Aaliyah Mowry was scheduled to start school on June 25, but now she and more than 200 students are left in disarray. Think about who it affects. That was Mowry's message to Triangle Tech after the school announced Wednesday afternoon that it would close the 80-year-old technical school. Mowry told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 in an email that she was shocked to find out. “I was just angry. I was devastated. I nearly cried,” Mowry said. She was scheduled to start an electrical engineering program at the Greensburg campus on June 25. She quit her job and turned down an apprenticeship to attend school. “Now I'm out of a job. I gave two weeks notice. I lost my opportunity to go to technical school and I'm at a loss as to what to do now,” Mowry said. Just this week, students received text messages announcing orientation. “We probably knew how long the closure would be. It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen when we get the call at 12:30. It's not something that was decided until today,” Mowry said. Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dan DeVaughn said there are still plenty of opportunities for students to get a similar education in the county. “Westmoreland County has Central Vocational School, Eastern Vocational School and Technical School that are very well-rounded. Now more and more kids are starting to understand the trades and they understand that in a few years they can graduate and start a career and have a very fulfilling career,” he said. A Triangle Tech spokesperson told Pittsburgh's Action News that the four currently enrolled students will continue their education through June 2025, but they will not be accepting new students. The closure also affects staff. According to a statement from the school, 20 positions out of the remaining 110 staff members are affected. David Guess worked as an electrical engineering instructor at the Greensburg school. On Wednesday, he was told he was being laid off. “I hadn't had a raise or anything for the last five years, so I was kind of expecting it, but it still came as a surprise,” he explained. For Guess, it's his students and coworkers he'll miss the most. “I really cared about my students, and they gave me the opportunity to teach young men and women,” he said. And the closure will affect former students, too. Aliyah's sister, Paige, graduated from the school in October. Upon graduation, students are guaranteed a 10-year commitment. “They promised me that I would be there for 10 years and help me find another job or if I needed help with my education,” Paige Skreider said. Now, that promise has not been fulfilled, and not having this opportunity is what Paige says is most frustrating. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic, changing industry conditions, and strict government restrictions have changed the economic situation for many higher education institutions. These factors, along with declining enrollment, have led us to make the very difficult, but necessary, decision to close,” Triangle Tech said in a statement. DeVaughn said any students in Westmoreland County who would be affected by the closure should contact the chamber, which can help them find other options. Triangle Tech is headquartered in Pittsburgh. The school also has campuses in Greensburg, DuBois, Sunbury, Bethlehem and Chambersburg.
Aaliyah Mowry was scheduled to start school again on June 25, but now she and more than 200 other students are in disarray.
Think about who it affects. That was the message Mowry delivered to Triangle Tech after the school announced Wednesday afternoon that the 80-year-old technical school would close. Mowry told Pittsburgh's Action News 4 he was shocked when he found out via email.
“I just felt so angry. I was so shocked. I was in tears,” Mowry said.
She said she was scheduled to start an electrical installation program at a Greensburg factory on June 25. She left her job and turned down an apprenticeship to attend school.
“Right now I'm unemployed. I gave two weeks notice. My opportunity to go to trade school is gone and I'm at a loss as to what to do now,” Mowry said.
Students received text messages this week informing them about orientation.
“We've known for how long now that we were going to be closing. It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen when you get a phone call at 12:30. This decision wasn't made just today,” Mowry said.
Dan DeVaughn, president and CEO of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce, said there are still plenty of opportunities in the county for students to receive a similar education.
“Westmoreland County has a very strong Central Vocational School as well as Eastern Vocational and Technical School. More and more kids are now beginning to understand the trades and they understand that in a few years they can go out into the world and get a job and have a very fulfilling career,” he said.
A Triangle Tech spokesperson told Pittsburgh's Action News that the school's four currently enrolled students will continue their education through June 2025, but the school will not be accepting any new students.
The closures are also affecting staff. According to a statement from the school, 20 of the 110 remaining employees are affected. David Guess worked as an electrical engineering instructor at the Greensburg school. He was notified Wednesday that he was being laid off.
“They haven't had a raise or anything like that in the past, in the past five years, so we kind of expected it to happen, but we're still surprised by it,” he explained.
For Guess, what he will miss most will be his students and colleagues.
“I really cared about my students and they gave me the opportunity to mentor these young men and women,” he said.
The closure will also affect former students – Aaliyah's sister Paige graduated from the school in October – and students are given a 10-year guarantee upon graduation.
“They promised me that if I served for 10 years, they would help me find another job or help me with my education if I ever needed help,” Paige Skreider said.
Now, that promise remains unfulfilled, and Paige says it's this lack of opportunity that frustrates her the most.
Triangle Tech said in a statement:
“Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in the industry, and
“Government restrictions have changed the economic situation for many higher education institutions. As a result of these factors and declining enrollment, we have made the very difficult but necessary decision to close.”
Devaughn said any students affected by the Westmoreland County closure should contact the chamber for help finding other options.
Triangle Tech is headquartered in Pittsburgh. The school also has campuses in Greensburg, DuBois, Sunbury, Bethlehem and Chambersburg.
