Career Spotlight Stories
Career and College Readiness Spotlights
Char-Em ISD’s Career and Technical Education Department continues to celebrate the success of students and graduates whose high school careers included CTE courses. Look for these regular features, Career and College Readiness in the Spotlight, recognizing the accomplishments of students, teachers, graduates and professionals! You’ll find these success stories below.
If you know of a student that we can recognize please submit their information here.
Creating culinary careers in a familiar classroom
Career and College Readiness SPOTLIGHT: Amanda Hartson Vicente returns to Petoskey High School Culinary Arts program, this time as an instructor A familiar face to Petoskey High School returned earlier this year as a key ingredient in helping students achieve...
Chef Kaidence! Petoskey High School senior headed to culinary school to pursue cooking passion
Kaidence McNamara discovered a culinary community at Petoskey High School. The 18-year-old, soon-to-be graduate has dug deep into the Culinary Arts program and found the ingredients to propel her toward a future in professional cooking. “It’s so great to be in this...
CTE in the Spotlight: Derek Burnett and Van Dam Custom Boats
In the spring of 2017, Derek Burnett was preparing to graduate from Petoskey High School and wasn’t entirely sure about his future plans. He had always enjoyed woodworking and working with his hands, and had success in the building trades program at the high school...
Local high school aviation program helping to tackle the nationwide aviation industry shortage
PELLSTON - Airline delays and cancellations have become increasingly common recently as a nationwide and global pilot shortage continues to strain the airline industry. It’s projected that 14,500 pilots will be needed every year through 2030, along with tens of...
Harbor Springs freshman’s short horror film, Derailed, wins Compass College Film Festival award
Harbor Springs High School may be one of the most idyllic school settings in the state, but it has some scary stories lurking inside… in the form of a budding young filmmaker. Freshman Emma Spencer recently won a Best Cinematography award for her horror film short,...
Petoskey’s Tietjen twins finding career success as in-demand welders
When Petoskey twin brothers Paul and Mike Tietjen enrolled in the welding class offered at Pellston High School several years ago, they knew it could open the door to a well-paying career in the skilled trades. They both knew they weren’t interested in attending...
Sky’s the limit for Harbor Springs drone program
February 2021 – Rob LaPoint’s drone class at Harbor Springs High School started four years ago as a way to show students the novice abilities of piloting unmanned aerial vehicles. Since then, it has grown to encompass so much more, opening up a sky’s-the-limit...
Courtney Streeter: From high school health occ to high-energy medical career
Dec. 2020 – When Courtney Streeter was a high school student at Charlevoix High School, she knew she’d have to work a bit harder than her peers to succeed. “School was hard for me,” said Courtney, now 21 and a recent graduate from North Central Michigan College’s...
