Big Country high school graduates recognized at Abilene ceremony, signing day for trade schools
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – More than 160 Big Country students received recognition and cords at The Paramount Abilene on Thursday ahead of their graduations. Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas puts on the annual signing day for students committing to skilled trade career paths.
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While higher education is important, it doesn’t always come in the form of a traditional four-year college. As the Big Country continues to see a rising need in the workforce for careers in technical and trade skills, high schoolers from all over area were recognized at The Paramount Abilene on Tuesday for making commitments to pursue such careers after graduation.
Known as Career and Technical Education (CTE), students were given a certificate of honor for their choices, and a knotted sash to wear with their graduation robes, signifying their commitments post-graduation.
Chief Partnership Officer for Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas, Amelia Reeves, told KTAB/KRBC Workforce Solutions wanted to recognize these students because of an underlying stigma against CTE careers.
“We have young people going into careers that don’t always get recognized, coming out of high school as something prestigious or something as exciting, and there’s a gap there. But yet, these careers that are making wages well above the average for our region, and so it’s definitely something worth celebrating,” explained Reeves.
More than 160 students were recognized in this ceremony, which showed a significant growth over last year’s class of 80.
Students weren’t the only ones present for the event. Representatives from surrounding trade schools attended, as well as our very own Texas House Representative Stan Lambert.
One of the students recognized was Gabriel Espino, a senior at Winters High School, who told KTAB/KRBC he was grateful for this event.
“[I’m] Just really happy to be up there, to be able to be one of the students to be honored with one of these cords and a certificate,” Espino said. “It was fun!”
Noah Rodriguez, another student recognized, said his work all these years in school felt worth while, “It makes me feel like all the hard work I did just paid off.”
Rodriguez said he will be pursuing a career in electrical engineering after graduation. In turn, he gave credit to those who helped him to make it this far.
“All these support systems are really helping me out. It’s helping everybody out. It’s making it clear for this uncertain future we have,” shared Rodriguez. “Definitely something I’m thankful for.”
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Others who were recognized were students not quite ready for graduation, but still participating in paid internships and the corresponding businesses they interned with- many of which were part of the medical internship program with Hendrick Hospital.
After the signing ceremony, a meet and greet luncheon was held at The Grace Museum where students were encouraged to mingle and talk with local businesses about potential career opportunities within their companies.
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