As a child growing up on his family’s rural tobacco farm in Scott County, Ryan Quarles learned at an early age the lessons of hard work and the value of an education.

Whether helping his father and brother with the never-ending duties of running the farm or seeing his mother leave to teach nursing classes in the evenings, Quarles said he realized how education gave people the tools they needed to provide for themselves and their community.

And when he came home from school, he said his education continued with KET, where he enjoyed programs such as Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow and others that explored Kentucky and the world beyond.

“I like to say that KET was the best substitute teacher I ever had,” Quarles said. “What I watched on KET was an extension of what I was learning both at home and at school. And it allowed me to travel anywhere in the country, or anywhere in the world for that matter, all without leaving my family’s farm.”

Now, in his role as president of Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which serves more than 100,000 students in Kentucky, Quarles said he continues to appreciate the ways in which KET helps Kentuckians achieve their education and career goals.

KET was the best substitute teacher I ever had. And it allowed me to travel anywhere in the country, or anywhere in the world for that matter, all without leaving my family’s farm.

Ryan Quarles, president, Kentucky Community and Technical College System

As Kentucky’s largest postsecondary education institution, KCTCS is likewise the state’s leading provider of GED® certificates. And KET, with its continuing education resources, such as its GED prep course FastForward®, has been an invaluable partner in helping Kentuckians earn their high school equivalency and make the next step toward advancing their careers, Quarles said.

“There’s no expiration date on becoming a student in Kentucky,” Quarles said. “Sometimes all we need is that spark that motivates us to want a better job or improve our standing in life.”

Additionally, KET’s resources for workforce development, such as its Workplace Essential Skills® and its resources highlighting Kentucky’s fastest-growing career paths, serve as a complement to KCTCS’s mission of meeting the state’s workforce needs.

“There are untold numbers of Kentuckians who never would have stepped foot onto a college campus had it not been for their local community college system and for education partners like KET,” Quarles said. “We’ve got plenty of jobs in Kentucky. And we’re helping to fill those while also helping lift a generation of Kentuckians out of poverty.”

And the sheer breadth of KET programs, Quarles said, rewards exploration. His own love for hunting and fishing, he said, was fueled by watching Kentucky Afield as a youth. And later, his passion for fixing up old buildings was encouraged by watching The New Yankee Workshop with Norm Abram.

“That’s one of the cool things about KET,” Quarles said. “There’s so much variety in its programs, and you never know what might inspire your next hobby or motivate you in a personal or professional sense to become a better person. That’s why I’m a supporter of KET.”