Here at North Point we offer 17 programs such as the Academy of Health Professions, Automotive Technology, Biotechnology, Cisco, Collision Repair, Construction Design Management, Cosmetology, Criminal Justice, Culinary Arts, Cyber Security, Drafting and Design, Education Careers, Electrical Construction, Engineering, Graphic Communication, and Welding to educate students on different career paths.  To learn more about them we decided to interview students from each program to get a better understanding of how these programs have helped them individually and/or their future career plans.

CTE (Career Technical Education) students answered the following questions “What is one like and dislike you have pertaining to your program?”

            Majority of the CTE students admired the amazing bond they have with their classmates. When selected for a CTE, you start learning the concepts and principles during the beginning of your sophomore year. These students have built amazing bonds and friendships for the past 3 years. For example, Destiny Erugo (senior) stated she loves the family atmosphere in Academy of Health Professions and the team building activities which has helped her build connections outside of her program. Although there were many likes to the CTE programs here at North Point High School there are also a lot of dislikes. Many criticized the workload, time and effort put into the projects, the inconsistency of her/his program, the uniforms for their program, and most of all the creativity block many seem to obtain when creating different things. For example, Chasity Tucker in the Cosmetology program (senior) stated the students in her program will not be getting their certification due to lack of learning hours because of the global pandemic.

Lastly, the students answered the following questions, “Why did you choose the program and how is this program going to help you in the long run?” 

            Gyselle Collins (senior) stated she chose Culinary Arts to expand her knowledge of baking and making pastries to then establish a family-owned bakery. Most of the students chose their program to further a future career path. These programs have helped them and taught them life lessons as an individual. Manita Opoku (‘22) from Culinary Arts stated, “I have improved on my cooking skills and learned new ways to make dishes similar to the ones I’ve had in Ghana.” All CTE students are geared to a successful career path. One example would be Maxwell Gaynor (‘23) from Engineering. He conveyed how his program “has helped me to be more organized and focused so that I can pursue an occupation in Architecture.” There is always a motive behind a passion. Ikemma Nwosu (‘23) in Manufacturing expressed how as a kid he always had an interest of building things with his hands, breaking things down, and building them back together. So being involved in this CTE program has put him at a head start to becoming an engineer.

These CTE programs have had a major impact on many student’s future career paths. In these programs, they have learned valuable life and career lessons. Even though some students do not have a career path pertaining to their program, they still have gained knowledge that will be useful in their future lives.