This week’s Spotlight is on Mr. Andy Kubik. Kubik is the Director of Thunderbolt Career and Technology Center, however early in his working career education was not his first foray into the working world. Andy was born and raised in Colleton County. He attended Calvary Christian School until halfway through his 5th grade year. Kubik’s dad was teaching in the public school system, and he took Andy out of private school and put him into public school. He then went to Forest Hills Elementary School. He attended middle school in Colleton County, and graduated from Walterboro High School. Kubik’s favorite class in high school was his accounting class. He enjoyed the subject, but he also enjoyed the other students in the class. He reminisces that it was a small group of kids, only about six or seven, and they were a very tight knit group. Even if they did not go on to be an accountant the class taught them life skills such as balancing a checkbook, working with a budget, and being able to handle personal and business finances. After high school Mr. Kubik went to Clemson University where he majored in textile management with a concentration in Industrial engineering. Despite finishing his last semester with a 4.0 Kubik had difficulty finding work. Graduating in an off semester (December) and with the signing of NAFTA many jobs went overseas including those in the textile industry. He interviewed with many companies but initially could not find work. Kubik had left his resume with his Dean at Clemson to help with his job search and that was how he landed a promising interview. The Dean received a call from Bike Athletic out of Knoxville, TN. They wanted a student with a textile background and the Dean recommended Kubik. He made the six hour drive to Knoxville for the interview. Andy was on his way to Greenville to stop over at his uncle’s house before driving the rest of the way home. Before he got to his uncle’s home, he received a call with a job offer. His job was quality control laboratory supervisor. Ever the educator he became, Kubik explained exactly what the job entailed. It is fascinating. The company received fabrics from vendors and it was Kubik’s job to put the fabric “through the wringer.” There was a machine the fabric was put in to check for abrasion. The fabric was washed with a set amount of detergent to determine how much the color bled and faded. It was also tested for shrinkage. Fabrics and elastics were stretched to see if they would hold up to the stretching. Kubik also tested fabrics to see if the colors would match in the cool fluorescents of the store and the D65 light which is daylight. The objective is to find colors that would match under both conditions. There is a lot of science and testing that goes into fabrics before they are approved for use. I will never look at clothing in the store the same ever again. It is said that all good things must come to an end. Economics, a dash of politics, the very real possibility of having to travel overseas to various places to conduct quality control checks, and an infant daughter at home prompted Kubik to start looking outside the textile industry for work. Kubik’s father who was an educator for CCSD suggested looking into teaching. Andy came into CCSD as a business teacher under the alternative certification program. For the next 3 years Mr. Kubik spent a great deal of time in the classroom as an educator and as a student while he was getting his teaching certification. Driving back and forth to Charleston Southern University he got not only his certification, but his master’s in administration as well. Kubik has taught a lot during his time in the classroom; marketing, entrepreneurship, sports and entertainment, advertising, business law, and even fashion merchandising. That’s right, Mr. Kubik can sew, and he and his students made clothing, had fashion shows, and they were very very good at it. He has also held assistant principal positions at CCHS, Bells Elementary, and Black Street Early Childhood Center. Then the Director position at TCTC came open again. Kubik applied and got the job and has been there for four years. Kubik’s desire is to grow TCTC and its class offerings for students. Last school year a barbering and nail tech program was introduced and an EV program will be introduced in the Automotive classes. There are many opportunities at TCTC that students can choose from and leave there career ready. Personally, Mr. Kubik is married to his wife Valentina. Mrs. Kubik is from Romania and is a proud American citizen. She wants to see as much of the United States as she can, but the couple also has some overseas travel they want to cross off their “bucket list.” Valentina works as a special education teacher also. He has two children as well. As for hobbies, Mr. Kubik likes to fish and play a little golf. However on the 4th of July weekend he was going to try kayak fishing for the first time. He’s staying away from open water right now and starting small to see how it goes. Answering what would he do if time and money were no object, Kubik had to think for a moment. Once again, loyal to his position and his students he said he would like to provide a new facility for TCTC to have a little more room for the current programs, but to be able to expand and offer more to students.
