The LaPorte County Career and Technical Education program at the A.K. Smith Career Center in Michigan City recently held its 2021 Awards Program. During the program, returning members of the Technical Honor Society received a tassel to be worn at their high school graduations, and new students were inducted. Several students were also honored with scholarships and awards.
The purpose of the Technical Honor Society is to honor students who have shown dedication, professionalism and the skills necessary to be selected as the best of the best in their chosen Career and Technical Field. These students demonstrate that technical education is a viable, practical, and challenging educational path.
The ceremony was led by Director of Career and Technical Education Delincia Smith, who thanked the teachers for their commitment and dedication to their students. “The old adage of ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ is so very true,” she said. “Our students are so fortunate and blessed to have such an outstanding group of collaborative partners who are truly invested in their personal, educational and career success.”
The following 35 students were inducted into the Society, representing six area high schools. The schools include Lacrosse High School, LaPorte High School, Michigan City High School, New Prairie High School, South Central High School, Westville High School.
Automotive Technology
Ethan Fritz, Britani Gomez-Ramires, Ty Stacy
Construction Technology
Vince Bruemmer, Emma Lewis, Kyle Newcomb
Cosmetology
Abigail Campos, Christina Power, Valerie Skomac
Criminal Justice
Summer Griffin, Autumn Wildfang
Culinary Arts
Nyhilia Durham, Da’Nai Smothers-Davis, Alyssa Walters
Education Professions
Declan Rice
EMT
Alyssa Lisenko
Energy Academy
Hunter DeYoung, Matthew Spahn, Lucas White
Fire Science
Keara G. Best, Jesse J. Rhoda
Health Science I
Nichole Burke, Taylor Denvit, Maura Dominguez, Samantha Wilson
Health Science II
Alexandria Bailey, Larissa Herzog, Bianca Kiner
Modern Machine Technology
Josh Cummings
Visual & Digital Communications
Isaac Chezem, Jayme Noll, Grant Ott-Large
Welding
Ty Maudlin, Seth Palmer, Canyon Richardson
The students listed above joined the following returning Technical Honor Society members: Falyn Anthony, Josh Baltes, Oakley Benson, Emily Carter, Tahlia Daniels, Trevor Eggert, Allee Garner, Samantha Goetz, Alexis Gooding, Wyatt Hay, Kylee Hughes, Katie Killingbeck, Simon Kubaszyk, Kayla Lemmon, Matthew Loftis, Ella Mosley, Fatima Mota, Kamryn Nichols, Emanual Santos, Holly Trieu, Tyah Wall and Jessica Wilhelm.
Each of the CTE programs at A. K. Smith also recognized an Outstanding Student of the Year. They included:
Automotive Technology: Ethan Fritz
Career Skills: Jacqueline Bradley
Construction Technology (A.K. Smith): Vince Bruemmer
Construction Technology (NPHS): Wyatt Hay
Cosmetology: Abigail Campos
Criminal Justice and Law: Autumn Wildfang
Culinary Arts: Emanuel Santos
Education Professions: Ryley Zawada
EMT: Alyssa Lisenko
Energy Academy: Simon Kubaszyk
Fire Safety and Rescue: Maggie Goodson
Health Careers Academy I: Madison Forrester
Health Careers Academy I: Samantha Wilson
Health Careers Academy II: Larissa Herzog
Modern Machine Technology: Peyton Ash
Visual & Digital Communication: Isaac Chezem
Welding Technology: Ty Maudlin
Each year a student representative from each high school is selected as the Outstanding Student of the Year for La Porte County Career and Technical Education. This year’s recipients were:
LaCrosse High School: Oakley Benson
La Porte High School: Simon Kubaszyk
Michigan City High School: Jessica Wilhelm
New Buffalo High School: Da’Nai Smothers-Davis
New Prairie High School: Kamryn Nichols
South Central High School: Wyatt Bowmar
Westville High School: Emanuel Santos
Other students receiving special recognition included:
- 2021 Jim Wallace Memorial Award – Zach LeBlanc
- Brad Cohen Award – Alisha Redmon
- Tej Ram Gupta Scholarship – Alisha Redmon, Fatima Mota and Autumn Wildfang
- Work Ethic Certificates were awarded to 51 students