Program at NPCC helped Imperial man return home for HVACR job

    Brett Harmon is a realist.
     He’s known what he wanted to do with his life and where he wanted to be from a very young age, and he developed that goal based on what made sense.
     “I knew from day one that you’ve got to pick a career that will always be needed,” said Harmon.
    “It seems like there are a lot of professions out there that people want to pursue, but that there’s no demand for. I picked [heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration] because as long as there’s electricity, I will have a job,” he said.
     Harmon is the maintenance supervisor for Chase County Community Hospital in Imperial. His responsibilities vary—from working on boilers and rooftop units to servicing split system air conditioners and managing contracts with service providers.
     “I wasn’t a failing student in high school, but I wasn’t a straight ‘A’ student either,” Harmon said. “I got bored sitting in a classroom. I wanted to work with my hands, so that’s why HVACR appealed to me. It just seemed natural.”
     The Imperial native got his first glimpse at the world of HVACR while attending Chase County High School.
     “I always saw the school’s facility manager messing with the boiler and air conditioner,” Harmon said. “That caught my eye because I enjoyed fixing things. He said that if I went into HVACR, I could make pretty good money.”
     Harmon knew of two HVACR companies in Imperial that were advertising for technicians at the time, and he ultimately wanted to stay in the area because of the small-town atmosphere.
     So, by the time he graduated from high school in 2009, Harmon had made up his mind to enroll in the HVACR program at North Platte Community College (NPCC).
     “NPCC was my first choice,” Harmon said. “It was close to home, so I could go back and work on the weekends.

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