Most teachers hope to leave a piece of themselves with each of their students, but few get the opportunity to leave their mark with their school.
But that’s exactly what is happening with Capital Region BOCES Welding and Metal Fabrication teacher Micah Belgiano.
During a recent tour of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center being constructed on Watervliet-Shaker Road in Colonie, Belgiano noted a familiar signature on the I-Beams being maneuvered into place – his own.
Belgiano signed the beams while working in manufacturing last summer at Albany-based REO Welding Company Inc. (The signature was a part of the manufacturing and quality control process).
“I was doing a little bit of everything with them, sanding and cutting the steel,” Belgiano said.
The beams were subsequently acquired for use by BBL Construction Services and are being put into place for the new BOCES Career and Technical Education Center by members of the Local 12 Ironworkers. 
“It was cool to see my work being used in the new school,” Belgiano said.
Students in Belgiano’s and fellow Welding and Metal Fabrication teacher Don Mattoon’s classes toured the construction site of the new CTE Extension Center last month.
Led by a representative of BBL, the tour allowed the students to get a firsthand look at the work they aspire to be doing in the coming years.
Contractors broke ground in mid-September on the center, which is located on Watervliet-Shaker Road near the BOCES Administrative Offices and in recent weeks have prepared to place footings and start the actual building construction.
The 46,377-square-foot school is expected to open in time for the 2025-26 school year and will house several programs, including a new Plumbing Technology program. The center will also house the expansion of the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation program, which is currently only offered on the Schoharie Campus.
Additionally, new Electrical Trades, Building Trades, Cosmetology, Manufacturing and Machining Technology and Digital Media Design program space will be in the facility.
The CTE Extension Center will mark the third expansion of the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center this decade.