WCPS YOUTH APPRENTICESHIPS

This month, we had the pleasure of presenting Zachary Hill, a graduate of Clear Spring High, with his State Skills Certificate. Zach was a 18-19 youth apprentice at Beachley Furniture. Since his apprenticeship, Zach ha been hired full-time as an upholster, gotten a raise and has great things to say about his experience. Zach contributes his success to the skills he learned at Clear Spring High, his guidance counselor for encouraging him to apply, the support of WCPS staff and the great mentoring he received at Beachley.

Colleen White, a senior at South Hagerstown High School, has been hired as a Lab Technician Assistant by the Washington County Division of Environmental Management.

Colleen was recognized today at the Washington County Board of County Commissioners open session.

Washington County Public Schools' Youth Apprenticeship Program was recognized during the session with a proclamation proclaiming November 12-18, 2018 Apprenticeship Week in Washington County.

We would like to congratulate Colleen on her accomplishment and recognize Lauren Silky-Parker, South Hagerstown High School counselor, for her work and dedication in helping to make this placement possible.

DLLR Secretary, Kelly M. Schulz, was the keynote speaker at an apprenticeship event hosted by Hub Labels Inc. on August 2nd to celebrate FirstEnergy's additional grant contribution of $7,500 which will aid employers in financing their first apprentice. We also celebrated the accomplishments of Hub Labels and their youth apprentice, Misael Portillo from Williamsport High School. Because of the generosity of FirstEnergy, and the support of great employers like Hub Labels, WCPS students have more opportunities than ever before.Sara Maclarion

See more photos here.

We are excited to announce the addition of Fil-Tec Inc. to our Youth Apprenticeship Program! The WCPS apprenticeship team, along with Smithsburg High School counselors, were able to tour Fil-Tec's facility. A big thank you to Kim Winebrenner and Bob Riner for teaching us about Fil-Tec's unique manufacturing process. We can't wait to get this great opportunity out to our students!

Today we visited Sarah Herbert and Jeremy Hill, both youth apprentices from Williamsport High School, at their employer, B&D Consulting, Inc. They're pictured with COO, Ken Chodnicki. They are doing an outstanding job! We could not be more grateful for the wonderful opportunity B&D Consulting, Inc. is offering these students! Thank you Shelly Gladhill and Ken Chodnicki for making our students (and WCPS) feel so welcome!

Zach, our Beachley Furniture apprentice, is pictured here with his Clear Spring High school counselor, Rachel Kurtz. Rachel came to support Zach the day of the check presentation and you can see the pride in her beaming smile.

School counselors play one of the most important parts in the apprenticeship program. These professionals are in the schools recruiting and helping students through the application process. They support them every step of the way. They advocate, stay in constant contact during the process and invest their time and their hearts to make sure their students have every opportunity to succeed.

This week we had the pleasure of stopping by D.M. Bowman in Wiliamsport and congratulating their newest apprentice, Joshua Gerber, a WCTHS senior. Joshua is pictured with his mentor, Troy Raffensberger. Joshua is off to a great start! His natural ability and talent, along with the skills he's honed in automotive repair at WCTHS, has him well prepared to learn the ins and outs of being a diesel mechanic. With a great mentor like Troy, Joshua is sure to take his skills to the next level!

We were out and about today congratulating recently placed apprentices. One of our stops was Beachley Millworks in Smithsburg where we congratulated Travis Pridemore, a Smithsburg High School senior. Travis and his mentor, Colby Rohrer, were all smiles. We are so proud to be partnering with Beachley who is providing our students with top notch mentors and offering such great opportunities! They made our day!