Northwest Education Services (formerly TBAISD)





Newsletter for students,
families & friends

May/June 2021
Celebrating student accomplishments

Dear students, families and educators,

As this challenging year winds down, we are even more excited than usual to celebrate our students from throughout this five-county region who rose to the occasion to succeed and thrive. Our annual awards celebration will be virtual this year and a link to the event will be available at www.tbactc.org beginning on June 7. We encourage all to check it out at your convenience. Join us in congratulating the students who have earned thousands of dollars in scholarships, awards, and accolades. Most of all, we recognize the extraordinary hard work and resilience of all students during an extraordinary school year.

As we turn the page on the 2020-2021 school year, we look forward to a new beginning when the 2021-2022 school year begins on September 8!

Respectfully,
Pat Lamb
Assistant Superintendent of Career & Technical Education and Community Outreach
Peace meals
Peace Meal Solidarity is a community project spearheaded by Great Start Collaborative to engage families with young children in activities that promote inclusion and diversity with globally-inspired meals paired with early literacy materials. Career-Tech Center teamed up with organizers to support the program.

CTC Culinary Arts students prepared the food for the Peace Meal luncheons. Instructor Daryl Collins explained "It was an opportunity for them to execute a plated meal -- which is a valuable part of culinary training; and such opportunities have been rare during the pandemic." Students pulled together the labor intensive international menus, hand-skewering countless vegetable kabobs and chicken satay for the Greek and Indonesian-themed meals. It was a chance to experiment with recipes and ingredients, along with reinforcing culinary skills such as organization, menu planning, quality control, time management, and teamwork.

The CTC Graphic Design program also contributed to the project by creating graphic promotional materials. In addition, CTC's Early Childhood Education program supported by distributing meals, books, and resources to event participants.
Design + build partnership for robotics

Each year Manufacturing Technology Academy (MTA) seniors take part in robotics competitions as a culmination of their science, technology, engineering and math studies. "Team Giraffe" was tasked with planning, building and competing with a combat robot whose goal was to attack and disable an opposing robot.

Team members Dylan Moss, Jacob Romanowski and Jacob Dezelski chose to build the shell of their robot with titanium for its durability. The challenge was manipulating the tough material to take the shape they needed for the robot's design. That's when they sought help from the CTC Welding & Fabrication program for assistance with cutting and fabricating the titanium shell of their robot. The MTA students created a Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawing to guide the welding work, and the partnership resulted in a well-built competitor for this year's robotics season.

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Students earn Michigan Tech scholarships

Career-Tech Center seniors in the Manufacturing Technology Academy (MTA) program have earned Michigan Technological University (MTU) scholarships for $1,000 annually. Congratulations to these nine students on their successful completion of MTA and acceptance at MTU!

Students enrolled in MTA are eligible for a $1,000 annual renewable scholarship at MTU. The MTU Partner Pathway Award requires that MTA students successfully complete two years at MTA and enroll at MTU as first-year students. Career Tech Center and MTU partnered in 2020 to create the program to expand learning and exploration in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Congratulations!
Madison Davidson, Bellaire High School
Jacob Romanowski, Glen Lake High School
Jacob Dezelski, Glen Lake High School
Brenden Rogers, Kalkaska High School
Isobel Bowker, TC Central High School
Sam Stivani, Grand Traverse Academy
Quincy Thayer, Frankfort High School
Dylan Moss, Glen Lake High School
Charlie Corey, Benzie Central High School
"Michigan Tech is thrilled that these nine exceptionally qualified students will be enrolling this fall. MTA attracts and educates the type of student who thrives at Michigan Tech. We are so pleased that this partnership is advancing as evidenced by these bright young minds."

John B. Lehman, PhD
Vice President for University Relations
and Enrollment
Michigan Technological University
Culinary staff earns alumna award

Amy Brooks is a paraprofessional in the CTC Culinary Arts program and she was recently honored as the Great Lakes Culinary Institute 2021 Alumna of the Year. Director Les Eckert noted in the award letter that Amy goes out of her way to develop a strong relationship between Great Lakes Culinary Institute at Northwestern Michigan College and the Career-Tech Center. Her work creates a focused pathway for young culinarians to learn their craft and plan for further education in culinary.

Amy specializes in baking, and is knowledgeable in all parts of the kitchen and dining room. She graduated from Great Lakes Culinary Institute (GLCI) with an associates degree in culinary arts and then earned a bachelors degree in hospitality management at Ferris State University. During her education she studied in Italy, taking cooking classes with Italian chefs, food artisans, and wine makers. As a result of that trip, she fell in love with the farm-to-table movement, cured meats, cheeses, desserts, wine and pasta.

