National Park College (NPC) received a visit from Suzuki Marine on Wednesday, October
11, 2023. The visit was an opportunity for Suzuki to reaffirm its commitment to supporting
the NPC Marine Technology program and to discuss ways to further strengthen the partnership.
“We couldn't exist without the support of our manufacturers,” said Delmar Hunter,
Marine Technology instructor at NPC. “Suzuki is really invested in our program and
they donate a lot of product to it, to our campus and we even host factory trainings
here with Suzuki so our students are really prepared for the real world when they
get out there, especially on Suzuki products.”
Suzuki Marine Lead Instructor Luis Gonzalez explained why Suzuki continues to support
the NPC Marine program:
“Suzuki supports the training program here at National Park College because of the
quality of training that we see come out of the program. The feedback I get from the
instructor here about the technicians that have actually made it to the industry is
very successful, so we are excited to keep promoting that success across our industry
because we need the technicians in the field.”
“We need good quality trained technicians, not just for Suzuki but throughout our
industry’s lines. We need to make sure that we keep filling these voids that we have
in this industry. We know it's a great industry to work in and we just want to continue
to see the success,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez also discussed his upcoming speech at the NPC Marine Technology Advisory
Committee meeting:
“I'm going to talk about the success of this program that I've seen coming from the
Suzuki side. Again, it's a well-rounded program. The students are very well rounded,
so we want to continue to see that success by providing products to help teach and
brainstorm what else we can do to help,” said Gonzalez. “Whatever else is needed for
the program we can do to help the program, such as showing up here and talking to
the students for a couple of hours. We are trying to fill the voids of any needs that
are there.”
Kevin Lind, Instructional Designer at Suzuki Marine, also joined Gonzalez on the visit
to NPC. Lind and Gonzalez discussed his work on the Suzuki Marine curriculum and acknowledged
his satisfaction with the NPC Marine Technology program:
“I speak with Mr. Hunter quite a bit trying to make sure he has what he needs from
us but also the feedback he gives me from his training and what he does for Suzuki
itself, but again I don't want to say just Suzuki he also takes care of the industry
as a whole. It's very impressive. That's why we enjoy supporting and we want to continue
to support this program,” said Gonzalez.
The visit from Suzuki Marine is a testament to the strong partnership between the
two organizations. Suzuki's continued support of the NPC Marine Technology program
will help to ensure that students have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed
in the marine industry.
