope to be able to gain knowledge on how to handle future terrorist attacks because we need people that are willing to go into something like that," Stauber said. "In light of everything going on it's scary to a lot of people."
Besides the two year associates degree, students can take the course for one year and earn a certificate. Some may transfer to a four year school while others may decide to take this experience directly into the workforce.
"There's big employers at the federal level, U.S. Customs, Border Patrol, TSA; these are all huge employers," Perrone said. "They have constant recruitment, they have recruitment now that they're looking for 20,000 to 30,000 young people. So if that's something that interests you there's an opportunity."
The deadline to apply is August 24th. Classes begin September 6th.