Tyler ISD’s Career and Technology Center opened its doors for the community and eighth- and ninth-grade students Monday night. CTC hosted its annual ‘Your Future is Now’ career showcase with hands-on experience and an insight of what occurs on a daily basis during class time.
Guests participated in activities such as a chance to sit inside the Christus Flight for Life helicopter, a manicure by cosmetology students and how to extinguish a fire by the CTC firefighter program.
Sarah Jane Walker, Tyler ISD Career Technology Education counselor, said the event really demonstrates the different things the campus offers.
“We want them to experience what we do here so we have a lot of hands-on experience activities,” Walker said. “It’s not just coming to a normal open house and seeing a building and talking to teachers; it’s seeing what the students do on a daily basis in their classes at the Career and Technology Center.”
CTC currently serves 1,800 students in Tyler ISD. The campus allows students to explore career pathways and earn certificates and licenses before they graduate.
Walker said the event also aims to showcase how the campus is preparing the students to be college- and career-ready after high school graduation.
“We just tried to bring everything together in one night to where a lot of first experiences could happen. Students could be engaged in doing activities but also for parents that they can understand more about what it’s like to go through the high school process and all the different opportunities that Tyler ISD offers,” Walker said.
CTC offers 27 programs of study in the school district and each program either showcased a gallery, demonstration or hands-on activity Monday.
During the event, Tyler High School senior and CTC firefighting student Bryan Ibarra gave a lesson on how to extinguish a fire at the base of a house with a small house model.
Ibbara hopes to be a firefighter one day and considers the CTC firefighting program as a family.
“My future goal in life is to be a firefighter, to feel the adrenaline kick in someday, in my heart. And to be out there saving another person’s life,” Ibarra said.
CTC aims for students to continue their career in their work of study, allowing them to have a skill and a certification when leaving the program.
“Our hope and what we work toward is for every student to stay in their work of study so …….