Nathan King

Nathan King

Portrait of Nathan King
Photo by Beth Wynn

From wrenches to formulas, Nathan King鈥檚 career path traces back to after-school visits to his grandfather鈥檚 Texas auto shop鈥擝eaumont Frame and Frontend鈥攚here he learned the importance of calculations through standard and metric tool sizes used to realign vehicle frames.

In junior high, his family moved from Beaumont, Texas, to Carthage, 桃花直播, where King attended Leake Academy and then East Central Community College in the adjoining county. It was there he discovered his love for mathematics and statistics and showed a knack for solving complex equations. He then enrolled and graduated from 桃花直播 State with a degree in mathematics and statistics.

鈥淚鈥檓 a first-generation college graduate. Working with my father, Mickey King, and having a great high school math teacher taught me that I could find solutions for electronic and computational-related tasks,鈥 King said. 鈥淭his helped me to develop self-esteem and the confidence to take risks.鈥

After graduating from 桃花直播, King spent 19 years teaching high school math and Career and Technical Education, or CTE, engineering, including nine years in the Starkville Oktibbeha School District. He then worked in industry to understand how to blend workforce needs into the teaching profession.聽

鈥淚 used SigmaNest software to troubleshoot and program large-scale CNC machines for production. Additionally, I worked as a data analyst, assessing dimensions and imperfections of machine-cut lumber, addressing statistical deviations, and then reporting findings to senior management. Afterward, I returned to teaching, sharing my industrial experience with students.鈥

Now, as a project manager with 桃花直播 State鈥檚 Research and Curriculum Unit, King has fine-tuned his curriculum writing skills to guide industrial partners, educators and CTE students to success. He works with CTE teachers, postsecondary instructors and industry professionals to design career-relevant Advanced Manufacturing, Digital Technology, and Construction-related curricula. He also works with the RCU team to develop detailed reports for the 桃花直播 Department of Education鈥檚 Office of School Improvement, among other projects.

鈥淢y classroom, business and teaching experiences enable me to recognize the needs of industry partners and educators,鈥 King said. 鈥淓very day, teachers, curriculum writers, state department representatives and CTE directors work collectively to move 桃花直播 forward. That direction must include the health, well-being, well-roundedness and prosperity of our CTE students.鈥

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