Each June, HBAS celebrates students who complete our career training programs with a pinning ceremony. This year, our Career Technical Education department was proud to host our first drive-through pinning ceremony on June 11th. Although we expected a smaller turnout than usual, we had one of the largest groups of students go through the ceremony.
Our CTE Class of 2020 included 39 students from the Accounting, Administrative Assistant, Medical Assistant, Medical Billing & Coding and Pharmacy Technician Programs. Administrators, support staff and teachers were excited to have the chance to salute each student one at a time, masks and all.
Assistant Principal Jason Ross reflected that “it was awesome to see families driving up with their cars decorated to celebrate their loved ones' achievements. I saw kids rooting on their moms and dads, fathers and mothers cheering for their sons and daughters and even grandparents yelling congratulations in support of this important milestone.”
Students were grateful to take part in a ceremony that honored their hard work in the program. Many family members expressed how much the ceremony meant to them, and how much they appreciated the support we gave to their students and families over their time in CTE.
Every year, we are blown away by our students’ determination to complete our rigorous career programs, often while working and taking care of family. Pharmacy Technician student Raeda described how she “gave up on multiple things that I used to entertain myself and stayed up every night until 2:30am. Even on Mother’s Day, I asked my family to offer me a study day as a present to achieve my objective.”
Raeda thanked her husband and daughter for being the “inspiration that helped me overcome the challenges I faced through this period of time.” She explained, “I wanted my daughter to look up to me and learn that even through hard times, we can fulfill our goals. I am passionate about becoming a Pharmacy Technician which will hopefully be my pathway to become a pharmacist; a wish that I dreamed about since high school.”
There’s nothing more rewarding than helping our students pursue their dreams. Congratulations, CTE Class of 2020. We can’t wait to hear what amazing things you do next!
View and download photos from our 2020 CTE Pinning Ceremony Album on Flickr.