While at GLCI, she received two Taste of Success scholarships. "I vowed to pay forward the generosity of those scholarships and the inspiration provided by my instructors," said Amy. "I hope I can support and inspire my students to uncover their passions in the kitchen as well."
photo below taken pre-pandemic
Students honored for breaking traditions

Several Career-Tech Center students were nominated by their instructors and selected by the State of Michigan Department of Education (MDE) to receive the 2021 Breaking Traditions Merit Awards and Certificates of Recognition. Both honors go to students who overcome perceived barriers to achieve success in career and technical programs that are nontraditional to their gender. These students are honored with certificates from MDE for setting a positive example and mentoring their peers who may be considering such a career path, and for making significant contributions to their education program.
Merit Award Honorees
Ella Meyers, Power Equipment Technology, Grand Traverse Academy
Gracie Summerfield, Drafting & Design, Buckley High School
Matthew Williams, Allied Health,
Kingsley High School
Certificate of Recognition Honorees
Isobel Bowker, Manufacturing Technology Academy, TC Central High School
Caroline Clark, Culinary Arts,
Kingsley High School
Kallie Crouch, Front Street Writers, Mancelona High School
Hannah Dashner, Agriscience,
St. Mary Lake Leelanau High School
Alaina Frank, Construction Trades,
Leland High School
Cora Kirchofer, Public Safety/Protective Services, Kalkaska High School
Spencer Olds, Business Careers, Mancelona High School
Maggie Schwabe, Information Technology, Grand Traverse Academy
Elyse Wejrowski, Welding,
TC Central High School

Rotary youth leadership students selected
Two Career-Tech Center students were selected to participate in the 2021 Rotary Life Leadership Conference. Both are National Technical Honor Society members, and have excelled in academics and exhibit leadership traits with clear potential for growth. The conference is part of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program that promotes servant leadership. Congratulations to Philena and Zackary!

Congratulations
Philena Kuester Business Careers
TC West Senior
High School
       
Zackary Miller
Allied Health
TC West Senior
High School
Mark your calendars

  • September 8 - First day of school
  • September 19 - Scholarship Golf Outing
Fall 2021 enrollment is still open
Rising high school juniors are still welcome to enroll in Career-Tech Center programs that still have space available for the 2021-2022 school year. Presently there are openings available in the following programs: Front Street Writers*, Precision Machining, Manufacturing Technology Academy*, and Mechatronics.
photo above taken pre-pandemic
Easy ways to learn more about CTC programs and enrollment:
*These programs require an additional application and admission.
Guidance support available

Counselors are available to guide students to referrals for personal needs, mental health services, local resources, and more. Plus, they help students with questions about academics, college financial aid (FAFSA), scholarships, college/trade school options, and career questions. Click the link to schedule an appointment today.
National Technical Honor Society welcomes new members

The National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) admitted 54 new members for 2021-22. They hail from school districts throughout the region and participate in numerous CTC programs. To join NTHS, students maintained at least a B average in their CTC programs, were recommended by instructors at CTC and home high schools, completed at least 10 hours of community service, and demonstrate good citizenship all around.

Community service is a hallmark of NTHS, and this year members focused on serving remotely in light of the pandemic. Students made and sent greeting cards to teachers, elderly community members and more. They also ran a food drive to benefit local youth, and spearheaded a CTC campus clean-up day.

Fundraising is another important part of NTHS, with proceeds used to support service projects and scholarships. This year's GT Pie Company certificate sales raised more than $4,500 which is enough to fund nine scholarships!

2021 NTHS Scholarship recipients:

Hannah Dashner, Agriscience,
St. Mary High School
Gracie Summerfield, Agriscience and Drafting & Design, Homeschooled
Anna Gibson, Manufacturing Technology Academy
Martin Ross, Agriscience,
Kingsley High School
Jacob Romanowski, Manufacturing Technology Academy,
Glen Lake High School
Blessing Ovie, Film & New Media,
TC High School
Caroline Clark, Culinary Arts,
Kingsley High School
Madison Davidson, Manufacturing Technology Academy, Bellaire High School
Amanda Herman, Business Careers,
Glen Lake High School
NTHS Inductees - morning session
NTHS Inductees - afternoon session
NTHS campus clean-up day
The National Technical Honor Society mission is to honor student achievement in career and technical education, promote educational excellence, and enhance career opportunities for students in the technical trades.
Senior scholarships awarded

Career-Tech Center is proud to announce 2021 scholarships for CTC seniors, ranging in value from $500 to $5,000 per award. Click here to see a full list of the students who received the awards. Many of the scholarships fall into the two categories listed below. In addition, several other scholarships are available to students - learn about all of the scholarship opportunities at www.tbactc.org.

Tools of the Trade Scholarship was created for students who want to go directly into the workforce or attend a trade school after their senior year. Scholarship winners use the money to buy tools they need to be successful in their chosen field. 

Academic Scholarship was created for students who want to go to a 2 or 4 year college or university. Scholarship winners have their scholarship money transferred to their college/university account. 
New name, new look

In case you missed previous announcements, Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District is in the process of transitioning to a new name --Northwest Education Services -- and a new brand identity. Part of this transition will be establishing new names for some programs and centers. This change is part of our organization’s strategic plan and focuses on enhancing the way we represent our work with the local school districts and communities we serve. Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, you will begin seeing our new name and logos appear more frequently, and we encourage you to refer to our organization as Northwest Education Services, or “North Ed” for short. 

Career-Tech Center | 880 Parsons Rd | Traverse City, MI 49686
231.922.6273 | tbactc.org