More than 450 Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center students were honored on Monday, June 10, during a ceremony that celebrated their successes in the classroom and, for many, in the workforce.
With a packed house of caregivers, friends, school and BOCES administrators looking on, students from more than two dozen school districts, ranging from Guilderland to Watervliet, Cobleskill to Shenendehowa, and Bethlehem to Saratoga Springs, were celebrated during a ceremony at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany.
The ceremony marked the completion of one- and two-year programs at the school, including Diesel Technology, Culinary, Cosmetology, Building Trades, Criminal Justice, Network Technology, Carpentry, Automotive Trades Technology, and Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC/R).
Speakers praised the graduates for going above and beyond to secure bright futures and encouraged them to never give up their drive for excellence.
“No one will ever count you out unless you let them,” said Principal Shelette Pleat.
Assistant Principal Kate Nickerson reminded graduates that they will always have a support system and always have a home at BOCES.
“Call on us if you need to. We are always here for you,” she said.
Many of the graduates are going on to college and trade schools; others are going straight into the workforce thanks to the skills they learned and the connections they made at BOCES.
Sadie Plant, a Digital Media Design graduate from Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School, will attend RIT in the fall, while the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Tech duo of Genevieve Cooper of Shenendehowa and Lily Galluccio of Scotia-Glenville will attend The Culinary Institute of America for the fall semester.
“BOCES has prepared me well and given me many important life and industry skills, like collaboration and time management,” Cooper said.
Meanwhile, HVAC/R graduate Jarand “J.J.” Jackson has a career waiting for him working in the chiller plant for New York State, and Diesel Tech graduate Stephen Noradki has already started work for Kenworth Northeast thanks to connections he made at BOCES. Building Trades graduate Bryan Knizek of Mohonasen has built the foundation of a great career working with the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.
“I learned about the Carpenter’s Union through school. I had taken some woodworking courses at my school just so I didn’t have to sit at a desk, and I actually liked it. It’s good to have a union job and all that brings with it thanks to what I have learned at BOCES,” Knizek said.
The ceremony was the first of two graduation ceremonies this week for the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center. The Schoharie Campus will hold its event at 9 a.m. on Thursday at Cobleskill-Richmondville High School. In total, 560 students from more than two dozen area high schools are receiving their Capital Region BOCES diplomas this week, recognizing their work in 28 different programs ranging from culinary arts to welding, diesel technology, and healthcare.