FirstFridays@PBL–Celebrating CTE!

Tera Hands, Choice & CTE Coordinator

Palm Beach Lakes launched its first “First Friday” event this month (November 2014).  The traditional culture and goal of the area high schools is that of college readiness; here, we are (on all First Fridays) pushing career readiness to the forefront for those students who are seeking alternative avenues when making plans for their futures.

On First Friday, representatives from local career and technical schools visit PBL and hang out during both lunches to share with Rams information about the various career and tech programs offered by their schools. November’s event highlighted programs at Lincoln College (culinary, air conditioning, dentistry, automotive repair, etc.), Polytechnic University (information technology, engineering), Digital Media Arts College (graphic design, gaming, animation, etc.), ITT Tech (computer technology, engineering, etc.), Empire Beauty School (hair, nail, makeup art), and Palm Beach State College (heating and air conditioning, cosmetology, automotive repair, welding, etc.).  The friendly representatives were happy to inform those who visited their tables about how to apply for admission to the school as well as how to qualify for scholarships.  Students gained a wealth of information.

The event was a hit!  Junior, Bethany Gray (Teacher Academy), had this to say about First Friday: “I like that Lakes took the time to bring to schools to us.  Although I plan to go the traditional four-year university route, I learned about interests I didn’t know I had.  It was really cool.”

The next First Friday is December 5, and we are inviting students and parents to come out and learn about the unique opportunities that each institution (many more will be in attendance) has to offer.

A perfect path to many of these schools is to take the CTE courses right here at PBL–information technology, culinary arts, digital design, DCT, Health Science 1, etc.  What a fantastic way to discover or sharpen your interests…for free!