WANDA ENGLISH BURNETT PHOTOS
Pictured above is the 2018 graduating class from the Southeastern Career Center, Versailles. This was the first graduation of its kind in the state. A large crowd surrounded the students in the bleacher areas as the students sat attentively at Tyson Activity Center, formerly Tyson Auditorium, Versailles.

Pictured right, Ms. Tracy Bear, principal of the career center, handed out portfolios to the seniors and congratulated them on a job well done. The graduation ceremony was held May 16 at 6:00 p.m.


Wanda English Burnett
Editor

The Southeastern Career Center led the way for students across the state when they held their 2018 graduation ceremony Wednesday, May 16. The career center serves students across Southeastern Indiana, preparing them for the future. This might be through classes that allow them to leave school prepared for the workforce, or classes that will take them to the next level in the education. The auditorium was filled with students wearing caps and gowns with a variety of colors that reflected their home schools.

As State Representative Randy Frye stood before the near capacity crowd at Tyson Activity Center (formerly known as Tyson Gymnasium), he assured them their skills would be welcome in Indiana’s workforce. He discussed the Workforce Ready Grants recently created by the Indiana General Assembly, saying, “The program provides a new financial aid opportunity for Hoosier working adults to gain the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century economy. He explained the grant provides the opportunity for students to earn a high-value certificate at Ivy Tech Community College, free of charge.

The representative also told the students jobs are available in advanced manufacturing, building and construction, health sciences, information technology and business technology and transportation and logistics. The career center offers many of those programs.

“Today Indiana’s unemployment rate stands at 3.2 percent, which is lower than the national unemployment rate,” Frye noted. He added, “Additionally an estimated one million new job openings will need to be filled in the next decade”.

The students are ready for the workforce. They celebrated their hard work as they received certificates and accolades from various speakers throughout the evening. Their instructors were there to cheer them on to the next step in their lives.

Principal Tracy Bear handed out portfolios just before the students all stood and turned the tassel, signifying they had closed one chapter and were ready for the next. Thunderous applause resounded throughout the gymnasium that was filled with relatives and friends of the graduates. The stage was set with not only the superintendent of the career center, Derek Marshall, but, other administration and the school board, which is made up of superintendents from the various schools served by the career center. Scholarship sponsors were in attendance, along with some of the high schools’ principals.

This is a school where a girl can be what she wants to be and likewise for a boy student. Their career paths are not determined by their gender, race, or religion. It is determined by their sheer willpower to get the work done. Student speaker Caityln Rosfeld, stood in high heels and told the crowd she is ready to be a heavy equipment operator, having taken the Construction Technology Heavy Equipment course. Students, both male and female, were also congratulated by the Indiana Army National Guard as they will begin their careers in the military.

The students chose from Advanced Culinary Arts & Pre-Food Service to Welding Technology and everything in between. Many of the students had a designation next to their name in the program handed out at graduation denoting they have achieved the Early College Program. Others had Technical Honors Diplomas, and some were lauded for their perfect attendance.