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What former students have to say

 

I graduated from Suttons Bay High School in June, 2004. The program I was in was unique in its own way. I never actually had classes at the Career-Tech Center. As a junior I enrolled in Teacher Academy at the Tech Center. I was placed in many different classrooms with many different age groups. After my first marking period I knew for sure that I wanted to study elementary education. That is what made my decision of attending Northern Michigan University and major in Elementary Education.

 

 

Even tough I really wasn’t that involved at the Career-Tech Center, I still took advantages of all the opportunities. I have attended luncheons and development days for teachers, so I have a feel of what it is really like to have a job in the education field.

 

My association at the Career-Tech Center has been a wonderful experience and it is an honor to receive a scholarship. The staff at CTC treats you like professional young adults, and that will be useful for when we enter the work force. My scholarship will go to great use this fall at Northern Michigan University to help me take the next step of my life and career goal.

- - Shea Marie Belanger

 

 

In June of 2004, I graduated from Traverse City West Senior High School. When we signed up for class in the spring of my junior year I made the decision to come to the Career-Tech Center. While at the Career-Tech Center I was enrolled in the Early Childhood Education class. In this class I had the opportunity of meeting new people that I now regard as close friends. At TBA this past year, I met two of my best friends who also went here. Also in ECE, I had a work site at Montessori Children’s House and Elementary School. Having this place as a worksite reconfirmed my thoughts of becoming a teacher.

 

On June 1 of this year I was invited to attend the Awards/Honors night for TBA at the Grand Traverse Resort. At this event I was awarded National Technical Honor Society cords I would wear at graduation. I was one of six recipients of a National Technical Honor Society Scholarship. I was also given the honor of being one of two in my Early Childhood Education to be named Outstanding Student of the Year. I was the proud recipient of the Northwestern Michigan Presidential Scholarship. This night was one of the happiest of my life and this all because I made the choice of coming to the Career-Tech Center.

 

This fall I will be using these scholarships at Northwestern Michigan College. While there, I will be working towards a degree that will help me become a high school history teacher. The TBA staff is amazing and will help those who are willing in reaching their goals. TBA has given me confidence and pride, which could be noticed by other people. I have changed mostly during my senior year for the better because of the Career-Tech Center.

- - Melissa Jean Gauthier

 

 

 

Thank you very much of the Tools of the Trade Award. I am now employed by a construction company and have been using some of the tools that I received. Being employed will help me financially as I begin college in the fall. The Construction Trades Program and the gift of these tools have given me the head start in my career that I needed. Thank you to the excellent staff for a great experience and a wonderful gift.

- - Joe Pobuda

 

 

 

WOW! The past two years of my education have been a phenomenal experience because of the many unique learning experiences the Career-Tech Center teachers and staff have provided. I have been part of the Travel & Tourism Academy at the CTC for my junior and senior year as well as attending high school at Frankfort Jr. /Sr. High. I have participated and held offices in National Technical Honor Society and DECA. Taking part in these two organizations has helped me to meet many other students from the area and across Michigan. Through meeting other students I have realized how important vocational training is to many young people today and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity for career and technical classes at the TBA Career-Tech Center.

The Career-Tech Center staff has helped me to have two very beneficial work experiences. They were in Group Sales at Crystal Mountain Resort and ML & Company in downtown Traverse City. Each work experience helped me to open my eyes to two highly fascinating career fields. The experience at ML & Company helped me to reaffirm my intentions to major in fashion merchandising at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

I feel very much honored to be a CTC Scholarship and a NTHS top scholarship recipient. Everyday that I have spent at the Career-Tech Center has been very beneficial to my education and now the CTC is helping me in greater ways than I could have ever hoped for.

- - Lisa Rodal

 

 

 

My name is Jordan Valdmanis and I am a 2004 graduate of Traverse City Central High School as well as a former student in the Culinary Arts program at the TBA Career-Tech Center. I am a recipient of one of the CTC scholarships that were awarded this spring, which I will be using towards my further education and training at Michigan State University this fall.

 

Throughout my life I have always been interested in the culinary field as well as landscape architecture. After three years of strictly working with landscaping and yard services, I decided it was time to tryout my other interest in culinary arts. It was the Career-Tech Center that provided me with a great opportunity to do so during the 2003-2004 school year.

