More than four dozen students from the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Central School District toured the Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical Education Center’s Albany Campus on Tuesday to learn about the multitude of prospective careers they could prepare for there. The visit was organized by the RCS High School Counselors to allow the students to get some hands-on knowledge about the programs offered. This event also celebrated Career & Technical Education month! Each year the month of February is used to celebrate and inform communities of the many opportunities provided by programs like these!
In today’s ever-evolving economy, it’s important to provide students with research and information related to careers and educational pathways. By offering opportunities like this one, current and former RCS students have regularly benefitted from visits by educators and more than 300 BOCES business partners that offer demonstrations, work-based learning opportunities, career advice, and more.
The prospective students attended a group presentation and met with faculty and current CTE students in a variety of programs, even trying their hands at a few of the skills taught at BOCES.
“Cooking is a passion of mine and something I want to do for the rest of my life,” said Ashley Hogan as she cooked a whole pepper on a grill with the assistance of CTE Chef Paul Rother.
In one of the Cosmetology labs, current CTE and RCS student Nashea Haynie guided several prospective CTE students through a hairstyle demonstration. While in the criminal justice program room, current RCS and CTE student Allison Evans spoke about careers in criminal justice and the various skills they acquired in the program so far.
“I have prepared for a career in law enforcement at Capital Region BOCES,” said Evans, an RCS senior. “When I graduate, I am going to go to work for the Albany County Sheriff’s Department.”
The prospective students said they enjoyed seeing the opportunities CTE affords students.
“I like the hands-on learning and all the skills you learn,” said prospective criminal justice student Grace O’Brien.
“I want to be a lawyer, and they don’t have classes for that at RCS. I like that I could learn criminal justice here,” added Havannah Boniface, RCS criminal justice prospect.
Once an education path for those students only seeking vocational skills, career and technical education is now a pathway for students looking to build career skills, get a start on their college education or just learn a life skill that will allow them to pay for college. At Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School, more than 70 percent of high school students pursue higher education, while many others directly enter the workforce with a highly technical skill set such as cooking, network cabling, or operating heavy equipment.
“I like that at BOCES, you can figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life without going to college and paying for it,” said Trinity Hulett, a prospective CTE student touring the criminal justice program.
Enrollment is currently underway for the 2023-24 school year. For more information on career and technical school programs, click here, or speak with your High School Counselor.
The following photos were provided by the Captial Region BOCES Communication Department:
