 Welcome back to segment number two of Geeks are sexy this week. I'm Jason Leduke from evil genius leadership consultants We're talking about all the things you need to have a successful business and a successful life here in Las Vegas Our next guest is dr. Thomas Kenny from Northwest Career College Now what's really interesting here is you are a licensed dentist here in Nevada Yes, sir, and but you've been working in Northwest Career College for since 2004 We'll talk about why that isn't a little bit, but you're passionate about education You've got a proven track record of success as the chief compliance officer at Northwest Career College and you're the director of education So you're handling all those curriculum things right now You're making sure it's all it's all good that the students are getting what they need to go out into the workforce I'm going to talk about that in our panel discussion a little bit today about workforce development here in Las Vegas I'm really excited about that You just helped NCC secure a six-year grant and re-accreditation in 2016 and you're placing major emphasis on standardized and professionalism and customer service training provided by Northwest Career College since you've been there. So really cool It's definitely something really needed in Las Vegas But tell us about Northwest Career College because this is a this is a family business This is a journey your dad started years and years ago So tell us how it started tell us where it started and how it's grown. Absolutely. Well, thank you Jason for the introduction my father dr. John Kenny started Northwest massage school back in 1997 and It started as a small two-room classroom just him and a massage therapist with five students And from there it has grown substantially over the last 21 years my uncle who's a dentist Which kind of got me interested in that field He ended up helping us open our dental assisting program and from there once we got a second program going We started growing and adding additional programs. So at this point over the last 21 years we now have 10 programs that we serve all throughout the medical and legal communities and We are really making a huge emphasis as you mentioned on training the next generation of professionals here in Las Vegas. We focus on primary Entry level medical and legal positions in order to help create those wonderful medical dental and legal facilities Where each and every one of us needs services desperately and I think that's so important because when you look at what's going on with our economy right now and and so many of the things we're talking about where Where there's kind of a valley of death right kids leave high school, but they the the skills they get coming out of high school Don't get them don't get them They don't get them into an entry-level job that has a path up and get them into an entry-level job somewhere But not in a job that has a path up I think it's so great about what Northwest Career College is doing is that We're getting people entry-level jobs with their jobs that have a path up and a path where they can go Be their own boss if they want absolutely I mean that is why you know our College's name is Northwest Career College and the last department that all of our students work with in our graduates is career services And we really try to emphasize that we want these students and these eventual graduates to not just find a job But to find a career that they can both Grow in professionally in their first job out of school But also have opportunities to continue to advance make it into management level position start their own business Especially for some of our massage therapy graduates And as you mentioned the students coming out of high school They're not prepared oftentimes for long-term careers And so what we have looked at over time is the four-year university track is not right for everybody That's right And that has been a huge point of emphasis within education has been to push everybody towards high school graduation matriculating into a traditional college setting and I myself was very fortunate to have gone through a four-year university setting But that is not the right path for everybody And it's not the right path necessarily right out of high school many of our students go back to college and continue their career After they've worked with us and continue to seek advanced degrees But this is oftentimes a really great starting point for people who are looking to get out there in the field for their first job And also for people who are looking to change careers they've been doing something for 20 years and they're ready for something new and this is oftentimes a really great place where they can leverage customer service experience or management experience and Get entry into a very stable and growing community, which is the medical and dental community here in Las Vegas I think that's the key to it is you you what Northwest Career College is focused on is these growing business series is growing industries here in Las Vegas and There's always gonna be hospitality. That's always gonna be our Britain, but we're given we're giving kids options now to go Into something that's growing fast as well. Absolutely one of the things that I read on news reports several months ago came from the state in Vada and They talked about how the typical city has about 12% of their population working in health care in Las Vegas only has about 9% So there is a math a lot of massive room for growth I don't know do you medical school come in Roseman medical school come in this training is moving and we need to We're here to help support the growth of that medical community now watch out medical world We're coming for you so and speaking of the medical world. You are a dentist. You're a licensed dentist So so this is a this is a unique career path to go for your college dental school And now you're you're the chief compliance officer and director of education at your dad's college. Yeah, well I It's funny you bring that up because honestly most of my friends from dental school actually think it's a weird career path as well They know they kind of unique. Yeah Unique is correct, you know, and that's really my perspective on it as well I've been very fortunate to have been blessed with really wonderful educational opportunities And my father started this college and I was practicing and I did part-time practice part-time working at the college doing the stuff That I do which is curriculum development and compliance and I ultimately had to make a choice I wasn't I wasn't