 

The Career-Tech Center gave me the opportunity to go “outside my comfort zone” and be successful. Not only was I able to be with other students that I grew up with, but also I met many more form different schools. It was a nice change of pace for me during my senior year and it was great to have teachers with the specific knowledge of the different aspects of the program.

Working with Chef Malin, Mrs. Hall, and Mrs. Atkinson through a rotation really helped as they taught a little bit differently which kept me interested in the program. They did a great job of running the restaurant and at the same time, teaching us which made it a bit harder, but they did a great job of it.

 

Also, the principals, Mr. Hill, Mr. Boerema, and Mr. Jeffrey, seemed to be active participants by coming in all classes regularly and knowing our names and who we were and what we were doing.

 

Even though I am going to pursue Landscape Construction this fall, I do not regret attending the Culinary Arts program one bit and know that many of the skills that I learned during the year will always help me in the future, whether they are personal skills or knowledge about the field. It was a great experience for me and to end the year earning a scholarship was also great and much appreciated.

- - Jordan Valdmanis

 

 

 

I attended the Career-Tech Center for three years, from September 2001 until May of 2004. During those three years I studied Visual Basic and C++ computer programming in the Computer Programming/Web Design class. I liked that class because it is very open-ended. I chose what I wanted to study and I worked at my own pace. My instructor, Mrs. Post, was very helpful to me and was eager to accommodate my studies. During my second and third years she was also very open to some ideas that I has for improving the class. Because of this she is now working on creating another study area in the Computer Programming portion of the class that will focus of computer game programming.

 

My career goal in life is to become a video game designer, and my time at the Career-Tech Center has not only helped me toward my goal, but it has also shown me that designing video games is what I really want to do. During my third year I was able to work on a 3D game project. Because of my efforts on the game project, as well as what I had done my previous two years, I was awarded a $1,000 CTC scholarship, which I will use to fund my education at ITT Technical Institute where I will study Multimedia and game design.

 

The Career-Tech Center is a great opportunity for high school students. It allows them explore a chosen career for free, making the decision of what to study in college easier. The great thing about the Career-Tech Center, though, is that it also teaches work ethic; something that many employers look for nowadays. In fact, all of the Center’s policies are generated toward instilling good habits that will be useful to you in the workplace. I would recommend the CTC to any high school student. - - David Schaub

The past year at the TBA Career-Tech Center has been a tremendous opportunity for me. I was able to attend the Medical Careers class which introduced me to many different healthcare positions. I started the year learning medical terminology and becoming certified in CPR and First-Aid. Halfway through the year I began the CNA program which taught me the skills needed to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. I learned skills that are needed to take care of long term patients such as taking vital signs, making beds, proper body mechanics and patient hygiene. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in getting into the healthcare field. It has given me great experience in a hospital setting and I believe that it has also made me a better, more caring person.

 

I found the Career-Tech Center to be a school that is full of respectable teachers that would often go above and beyond to make students learn and understand. They believe not only giving students knowledge, but also preparing them for the workforce. The Career-Tech Center has started me on the path to success by teaching me skills needed in the workforce and also awarding me a scholarship to assist with my future educational plans. This fall I will be attending Baker College for the Surgical Technology program. I am very thankful to have gone to the Career-Tech Center because now I feel that I am ready to face the challenges that the future will bring. Attending the Career-Tech Center has been an all around great experience.

- - Kristen Smolinski

 

 

 

My name is Jessica and I just recently graduated form Elk Rapids High School. I was a student in the TBA Career-Tech Center Teacher Academy class during the 2002-2003, 2003-2004 school years. There are not enough words to describe just how wonderful it is to be part of this new program. Everyone who worked so hard to make it a success sure did a wonderful job. Although I was able to complete the course from my home school the staff at the Career-Tech Center was wonderful and it was always nice to feel as if I too belonged in their school.

 

After completing two years of this course I hope to continue on to Northwestern Michigan College, and then go to Grand Valley State University to pursue a degree in elementary education. I gained so much from being part of this program, and being the recipient of a scholarship was just an added bonus. I was shocked and honored to receive a scholarship form the Career-Tech Center in June of 2004. I am certain it will come into great use as I further my education.

 

I can’t wait to come back to Northern Michigan after I receive my teaching degree. It would be a great honor to teach at one of the fine elementary schools within this ISD. Thank you to everyone.

- - Jessica Galligan