CGEC scholarship and gift winners: 1st Row L-R: Matthew Lackie, Brandon Martines, Kristyann Van Schaack, Sara Ploss, April Larsen 2nd row: Dylan Johnson, Sergey Slager, Brendan Connor, Debbie Quijada, Kyle Manginelli, Katie Ray Sambrook, Karyn O'Connell Missing from photo: Sara Biegel, Mikaela Secore, Brianne Cidras, Andrew Keute, Samantha Shilkoski-O'Dell
Questar III’s Columbia-Greene Educational Center in Hudson honored students for achievement in academics and craftsmanship at the school’s 34th Annual Awards Night on June 7 at Columbia-Greene Community College.
Focused on providing skills for the 21st century workforce, Questar III offers students career and technical educational programs (CTE) for professional training and the opportunity to acquire industry-related certifications while they’re still in high school. Most students continue their education at community colleges or technical institutes.
Questar III Assistant Superintendent Dr. Andy DeFeo, who provided opening remarks at the ceremony, recognized the academic, leadership and service efforts of students and the timeliness of their career technical education.
Quoting from a CTE report funded by Harvard University, DeFeo said: “Employment rates for the nation’s young adults are at post-World War II lows – a true labor market depression. Based on experiences both here and abroad, the need for expanded ties between education and training and the workplace has never been greater.”
For that reason, he told students that upon completing their CTE programs, they “represent a fast track that acknowledges this nation’s current workforce needs, and accelerates them over their classmates in their home school districts with their preparedness to enter meaningful careers.”
DeFeo added that students understood the license or technical certification they just received was truly now a license to learn. “To stay current and ‘ahead of the game’ you must continue your training and education throughout your career.”
The 2011 scholarship winners from Questar III’s Columbia-Greene Educational Center are:
- Sara Biegel, Criminal Justice, Coxsackie-Athens
- Brendan Connor, Business Information Systems, Hudson
- William Demarest, Automotive Technologies, Catskill
- Andrew Keute, HVAC/R, Hudson
- Matthew Lackie, Criminal Justice, Cairo-Durham
- April Larsen, Licensed Practical Nursing, Catskill
- Kyle Manginelli, Construction Technologies, Ichabod Crane
- Sara Ploss, Cosmetology, Ichabod Crane
- Katie Ray Sambrook, Licensed Practical Nursing, Ichabod Crane
- Alison Scharvella, Cosmetology, Taconic Hills
- Mikaela Secore, Cosmetology, Catskill
- Samantha Shilkoski-O’Dell, Business Information Systems, Chatham
- Sergey Slager, Construction Technologies, Coxsackie-Athens
- Debbie Quijada, Culinary Arts, Taconic Hills
- Kristyann Van Schaack, Business Information Systems, Hudson
Barbara Decker Memorial Award (for a Career Studies student with exceptional work ethics and a positive attitude):
- Karyn O’Connell, Introduction to Food Services, Germantown
The Alice and Murray Giddings Foundation:
- Brianne Cidras, Culinary Arts, Germantown
William Morehouse Scholarship:
- Sergey Slager, Construction Technologies, Coxsackie-Athens
Questar III congratulates all of this year’s graduates and award winners.
For a full listing of award and scholarship winners from the 2010-2011 school year, click here.
