When Mariah Thien walked down the hallway of McDowell Technical Community College one afternoon looking for a place to cut metal, she had no idea that a single conversation would change the direction of her education. That chance encounter introduced her to the Machining program and a version of herself she had not yet discovered.
Mariah Thien has been a McDowell Tech student since 2017, nearly a decade of learning that took her through cosmetology, photography, and eventually a certificate in Advertising and Graphic Design, which she earned in 2022. Today, she is a double major, pursuing both Graphic Design and Computer Integrated Machining. She treats creative design and technical execution as parts of the same process, not separate disciplines.
The pivot to machining started with a creative project. Inspired by the film Tron: Ares, Thien wanted to fabricate a triangular fidget spinner from metal. When she wandered into the machining lab for help, instructor Steven Rhoads introduced her to the manual mill. Soon enough, what would have taken eight hours with a Dremel tool was finished in thirty minutes. She enrolled in the program the very next semester.
"If I can make something out of nothing, I'm excited about that. I feel more alive whenever I'm creating." - Mariah Thien, McDowell Tech Student
Machining has long been a male-dominated field, but Thien approaches that reality with her own confidence. Drawing from a childhood spent as the only girl on the baseball field, she says the experience has taught her to hold her own without losing herself.
"Just hold your own and hold yourself accountable. It's more of a self-development than a societal fit-in. You just have to go in it with good intentions for yourself." - Mariah Thien
Thien's contributions to McDowell Tech go beyond the classroom. Since March 2025, she has worked as a part-time staff member in two departments simultaneously: the college's Print Shop and the McDowell Small Business Center (SBC). In the Print Shop, she applies her design expertise to help create brochures, signage, and marketing materials. At the SBC, she serves in a dual capacity as marketing lead and administrative assistant, managing the center's Facebook presence, handling reporting, and developing all branding and materials for the college's AIM entrepreneurship program. In November 2025, she even taught the Marketing Matters class to the AIM program attendees.
Her desire for learning does not stop at her declared majors. This spring semester alone, Thien is enrolled in CNC Milling, CNC Turning (lathe), Intro to Plastics, Industrial Safety, Graphic Design for the Web I, and a Continuing Education Survey of Artificial Intelligence course. She also completed McDowell Tech's GEM entrepreneurship program in April 2025 and also earned her certification in Conversational Spanish last Fall.
Looking ahead, Thien envisions a future where her skills in design, machining, and entrepreneurship converge. She is drawn to medical manufacturing, because the application of machining will directly support patient care. Her long-term creative vision includes incorporating custom metal inlays into handmade books, working with gemstones through lapidary, and crafting jewelry. She has her eyes on eventually launching her own business. In her words, machining is simply adding metal material to her repertoire.
"Follow dopamine. Be happy. Don't do something that you don't like." - Mariah Thien
For McDowell Tech President Dr. J.W. Kelley, students like Thien represent exactly what the college is built to serve.
"Mariah's story is a powerful reminder of why McDowell Tech exists. We believe that education is not one size fits all, and Mariah embodies that. She came here, found her path, and never stopped growing. That kind of drive across programs, across disciplines, across years, is exactly what our community needs. We are incredibly proud of everything she has accomplished and everything she is still becoming." - Dr. J.W. Kelley, President, McDowell Technical Community College
Thien's journey is a testament to what is possible when curiosity meets opportunity. McDowell Technical Community College offers more than 60 programs of study, from skilled trades and health sciences to business, the arts, and beyond, designed to meet students wherever they are in life and help them get where they want to go.
Ready to find your path? Explore programs and apply today at www.mcdowelltech.edu or call (828) 652-6021. You belong here.
