WHS CTE March Student of the Month

Senior

Academy of Welding (GWAMA)

Career and technical education (CTE) programs offer a sequence of courses that provides students with coherent and rigorous content. CTE content is aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions. For example automotive technician, robotic engineer, and Welding.

CTE courses attract younger generations to a certain trade and educate them and encourage students to get involved with programs that can offer insight into the business industry world. There’s often a misconception that welders can’t make decent money compared to white-collar jobs, but that’s not true.

At GWAMA I have learned that Welding is not only a skill but also an art to be proud of.  I could not have gone from concept to skill and evenly mastery; without the environment of GWAMA. All of the teachers work together to help us understand all of what we are doing. GWAMA has very talented CTE teachers and wonderful CTE classes, but what really makes it different is the inclusion of the math and science. Our CTE teachers teach the techniques of their craft and the math and science teachers teach why it works that way.

UHS CTE October Student of the Month

Senior

Academy of Health Science (GWAHCA)

I have always wanted to be in the medical field. I have been a GWAHCA student for two years now and I am very grateful that Waco ISD started this program. This program is phenomenal and straight forward.

 GWAHCA has given me the ability to be a part of the medical field at a young age. When I first started I was kind of skeptical on what I wanted to do. When we started the CNA, I fell in love. When we started going to clinicals was the part I loved the most. I am a hands on learner so when we got on the floor at the nursing homes I really learned a lot. We were very proactive and used our critical thinking skills, which helped me learn how to be a caring professional.

 The teachers at GWAHCA are always there to help students achieve more and become better students everyday. The teachers know their students. They know how every single one of their students learn, interact, and communicate with people. They also know how to break their students out of their comfort zones in a good way, making their students feel important and ensure they have a voice.

 During the summer Waco ISD did offer an  internship program, which I was accepted to participate in. When I started going to the nursing home I felt like I was a part of something. I applied the skills I learned my first year at GWAHCA.This opportunity allowed me to take a step in to my future and in order to get a feel of the work field. I learned to work more efficiently as a team member and the confidence to work independently.

 Now as a second year student at GWAHCA. I am a certified nurse's assistant. We now go to the hospitals (Hillcrest/Providence), and get to experience the role of a CNA at the hospital level. This role  is very different from the nursing home level. Going to the hospitals has given my classmates a portal to securing a job at the hospital. The nurses have said that at the end of the year, they choose students that they think are best to work in the hospital setting,and they offer jobs and this is a very big opportunity because it's very hard to get a job as a CNA in a hospital because we're mostly needed at nursing homes.Getting this opportunity is a great advance in our healthcare careers. This experience is helping us start our future in the medical field towards any pathway we choose to go. Having jobs straight out of high school will help us provide for ourselves and prepare us for adulthood.

 This program is awesome and I am proud of how it has shaped me and my classmates to further in our medical careers.