Coastal Washington County Institute of Technology is pleased to announce that Dymond Dake, a junior at Narraguagus High School in Harrington as the CTE Student of the Year.  She is a first year welding student at CWCIT.   Her mother is Melissa Ross.

Dymond came to welding as an uninterested student with a chip on her shoulder.  However, she was always willing to help and was generally appreciative of having some reprieve from the typical classroom.  As time progressed, Dymond quickly picked up skills of the trade.  As her skills grew, she changed from generally uninterested to totally committed.  Dymond has surpassed the skills of the second year students.  She began to stay at the shop to assist with projects, and gain experience.  Dymond now routinely stays beyond the requirements of her day, and has given time during vacations and weekends to work on projects.  She is not only the most improved student this year, but also the front runner in the program.  She is a role model for work ethic, punctuality, and behavior.  She has gained the confidence and determination to become the person she wants to be.  Such a change is not only deserving of student of the year, but likely a student of any teacher’s career.

Dymond plans to do a summer internship with the Narrow Gauge Railroad in Portland.  In the fall she will continue with welding at CWCIT.  Post secondary, she plans to pursue a career in business.

Learn more about Coastal Washington County Institute of Technology by visiting their website, learn more about the Career and Technical Education Sites in Maine, visit the MACTE website to see a listing by location. To learn more about Career and Technical Education, watch this short video:

Caribou Regional Technology Center is pleased to announce Brendan Blackstone as our Student of The Year for 2021. Brendan is the son of Dan and Sheri Blackstone and a senior at Caribou High School.

Brendan has grown up on the family farm and for those who understand what this means, it says most of what you need to know.  He has the work ethic County folks are famous for throughout New England.  He has had adult responsibilities of running a windrower and cultivating potatoes since his early teens.  As a student in our agriculture program, he was invaluable when planting and harvesting our crop.

Brendan has been very active in the schools FFA program. He has held the offices of Sentinel, Treasurer and has been President the past two years. In each of these positions he has done a great job of keeping things organized and running smoothly. Last year he managed the school’s farm stand, making sure it was opened and closed on time.  Brendan represented our program well at the State FFA competition winning gold in Farm Business Management.

This year in the welding program Brendan has again shown his leadership. The school purchased a new plasma table and Brendan took on the challenge of learning how to use it to its full capacity. He traveled to our sister tech center in Presque Isle multiple times to attend their drafting class to learn about Auto Cad. He has brought this knowledge back to our center and has shared it with the instructor and classmates.

Brendan will be an asset to the Agricultural Science and Agribusiness program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle where he will attend in the fall.

Learn more about Caribou Regional Technology Center by visiting their website, learn more about the Career and Technical Education Sites in Maine by visiting the MACTE website to see a listing by location. To learn more about Career and Technical Education, watch this short video:

Capital Area Technical Center is honoring Everett Blair from Erskine Academy, a second year student in the Law Enforcement program as CTE Student of the Year.  He will complete 10 week basic training with the US Army National Guard, and Advanced Individual Training.  He then plans to study Wildlife Biology at University of Maine Machias, with the goal of becoming a Maine Game Warden.

His accomplishments include:

• US Army National Guard, promoted to E-2,
• Registered Maine Guide,
• Captain of Golf Team,
• 2 time golf coach’s award,
• 2020 KVAC All-Academic Award,
• National Honor Society
• 1st in the local SkillsUSA Law Enforcement competition
• Middle School volunteer basketball coach
• Helping disabled neighbor

His instructor, Mr. Peter Couture, says, “Everett excels in professionalism, strong work ethic and integrity.  He thrives on motivating in hands-on skills. Everett has proven himself as a leader amongst his peers.”

Everett is grateful for the opportunities the Law Enforcement Academy program at CATC has provided him.  “We are pushed every week… The law enforcement class has provided me with a lot of first-hand knowledge, and life skills that will help me reach my goals.”  He credits ride-along opportunities with the Gardiner Police Department and the Maine State Police as helping him see what it’s like to work in the field.

Learn more about Capital Area Technical Center by visiting their website, learn more about the Career and Technical Education Sites in Maine by visiting the MACTE website to see a listing by location. To learn more about Career and Technical Education, watch this short video:

Biddeford Regional Center of Technology has annouced that Matthew Laflamme a senior at Biddeford High School as CTE student of the year.

As a member of the Business Leadership program, Matt is described as:

Matt is easily one of the most determined and motivated students I know.  While the detail to his assignment submissions are well thought-out and thorough, it’s the in-depth thought behind his questions and responses in class that are impressive. 

During his time at Biddeford Regional Center of Technology he created an app allowing businesses to tell customers how many people are in their facility before customers decide to enter (pandemic-focused). Matt initiated a meeting with the Executive Director of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce to network with local businesses. This led to Matt working with the local public library who showed interest in utilizing the app.

Matt has not let the pandemic serve as an excuse to slow his passion for learning. As Matt said, “it’s been pretty challenging for me to stay positive and keep my head high. Even so, I’m proud to say that I bring my best effort to class every day, and strive to immerse myself in learning as much as possible as to not waste the opportunity I have to take great business classes through BRCOT.”

Along with his work at Biddeford Regional Center of Technology, he also participates in other extracurricular activates as a Youth-Led Research Team Leader, SMAA All-Academic Team Member, Model UN Team Member, achieved High Honors 2020/2021 School Year, and participated in  Varsity Golf, Varsity Track & Field, NTHS Member, Volunteer Computer Programmer, and was a Journalist Intern for the Biddeford School District newsletter.

Matt will graduate with 15 college credits through YCCC in Business Studies and his future plans are to attend UNH to pursue a double major in General Business and Computer Science. He envisions himself working at a startup that’s doing something bold/innovative where he can, in his words, “wake up excited to contribute to.”

Learn more about Biddeford Regional Center of Technology by visiting their website, learn more about the Career and Technical Education Sites in Maine by visiting the MACTE website to see a listing by location. To learn more about Career and Technical Education, watch this short video:

Bath Regional Career and Technical Center is pleased to announce that Nathan Crossley has been selected as our for Student of the Year. Nathan is a senior at Lincoln Academy and enrolled in the Electricity program at Bath Tech.

From the very first day at our school, Nathan has always put his best foot forward with the drive to succeed. He carries himself with an approachable personality, and he completes top notch electrical work. When he finishes one task, he is always proactive to find more that he can learn from, often asking “What’s next?” His unyielding enthusiasm for the field is contagious to those around him.

Besides Nathan’s personality and professional skills, he is a solid academic performer and a member of National Technical Honor Society. While in high school he has participated in baseball, track, cross country, and lacrosse.

Next year Nathan will be pursuing training in the Electrical Technology program at Washington County Community College.

Nathan along with 25 other students across Maine are all being honored this year as CTE Students of the Year. Their individual profiles are being highlighted this month in Maine DOE’s Newsroom.

Learn more about Bath Regional Career and Technical Center by visiting their website, learn more about the Career and Technical Education Sites in Maine by visiting the MACTE website to see a listing by location. To learn more about Career and Technical Education, watch this short video: