Milan Institute Celebrates 30 Years and Over 35,000 Graduates
VISALIA, Calif., Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Milan Institute and Milan Institute of Cosmetology school group will celebrate its 30-year anniversary in October 2015. All Milan campuses located throughout the western and southwestern United States will celebrate the event with fun activities and refreshments for students, faculty and staff. The anniversary marks 30 years of providing quality career training in the fields of beauty, massage, healthcare, business, information technology and energy. To date, over 35,000 students have graduated from the Milan school group.
Milan Institute opened its first campus, Golden State Business College, in October 1985. The school was located in Visalia, California, in the heart of the Central Valley and only offered career training in court reporting. Golden State Business College was opened by James M. Yasuda, O.D., a well-known optometrist within the community. About his decision to open a career training school, Dr. Yasuda recalls "I had an empty building and needed to do something with it. At the time, I was reading a book by Napoleon Hill. In it, the author said that the key to building a big business is to find a need and fill it. And that's exactly what I did."
Shortly after Dr. Yasuda's son, Gary Yasuda, graduated with a B.S. in Economics and Biology from UCLA, Dr. Yasuda asked him to return home to Visalia to help operate the school. "When Gary first started working, he didn't know a lot about career schools," said Dr. Yasuda, thinking back to the original school. "He had to learn a lot on his own, but he never gave up – he didn't quit. I've got to hand it to him." Since then, Gary Yasuda has grown to become a leader in the career school industry and was one of the first recipients of the prestigious STAR Award from the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools.
As president of Milan Institute, Gary Yasuda expanded the school group in the number of campuses, markets and career training programs offered. Today, there are 19 Milan campuses located throughout California, Nevada, Idaho and Texas. In January 2009, Dr. Yasuda officially retired from the board of directors and passed all ownership over to his son Gary Yasuda. The company has remained family-owned for the past 30 years.
"It has been a wonderful experience to lead the Milan Institute team for so many years," states Gary Yasuda. "To see our first class of 7 business students and 4 employees in October 1985 be the precursor to 35,000 graduates and 570 Milan employees is an amazing achievement for us. Changing graduates' lives for the better is something all Milan employees are proud of. Milan has been an important contributor in the communities we're located in, and we have built an excellent reputation for quality career training and job placement results. We are passionate about what we do and are excited about what the future holds for our schools."
Milan's mission is to meet the needs of students and employers by offering quality, short term educational programs in career fields with solid growth potential. The Milan school group offers career training in the beauty, massage, healthcare, business, information technology and energy fields. Programs vary by location. Many campuses also have a student salon or student massage spa, where value-priced services are provided to the public by students under instructor supervision. For more information about Milan Institute, please call 1-888-207-9460 or visit www.MilanInstitute.edu.
SOURCE Milan Institute & Milan Institute Of Cosmetology
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