What can just over 90 million dollars get you? How about 125 classrooms? Or 522,000 square feet of architectural genius?

All the above and much more can be found in the new Penta Career Center, which opened its doors to students Sept. 2.

Walking through the glass doors of the main entrance and looking down, the floor is so brand-spanking new it gives the illusion of walking on diamonds.

The cafeteria can only be described as massive.

By all description, the new building has exceeded any and every expectation. The basic numbers alone are impressive - 36,000 linear feet of underground piping; 740 doors; 30 months of construction – all to serve students in five counties and 16 school districts.

On the first day, nearly 1,500 students walked the halls of their new school building. Additionally, Penta serves 2,000 more students via satellite programs within its member school districts.

The building itself has capacity for 2,000, and estimates project that number will be reached in the near future. Penta students are studying careers like the culinary arts, small-animal care, and automotive technology.  Each of the rooms for these respective careers is as impressive as the next. The small-animal classroom includes live animals such as ferrets and even a separate grooming room with industrial-size wash sinks. Everything is state-of-the art, safety inspected and jaw-dropping nice.

The kitchen is like something that might be seen on television on a fancy cooking show. The stainless steel is nearly blinding. Students have everything at their fingertips, to help them learn skills that they’ll need to make it in the culinary field after graduation.

In addition, surrounding wetlands on campus may benefit students in their science and related classes.

The new Penta facility might have a slight downfall, however. The technology is amazing. The equipment is state-of-the-art. So what’s the problem? Everything is so up-to-date that students may not get to work with such new technology in their careers.

Penta Career Center has come a long way since it first opened in 1965. At the time it was the first multi-county career technical school in Ohio to be set up strictly for students in high school.  Now, those students have the ability to study over 30 career training programs to prepare them for life outside of high school, whether that is college or a job.

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