One event I look forward to every school year is the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) induction ceremony. NTHS is a national organization that recognizes students who excel in their career and technical education program. Students must maintain a B+ grade point average, complete at least ten hours of community service each semester, and demonstrate leadership and character qualities that embody the NTHS mission. This year, we inducted 98 new members alongside students who were inducted last year, bringing our total CTC chapter membership to 127 students. 

This special ceremony was February 20 at the Dennos Museum and Milliken Auditorium on the campus of NMC. Unlike most ceremonies, this event is largely run by the students, for the students. Aside from our keynote speaker, Superintendent Dr. Nick Ceglarek, the ceremony was led by our NTHS officers. As the principal of your Career-Tech Center, it fills me with tremendous pride to see our students involved in a public-speaking role that most adults would shy away from! In talking with parents before and after the ceremony, I was struck by how many shared their excitement that their son or daughter finally found the joy of learning. In addition to this enthusiasm, the kids are performing at such a great level that they are able to meet the rigorous eligibility requirements for membership in the honor society. It's safe to conclude that when one does what they love, it is not a burden or work. Instead, it becomes fun, and often, improved grades follow. To our 98 new NTHS inductees, thank you for allowing me to be part of your special night, and congratulations on a job well done!

Libby Alpers (11), Traverse City West Senior High School , pictured above, and Baylee West (11), Kalkaska High School, are the only two girls in the Power Equipment Technology (PET) program. Their instructor, Jared Diephouse,was pleased that the program is attracting more female students compared to last year. Alpers believes the reason that girls don’t normally sign up for this class is because “being a mechanic has always been considered a ‘guy job.’”

Contrary to traditional career trends, these two girls are looking into a PET-related job after high school. They enjoy the class, and learn a lot about fixing bugs in power equipment, especially small motors. “I love it. There’s much more hands-on learning here than my home school. The boys sometimes tease us about being the only girls, but we give it right back to them,” said West in response to how she feels about the class.

Alpers joined the class because she’s “always grown up doing outdoor activities.” The advice she has for girls who are on the fence about joining is to “Go for it. Nowadays, they are trying to get girls to do stuff that guys are doing to show that they’re just as strong.”

The Princess of Welding, or Dave, as she’s so fondly called, is one of the program’s brightest students. She earned the nickname, Dave, last year when one of her teachers misread her middle name and it stuck. The nickname, "Princess," has become more commonly used. “I think they call me that because they know I want to be here, and I’m one of the higher performing students in the class. I don’t particularly like it but it also makes me proud of my achievements.”

Her real name is Shelby Sineway (12), Suttons Bay High School, and she is a well-known second year student because of her achievement in the SkillsUSA competition. Students in the program competed in front of a local panel of judges for the opportunity to attend the state competition in April. “I’m really excited about winning this year since I won the competition rather than being just chosen by my teachers like last year. I earned this,” says Sineway.

Not only will she be going to the competition but Sineway has also been nominated for two awards through the Career-Tech Center. The awards are the State of Michigan Breaking Traditions Award for participation in a non-traditional career pathway, as well as the Kiwanis student of the month award. Each award recognizes Sineway’s outstanding performance in her classes. Classmates, as well as teachers have continued to call her Princess, which she says she doesn’t mind one bit.

Gavan Wassell (12), Traverse City West, is a second year student in the Machining program, which has moved from the Parsons-Stulen building on NMC's Aeropark campus to the Career-Tech Center. Wassell has pursued projects of personal interest when he completes class projects. Looking for an additional challenge, he decided to try building a Titan 1M practice component. He researched how to make the part, found explanatory videos, and found, printed, and studied blueprints. He used the computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) programs to design it, and then used the program’s Computer Numerical Control (CNC) mill to actually fabricate it.

Wassell wants to work in a machine shop, and says that the Machining program “gives [him] experience working in a shop, and gives [him] the basics.” When faced with a problem while making the part, he was able to identify a coding error and work with the program instructor, Pete Povolo, to resolve the issue.

According to Wassell, the first year of the Machining program involves learning tools and how to use the machines, while the second year is more independent, allowing students to take initiative with additional projects which gives them more hands-on experience necessary for a career in a machining workplace. Wassell said that he spends most of his time in the class either coding or using the machines.

Auto-Body Repair, taught by instructor Mike Barnes and paraprofesional Dan Bowers, focuses on painting and repairing cars. Students learn the latest technology in paint mixing and matching using chemicals such as acetones. They practice various fields of automotive repair, including painting, detailing, welding, mechanical repair, and electrical repair.

Vanessa Zeerip (12), Buckley, stated she wants to go into welding. Jacob Fehrenbach (12), Traverse City Central, and Pablo Del Angel Serrano (11), Traverse City West Senior High, would rather go into painting. Not only can students earn articulated college credits which waive post-secondary requirements for them if they wanted to pursue a college degree in automotive collision repair, they gain valuable experience and practice, which they can later use to qualify for the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) student certification tests. Anyone who passes three of the four tests can be certified to work on automobiles across the country. With all of the excitement in the room, each student, including the instructors, enjoy the class.

Business Careers students are expanding their Microsoft Office skills through TestOut Desktop Pro, a program which allows students to become proficient in one or all of the following applications: Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. TestOut Desktop Pro offers users tutorials and practice labs that teach students how to competently operate each of the Microsoft programs. The work is independently-paced, and students watch videos and complete exercises to prepare for a final test. This test, if passed, shows that a student is proficient in one of the three Microsoft Office programs, depending on the individual’s area of study, and the student receives a certificate.

Business Careers instructor, Ms. Julie Gauthier, says that what’s most valuable about the Desktop Pro program is the experience that the students get through using it. She says, “The skills that are learned in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, will be used constantly on the job.” For this reason, all incoming Business Careers students are required to utilize the tutorials offered by Desktop Pro to become proficient in Excel. After they can manipulate the application with ease, the students proceed to study either accounting or business for the rest of the year.

Returning seniors learning business can complete their training in Desktop Office Pro if they so choose. These individuals focus on strengthening their ability to use both Word and PowerPoint to prepare them to be as efficient as possible in the workplace. 

Spring Sports Physicals Available Now!

Looking out the window it’s hard to believe that spring sports season is just a few weeks away! Baseball, softball, track, golf and soccer seasons will begin tryouts and practices soon and athletes must have up-to-date sports physicals on file BEFORE they can try out or step foot on the field. Why not have a sports physical done at YHWC? We can bill your insurance or Medicaid, or if you have already billed a physical to your insurance plan this year, or don’t have insurance coverage at all, a comprehensive physical at YHWC is just $20!  Things get busy as we get closer to the season, so call NOW to get your athlete on our schedule at 922-6416.

Protection Against Vaccine Preventable Diseases

There have been several measles outbreaks reported so far in 2019 - in New York, Washington state, Texas and Oregon. Immunization against the illness is part of the MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) vaccine. MMR is a two-dose series which has been shown to be 97% effective against measles and can give children the best protection against this preventable illness.

If you are unsure if your child is up-to-date on their MMR or other vaccines, feel free to call YHWC, and we would be happy to verify your child’s information on the state MCIR database, and if need be, schedule an appointment for them here at YHWC to catch up. If your child has started a vaccine series at their primary care doctor's office, we can complete the series here, and we will upload the information into the state database so your doctor’s office knows your child has been vaccinated.

Youth Health and Wellness Center

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