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Students honored with "Tools for Success" awards

 

CTE Students at Thompson Road Campus honored with "Tools for Success" awards

May 31, 2023

Students who excel in several Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs at the OCM BOCES Thompson Road Campus were honored on Wednesday in the annual "Tools for Success" awards ceremony.

To qualify for a "Tools for Success" award, students must demonstrate proficient skills within their program, have good classroom attendance and participation, and show a consistently positive attitude in class.

As each instructor introduced this year's honorees, common themes stood out. All of the award-winners were described as passionate, reliable, hardworking, task-oriented, academically successful, determined to do high-quality work, willing to help others in the classroom, and exemplary as both leaders and role models in their CTE programs. 

The awards ceremony is unique because each student receives an actual "tool" for their success, including a Snap-On screwdriver for the automotive students, a helmet or shield for the welding students, and an Estwing framing hammer and tool belt for the construction students. Culinary students receive a $1,000 college scholarship from "Two Chefs from Above," a non-profit organization that created the scholarships as a memorial for two young men killed in a Syracuse-area restaurant shooting in 2018. OCM BOCES Adult Education Instructor Nancy Chappell started the organization because one of the victims was her son.

Partnering businesses this year for the prizes included Driver's Village, Home Builders and Remodelers of Central New York, Lincoln Electric, Tracey Road Equipment, and Two Chefs from Above, LLC.

At Wednesday's ceremonies, CTE Principal Carrie Heffron and Assistant Principal Jared Ciereck emceed the event. Students were selected by their teachers in these CTE programs:
  • Automotive Collision Technology
  • Automotive Technology
  • Heavy Equipment Repair, Operations & Diesel Technology
  • Culinary & Pastry Arts
  • Construction Technology
  • Welding Technology
Here are the 2023 "Tools for Success" recipients and their instructors:

 

Automotive Collision Technology

Instructor Matthew McGivney

Alex Wilder - Baldwinsville Central School District

Automotive Technology

Instructor Samuel Azria

Liam O'Hickey - North Syracuse Central School District

Automotive Technology

Instructor Isaac Fair

Seamus Brown - North Syracuse Central School District

Automotive Technology
(at Driver's Village)


Instructor Erick Dodge

Erik LeMay - Baldwinsville Central School District

Construction

Instructor Zach Wills

Sebastian Warner - Fayetteville-Manlius Central Schools

Culinary

Chef Robert Canorro (far right)
Chef Albert Herrera (far left)
OCM BOCES Adult Education Dental Assisting Instructor Nancy Chappell, who represented "Two Chefs from Above"


Preston Tedford (not pictured) - Chittenango Central School District
Chloe Spencer - East Syracuse Minoa & Bishop Grimes High School

Heavy Equipment Repair, Operations & Diesel Technology

Instructor Bryan Wilson

Eric Radionov - Marcellus Central School District

Welding

Instructor Duane Debejian

Ambrose Bielec - North Syracuse Central School District

Welding

Instructor Matthew Watkins
 
Robert Kimball - Chittenango Central School District

Construction

Instructor - Nick Ross

Jonathan Underberg - Onondaga Central Schools