It was the Yavapai College Career and Technical Education Center’s turn April 21 to honor its top students of the year during a no-tie gathering that celebrated the trades and the men and women whose new skills will “touch our lives every day.”
Hosting the CTEC Evening of Recognition, the center’s Dean, John Morgan, jokingly admonished a pair of Fire Science faculty for wearing ties, hailed the increasing number of female students acquiring valuable skills at CTEC and emphasized the societal demand for technical credentials while encouraging student honorees to “be leaders, to contribute to our economy and take us forward.”
Morgan instilled in the 24 highest-achieving students that they have the hands-on knowledge to forge a better future for all of us. “There are people who have lost hope in the upcoming generations. I can assure you that this group is not one of them because of what you demonstrate to us every year and every day.”
In his closing remarks, Morgan reiterated that the work CTEC students will go on to do is invaluable. “If you look around you, you are touched by people who work in the trades every day your whole life,” he said, citing the skilled workers who build our homes, repair our cars and come to our rescue in an emergency. “We’ve got to sing the praises of the people who do this work.”
The winners of the year’s top CTEC student awards were Isaac Smith, an Advance Manufacturing student, and Kyle Bills, a line worker/CDL student.
An aspiring engineer, Isaac earned the President’s Award for Excellence and was lauded for excelling in his coursework, his volunteer contributions to the 3D homebuilding program and its instructors, as well as his generous assistance to fellow students. Kyle, the winner of the Vice President’s Award for Excellence, also was singled out for academic success and for lifting up fellow students, including rallying faculty staff and classmates around a student who was falling behind because of personal struggles.
Mike Schaible, who teaches computer numerical control and advanced manufacturing, was named Outstanding CTEC Full-Time Faculty member of the year. Amanda Beland, who teaches auto body paint technology, was named Adjunct Faculty member of the Year. Advisors Todd Hay and Doug Harsh shared the Outstanding Staff member award.
Following are the CTEC Outstanding Students for the 2023-2024 academic year listed by program:
