Career Tech to Careers
Celebrating Career Tech to Careers!
JULY 2019 – A new initiative, Career Tech to Careers, is celebrating the decision of high school graduates to enter the workforce after earning their diploma – specifically those students whose high school careers included Career and Technical Education classes.
“There are many ways that young adults can excel in life after they graduate from high school – it can be by attending a college, university or other post-secondary training, joining the military, and also by taking the skills they learned and heading directly into careers,” said Jim Rummer, Director of Career and Technical Education for Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District. “This new Char-Em ISD ‘signing event’ initiative recognizes those students who are putting the knowledge and skills they developed through career tech education classes directly to work.”
The Mansfield Family Foundation has offered its support to the Career Tech to Careers initiative with a grant that will fund gift cards to students to purchase equipment and/or clothing necessary for their new careers.
Read about Career Tech to Careers signing events in the features on this page!
Career Tech to Careers: Hunter Cesaro and Braedynn Kraemer, 2024 East Jordan High School graduates, at Jim Riehl Ford
Two East Jordan High School classmates and 2024 graduates now have another life milestone in common: They are now colleagues, too. Hunter Cesaro and Braedynn Kraemer both entered the workforce directly after graduation and chose the same employer: Jim Riehl’s...
Career Tech to Careers: Parker MacDonald, 2024 Petoskey High School graduate, at Corble Builders
On a recent summer afternoon, Parker MacDonald and his coworkers at Corble Builders carried 59 sheets of drywall to a job site on Walloon Lake, where no delivery trucks were allowed due to the property’s sensitive setting. MacDonald, 18, appeared no worse for wear...
Career Tech to Careers signing event: Caleb Powell, Concord Academy Petoskey graduate, at S&S Welding
Caleb Powell has developed quite the reputation for himself during his first few months on the job at S&S Welding in Petoskey. “He’s never been late, not one time,” said S&S owner Shawn Wonnacott. With a changing labor force and an extremely high demand for...
Career Tech triple crown: 2024 Pellston grad Xavier Schmalzried celebrated at Career Tech to Careers signing event with Wentworth Builders
Xavier Schmalzried is likely one of a small number of students who have the opportunity to put skills from three high school career tech courses all to work right after graduation. Schmalzried, 17, is a 2024 graduate of Pellston High School who took construction,...
Career Tech to Careers: Wyatt Troyer, 2024 Petoskey grad, at Dave Kring Chevrolet
When Wyatt Troyer moved his tassel from right to left on graduation day June 2, 2024, at Petoskey High School, he already had a full-time, benefits-provided job waiting for him: Working as a technician at the oil change service center at Dave Kring Chevrolet in...
Petoskey High School grad Antonio Sherwood cooking up a bright future at Palette Bistro
CAREER TECH TO CAREERS SIGNING EVENT PETOSKEY - Antonio Sherwood was a student who put the “art” in “culinary arts.” “Antonio was one of those students who just gets it. He has a broad knowledge of cooking and a strong natural ability to understand what is supposed...
Career Tech to Careers: Irish Boat Shop with East Jordan grad Jason Dean
Jason Dean has some advice for high school students thinking about what’s next after graduation - keep an open mind about possible career paths. “I wasn’t thinking about going into a career of working on boats, but it sounded like fun and I gave it a shot, and I...
Career Tech to Careers: Fletch’s Service Center with Petoskey grad Zane Myers
“If we could get more Zanes, that would be great.” The day after he graduated from Petoskey High School in June 2023, Zane Myers took an important first step into the real world by joining the Young Professionals Program, which paired young adults with local...
Career Tech to Careers: S&S Welding in Petoskey, with Caleb Cranick and Adam Jones
Two recent local high school graduates are fabricating their own bright futures behind the welding torch, working full-time positions at S&S Welding in Petoskey. Caleb Cranick, 19, a 2021 Pellston High School graduate, and Adam Jones,18, a 2023 Petoskey High...
Career Tech to Careers: Luke Kurburski at Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club
If you’ve eaten a meal recently at Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club in Harbor Springs, there’s a good chance that many of the finer details that make a meal delicious and memorable were prepped at the hands of Luke Kurburski. As the “garmo,” or pantry chef,...
Fletch’s GMC Buick Audi with Thomas Simpson and Keegan Speer
Two long-time friends and 2022 East Jordan High School graduates recently began employment at Fletch’s GMC Buick Audi in Petoskey, working in the certified service center as technicians. Thomas Simpson and Keegan Speer both credit the skills they learned during...
Char-Em ISD launches new initiative recognizing students entering the workforce post-graduation
BOYNE CITY – A new initiative, Career Tech to Careers, is celebrating the decision of high school graduates to enter the workforce after earning their diploma – specifically those students whose high school careers included Career and Technical Education classes....
Industrial Magnetics Inc. with Caleb Boyer
On Dec. 6, 2021, Char-Em ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Caleb Boyer, a 2021 graduate of East Jordan High School, at Industrial Magnetics, Inc. (IMI) in Boyne City. Boyer joined the staff on Oct. 27, 21, as a welder working between 40-55...
Pellston Auto Repair with Dom Pelaccio
On Nov. 11, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Dom Pelaccio, a 2020 Pellston High School graduate. Pelaccio has started a career at Pellston Auto Repair, owned by Donn Juday. Pelaccio now works about 50-55 hours per week since starting...
Great Lakes Energy with TJ Wodek
On May 10, 2021, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with TJ Wodek, a 2020 graduate of Petoskey High School. Wodek has started a career with Boyne City-based Great Lakes Energy (GLE), as a first-step apprentice. He gained valuable experience...
Bader & Sons John Deere dealer with Nick Wilson
On Nov. 10, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Nick Wilson, a 2020 graduate of East Jordan High School. Wilson has started a career with Bader and Sons, an agricultural dealership selling John Deere equipment, parts and service with...
HARBOR SPRINGS EXCAVATING WITH ANDREW MOYER
On Oct. 14, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Andrew Moyer, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Moyer has started a career with Harbor Springs Excavating as a laborer. He was able to secure the position, which is full-time and...
WENTWORTH BUILDERS WITH JARED KORTMAN
On Sept. 24, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Jared Kortman, a 2020 graduate of Petoskey High school. Kortman, 18, has started a career as a builder with Wentworth Builders, of Harbor Springs. The job involves a number of skills...
GREAT LAKES ENERGY WITH CAID SCHROEDER AND HUNTER SPARKS
On Feb. 26, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with two recent local graduates at Great Lakes Energy’s (GLE) headquarters in Boyne City. Caid Schroeder and Hunter Sparks are now employed full-time as fiber fielders, working with the...
LANZEN, INC. WITH BRIAN FERRELL
On Nov. 11, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Brian Ferrell, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Ferrell has started a career as a machinist at Lanzen Inc. in Harbor Springs. Career tech classes that Ferrell took at Pellston High...
CORBLE BUILDERS, JACOB BATH
On Oct. 2, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Jacob Bath, a 2019 graduate of Petoskey High School. Bath has started a career as a builder with Corble Builders in Petoskey. The job involves a number of skills Bath learned during his CTE...
WALSTROM MARINE, RYAN MACGREGOR
On Aug. 2, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Ryan MacGregor, a 2019 graduate of Harbor Springs High School. MacGregor has started a career with Walstrom Marina on the waterfront in Harbor Springs, serving as a technician apprentice....
MACGREGOR PLUMBING AND HEATING, NOODIN CRAVEN
On July 24, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Noodin Craven, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Craven has started a career with MacGregor Plumbing and Heating as an apprentice installer. He was able to land the job – which is...
HARBOR SPRINGS EXCAVATING, CASE KILPATRICK
On July 17, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Case Kilpatrick, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Kilpatrick has started a career with Harbor Springs Excavating as a laborer. He was able to secure the position, which is...
Career Tech to Careers News & Updates
Career Tech to Careers: Hunter Cesaro and Braedynn Kraemer, 2024 East Jordan High School graduates, at Jim Riehl Ford
Two East Jordan High School classmates and 2024 graduates now have another life milestone in common: They are now colleagues, too. Hunter Cesaro and Braedynn Kraemer both entered the workforce directly after graduation and chose the same employer: Jim Riehl’s...
Career Tech to Careers: Parker MacDonald, 2024 Petoskey High School graduate, at Corble Builders
On a recent summer afternoon, Parker MacDonald and his coworkers at Corble Builders carried 59 sheets of drywall to a job site on Walloon Lake, where no delivery trucks were allowed due to the property’s sensitive setting. MacDonald, 18, appeared no worse for wear...
Career Tech to Careers signing event: Caleb Powell, Concord Academy Petoskey graduate, at S&S Welding
Caleb Powell has developed quite the reputation for himself during his first few months on the job at S&S Welding in Petoskey. “He’s never been late, not one time,” said S&S owner Shawn Wonnacott. With a changing labor force and an extremely high demand for...
Career Tech triple crown: 2024 Pellston grad Xavier Schmalzried celebrated at Career Tech to Careers signing event with Wentworth Builders
Xavier Schmalzried is likely one of a small number of students who have the opportunity to put skills from three high school career tech courses all to work right after graduation. Schmalzried, 17, is a 2024 graduate of Pellston High School who took construction,...
Career Tech to Careers: Wyatt Troyer, 2024 Petoskey grad, at Dave Kring Chevrolet
When Wyatt Troyer moved his tassel from right to left on graduation day June 2, 2024, at Petoskey High School, he already had a full-time, benefits-provided job waiting for him: Working as a technician at the oil change service center at Dave Kring Chevrolet in...
Petoskey High School grad Antonio Sherwood cooking up a bright future at Palette Bistro
CAREER TECH TO CAREERS SIGNING EVENT PETOSKEY - Antonio Sherwood was a student who put the “art” in “culinary arts.” “Antonio was one of those students who just gets it. He has a broad knowledge of cooking and a strong natural ability to understand what is supposed...
Career Tech to Careers: Irish Boat Shop with East Jordan grad Jason Dean
Jason Dean has some advice for high school students thinking about what’s next after graduation - keep an open mind about possible career paths. “I wasn’t thinking about going into a career of working on boats, but it sounded like fun and I gave it a shot, and I...
Career Tech to Careers: Fletch’s Service Center with Petoskey grad Zane Myers
“If we could get more Zanes, that would be great.” The day after he graduated from Petoskey High School in June 2023, Zane Myers took an important first step into the real world by joining the Young Professionals Program, which paired young adults with local...
Career Tech to Careers: S&S Welding in Petoskey, with Caleb Cranick and Adam Jones
Two recent local high school graduates are fabricating their own bright futures behind the welding torch, working full-time positions at S&S Welding in Petoskey. Caleb Cranick, 19, a 2021 Pellston High School graduate, and Adam Jones,18, a 2023 Petoskey High...
Career Tech to Careers: Luke Kurburski at Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club
If you’ve eaten a meal recently at Birchwood Farms Golf and Country Club in Harbor Springs, there’s a good chance that many of the finer details that make a meal delicious and memorable were prepped at the hands of Luke Kurburski. As the “garmo,” or pantry chef,...
Fletch’s GMC Buick Audi with Thomas Simpson and Keegan Speer
Two long-time friends and 2022 East Jordan High School graduates recently began employment at Fletch’s GMC Buick Audi in Petoskey, working in the certified service center as technicians. Thomas Simpson and Keegan Speer both credit the skills they learned during...
Char-Em ISD launches new initiative recognizing students entering the workforce post-graduation
BOYNE CITY – A new initiative, Career Tech to Careers, is celebrating the decision of high school graduates to enter the workforce after earning their diploma – specifically those students whose high school careers included Career and Technical Education classes....
Industrial Magnetics Inc. with Caleb Boyer
On Dec. 6, 2021, Char-Em ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Caleb Boyer, a 2021 graduate of East Jordan High School, at Industrial Magnetics, Inc. (IMI) in Boyne City. Boyer joined the staff on Oct. 27, 21, as a welder working between 40-55...
Pellston Auto Repair with Dom Pelaccio
On Nov. 11, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Dom Pelaccio, a 2020 Pellston High School graduate. Pelaccio has started a career at Pellston Auto Repair, owned by Donn Juday. Pelaccio now works about 50-55 hours per week since starting...
Great Lakes Energy with TJ Wodek
On May 10, 2021, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with TJ Wodek, a 2020 graduate of Petoskey High School. Wodek has started a career with Boyne City-based Great Lakes Energy (GLE), as a first-step apprentice. He gained valuable experience...
Bader & Sons John Deere dealer with Nick Wilson
On Nov. 10, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Nick Wilson, a 2020 graduate of East Jordan High School. Wilson has started a career with Bader and Sons, an agricultural dealership selling John Deere equipment, parts and service with...
HARBOR SPRINGS EXCAVATING WITH ANDREW MOYER
On Oct. 14, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Andrew Moyer, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Moyer has started a career with Harbor Springs Excavating as a laborer. He was able to secure the position, which is full-time and...
WENTWORTH BUILDERS WITH JARED KORTMAN
On Sept. 24, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Jared Kortman, a 2020 graduate of Petoskey High school. Kortman, 18, has started a career as a builder with Wentworth Builders, of Harbor Springs. The job involves a number of skills...
GREAT LAKES ENERGY WITH CAID SCHROEDER AND HUNTER SPARKS
On Feb. 26, 2020, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with two recent local graduates at Great Lakes Energy’s (GLE) headquarters in Boyne City. Caid Schroeder and Hunter Sparks are now employed full-time as fiber fielders, working with the...
LANZEN, INC. WITH BRIAN FERRELL
On Nov. 11, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Brian Ferrell, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Ferrell has started a career as a machinist at Lanzen Inc. in Harbor Springs. Career tech classes that Ferrell took at Pellston High...
CORBLE BUILDERS, JACOB BATH
On Oct. 2, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Jacob Bath, a 2019 graduate of Petoskey High School. Bath has started a career as a builder with Corble Builders in Petoskey. The job involves a number of skills Bath learned during his CTE...
WALSTROM MARINE, RYAN MACGREGOR
On Aug. 2, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Ryan MacGregor, a 2019 graduate of Harbor Springs High School. MacGregor has started a career with Walstrom Marina on the waterfront in Harbor Springs, serving as a technician apprentice....
MACGREGOR PLUMBING AND HEATING, NOODIN CRAVEN
On July 24, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Noodin Craven, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Craven has started a career with MacGregor Plumbing and Heating as an apprentice installer. He was able to land the job – which is...
HARBOR SPRINGS EXCAVATING, CASE KILPATRICK
On July 17, 2019, ISD staff held a Career Tech to Careers signing event with Case Kilpatrick, a 2019 graduate of Pellston High School. Kilpatrick has started a career with Harbor Springs Excavating as a laborer. He was able to secure the position, which is...