fulfilling the practice setting as well as I could have and I wasn't fulfilling the college setting as Well as I could have because I couldn't give my my full heart and soul to that And so I had to make a choice and I about a year and a half ago chose to go full-time back at the college And honestly, I haven't regretted it. That's awesome. I think I think it's a very a very noble choice And it's certainly helping the community, which is what you know, we love money here We're gonna talk about business here But but we also believe very strongly in doing something to help support the community Yeah Now one of the thing that really impressed me about the college is that it's not about that just about academics It's not just about career placement. You have a student clinic. Yeah Tell us about the student clinic and tell us how that had how that's an advantage to your students Absolutely. So the student clinic is for our massage therapy students specifically and it's our oldest program longest program And what that does is it actually allows us to train our massage therapists on the public And so we actually have people come in every six seven days a week and receive Massages from our students as they're training throughout their process the students get to practice customer service skills they get to practice spa treatments and they really get a very Unique experience working in that spa setting that we've created for them And so if anybody out there listening right now is looking for a great massage Northwest career college definitely can help you with that very affordable and in my opinion excellent massages that you write So so you heard it here Go up to Northwest career college to get your next massage So they need an appointment or can they just show up? They do need an appointment and we can you can absolutely call at our mainline 702 254 7577 And they can help you get in touch with the clinic coordinator and get you an appointment absolutely right now One of the things that really impresses me out Northwest career college You go look at the senior staff, and it is your family. Yeah, this is a family business through and through What are some of the benefits and challenges of having a family business like this? I'm glad you asked about both because it is not The challenge yeah It's not all bad stuff many people hear family business, and they think you know there's there's tension There's drama there's stuff like that, you know I've heard a lot of that from people over time the benefits You know I'd like to lead with those which is that I get to work with four to five of my best friends every single day My siblings I've been very fortunate that we've all found our areas within the college where we can all specialize in and really grow as professionals and so There's a deep level of trust when you're with your family, and you just know that you can rely upon them Of course there are challenges. Yeah, absolutely. You know that exactly, you know There's you know that we all have 30 you know plus years of history with one another and we all know how to push each Other's buttons so at the you know when we get together as a management team What we have to do is again remind ourselves that we're all there working as professionals and that although we may have Personal relationships outside of the college that when we're there we're focused on the students and we're focused on the programs And we're focused on growing the institution to be the absolute best college that it can't that's very much the impression I get from ever from talking with you and Looking at some of the things going on at the college is that it really is about the students and the educational outcomes and the The future and career of the students. I'm so impressed I'm honored to know you and your family. Thank you. So all right really quickly. What's coming up for Northwest Career College? What's in the future? Well, you know, there's a lot going on I mean, we've been incredibly fortunate to have a tremendous amount of growth over the last several years All of the siblings came together back in 2015 and have been working together full-time since then and the college has expanded dramatically And so really we are you know, we're open in some new programs in 2019 Can't officially announce those yet because they haven't been officially approved Unfortunately, we're working our way through the application process We are also looking to expand to a second campus here in Nevada. We've had tremendous amounts of Interest from the other side of town down in the south and Henderson area And so we are actively looking to see how we can bring our services to more students We really believe and you know, and we love, you know, everybody in the in the industry But we really believe that we are best in space and that we're doing something special And we want to make sure that we can serve as many students as want to come to see us All right. Well selfishly because I'm always looking to fill these guest slots on the show when you guys are ready to release Your new programs to the public and you're ready to enroll students. We'll have you back on the show It sounds great. We talk all about the new programs and get some exposure for that. So really quickly How can our audience get a hold of Northwest Career College and not just if you're interested in being a student But if you're interested in if you have a business interested in working with Northwest Career College Whether it's to place some of their students have them come work for you or to somehow get involved as a business in the community How can they reach you guys? two ways easiest way is to actually call us directly our main file in line is 702-254-7577 if you're a prospective student asked to speak with the admissions team They'll gladly get you in for an in-person tour to come look at the facilities where you'll actually be learning If you're a business owner looking to get in with one of our graduates or one of our externs who can actually train in your facility Ask to speak with our career services team Otherwise, please feel free to head to our website at Northwest Career College edu and you can connect with us through the website as well Yeah, the website is great. I checked it out. I went through pretty much every page of it It's really it's a very well organized very easy to use. So please use that website So all right, well, thank you for being here Thomas. We're gonna have you back in just a few minutes for our panel discussion I'm Jason Ladoo. This is Geeks are sexy. We'll be right back with Amy Biani