After Heritage Institute closes, jobless instructor continues teaching students

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WINK News

Amanda Teckenbrock teaches a pharmacy technician program at Lee Health. But before that, she was one of several teachers who were without jobs when the Heritage Institute suddenly closed.

“The way Heritage went about their close down was just incredibly wrong. They could’ve done it a much better way,” Teckenbrock said.

She didn’t want to leave her students behind, so she continued teaching them for free in her own home.

“I promised them I wouldn’t leave them and I don’t go back on promises,” she said.

Now, those students are certified technicians.

“She was just really adamant about us getting our education, and even though it wasn’t her fault, she felt extremely sorry for us. She just went above and beyond your average teacher so I was really grateful for that,” said student Tilson Hichez.

Students sat around Teckenbrock’s kitchen table for months, learning everything they could.

Hichez was less than a month from graduating when the institute closed, meaning he would have had to start all over again somewhere else.

“It was disheartening to me to realize I came this far along just to not graduate and not get my certification,” Hichez said.

Both Hichez and his classmate, Emily Kennedy, passed their pharmacy technician certification tests, but didn’t get their money back from Heritage.

“You just feel so defeated and I don’t want to even think about it anymore. I’m just done with that,” Kennedy said.

Teckenbrock says they couldn’t have done it without everyone sticking together and working hard.

“It’s amazing, and every time I talk to them, I’m like…I’m so proud of you, and they’re like, we did it because of you. They’re like, no it was all you…so I think we kind of build each other up,” Teckenbrock said.

And now, there is a class action lawsuit against the Heritage Institute. Teckenbrock says at this point, all she wants is an apology to her students.

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