by Tim Gillie
STAFF WRITER
The lobby and hallways at the school district office were filled with examples of students' work. There were cedar chests, chess boards, bed frames, signs done in metalwork, food, computers, diagrams on how to draw blood, business plans, marketing displays, and much more.
Last Thursday was the annual display fair for the Tooele School District's Career and Technology Education program, or CTE, highlighted by an awards presentation and reception.
Students, employees, and business partners alike were recognized for their participation in a unique partnership that allows students to explore careers related to agriculture, business, economics, entrepreneurship, family and consumer science, health science and technology, information technology, marketing and engineering.
John Fryer, Melinda Beckett, McKell Mouritsen, Taylor Barnard, and Abigail Duclos from Grantsville High School and Jenifer Richards from Tooele High School were recognized as state and national winners in the Future Business Leaders of America category. Sabra Shearer and Brittany Gonzales from Tooele High School were recognized as state and national winners in Skills USA category, which is a national organization for students preparing for careers in technical, skilled and service occupations, including health occupations. Kaitlyn Gowans, Kaeleena Perkins and Taft Miller of Tooele High School, along with Nolan Blackhurst, Andrew Beckett, Kyle Gregory, Mark Christensen and Brian Peterson from Grantsville High School were recognized as state and national winners in the Future Farmers of America category.
Each high school selected outstanding students from the different CTE areas for recognition. A list of students recognized follows:
For the Academy of Information Technology, Stephanie Weber from GHS and Dylan King from THS. For Future Business Leaders of America, John Fryer and Savanna Williams from GHS; Jenifer Richards and Fredric Long from THS; and Anne Parsons from Wendover High. For the Future Farmers of America, Brian Petersen and Megan Anderson from Grantsville High; Bruce Hillman and Randi Thomas from Tooele High. For Skills USA, Janiel Wells and Justin Gleed from THS; Robert Rhodes from Tooele South High; and Jeremiah Kolb from Dugway High. For Construction students, Tyler Johnson from GHS and Matthew Snarr from THS. For Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, Wade Moon and Brittany Elkins from GHS; Shayna McGowan and Robert Gonzales from THS; and Rosalba Trujillo from Wendover High. For Work Based Learning students, Sarah Benson from GHS and Meagan Boltz from THS.
Outstanding CTE students in junior highs selected by their teachers were: Jessenia Pankratz and Andrew Walters from Clarke N. Johnsen; Shawn Graesser and Kylee Morse from Dugway; Hannah Duclos and Bodee Paulick from Grantsville Junior High; Jacob Lyman and McKinely Benson from Tooele Junior High; Ana Valle, Valerie Murphy, Emilee Bateman and Adrian Badillo from Wendover.
Outstanding teachers in CTE were recognized by their principals and included Ray Walters from Clark N. Johnsen, Tom Camp from Grantsville Junior High, Amy Griffin from Tooele Junior High, Rick Harrison from GHS, Shanna Omer from DHS, Patti Madole from THS, Toni Davis from Tooele South High, and Peggy Magnum from WHS.
CTE business partners were also recognized including Mountain America Credit Union, Tooele Federal Credit Union -- Grantsville Branch, Tooele-Transcript Bulletin, Denny's, Tooele County Surveyors Office, Jackrabbit Press, Bonneville Dental and Salt Lake-Tooele Applied Technology College.
Susan Smith from GHS was recognized as the Salt Lake Community College concurrent teacher of the year. Wendi Morton of GHS received recognition as the Future Business Leaders of America teacher of the year for the State of Utah.
Two retiring school counselors were also recognized. Joe Morgan is retiring from DHS after 33 years in education, and Julie Busico is retiring from THS after 29 years in education.
Krystal Caldwell, a CTE student from GHS who spoke at the awards meeting summed up the effect of the CTE program on students when she said, "I used to be the quiet kid, sitting in the back of class -- look at me now talking to all of you. CTE has made me a better person and a better friend."
tgillie@tooeletranscript.com