Building Communities: How Nashville State Helped Shape Alex West’s Career

Alex West, a Robertson County native, came to Nashville State to study civil and construction engineering.

After graduating, he served his hometown in various roles before moving to work for the city of Goodlettsville.

Now, West is the director of economic development, and this is the story of a Nashville State graduate who has combined his experience and education to chart his own way.

“I love economic development and being the cheerleader for the city,” West said of his current role.

Before taking on his role in economic development, West built a career in public service. From early years, working in parks maintenance and management, to code enforcement in Greenbrier. While he worked his way up through those various roles, West attended Nashville State.

“I remember all of my classes (at Nashville State) vividly,” West said. “A lot of the classes I took revolved around what I was doing. It helped both professionally with the job I had and in class at the same time.”

When he moved into code enforcement, West said his classes at Nashville State really came in handy.

“It all lined up perfectly. I had worked my way up through the city, and I had worked with enough of the departments to know what was going on with the city.”

West graduated from Nashville State in 2016 but didn’t stop his education there. He continued to earn various professional certifications, ranging from code enforcement to economic development; West now holds 13 professional certifications.

After nearly 10 years working for the city of Greenbrier, West moved to the city of Goodlettsville, where he took the job of a city inspector before moving into his current position in economic development.

“Everyone gets into this (Economic Development) because of something else they did,” West said. “While I was in Greenbrier, we were able to attract businesses, and I was able to be on the front end of that kind of recruiting, and I loved it. I loved talking to the people and showing them what they could do.”

When the economic development role opened for Goodlettsville, West jumped in with both feet. Now, West uses his education and experience to help attract new business and create an economically thriving, vibrant city.

“My immediate goal is what can we do to encourage new growth and redevelopment? Out of everything I’ve ever done relationships really matter, and that’s especially true for local government.”

In addition to working directly with local businesses, West also has recently hosted an “Industry Day” with local schools to pair interested students with employers in need of workers. “I wanted to build relationships with the school systems, build better relationships with the businesses, and then hopefully create a workforce pipeline.”

As a part of that program, they were able to place one student, and hopefully it will continue to grow.

“Even if we could just help one person, that was my goal.”

“If we could just affect one person, I consider it a success, and the business was super happy. They were blown away; I think it helped open their eyes too.”

Pairing education and professional growth is key for West, and he says that is a big part of what keeps him going.

“I never want to stop learning and improving myself. I’m really focused on what we can do to better the workforce and making sure that the students who are local know what’s available to them,” West said.

Throughout his career, West is a prime example of how to build a strong foundation through education for a job you love.

“There have been several times that I’ve come across a situation, and I’ve thought back to my classes (at Nashville State),” West said. “The classes and the I stuff that I did immediately prepared me for my first jobs. Those classes really gave me a foot up.”