I'm in computer programming at the Bay-Arenac ISD Career Center. They start by teaching you a programming language called Java, and towards the end of the year, they start to teach you web development.
But one of my favorite things about being in computer programming is the chance to go to the student club Business Professionals of America. You go and you compete in programming events. So my first year here, I got to go to SVSU and compete to do Python and Java programming. I won awards in both, it was the first time in my entire life I had won awards. I’ll admit, I cried when I got back to the bleachers because I was so happy.
It made me want to try so hard to come back and do it again. I did get to go to the State competition in Grand Rapids. I sadly did not win any awards there, but it still was an amazing experience.
As a second year student, you get to come back and do more of whatever you’d like in programming. I made an actual professional grade website that’s up on the internet. I’m proud of it, it’s an amazing website, and it’s currently being graded for competitions and if I win I get to go to Chicago for a competition.
But that’s not the only thing you get to do. You can make games, websites, mobile apps – like right now I'm messing with Raspberry Pi's trying to make an automated thing for our 3D printers in our classroom. You can do just about whatever you like, and it's amazing.
I came here in 10th grade hoping to find somewhere I actually belong, and I did.”
–Brodie, student at the Bay-Arenac ISD Career Cente
“I went to MiCareer Quest in 10th grade, and they had three programs I checked out: Welding, Health Tech, and PT/OT. Of the three, I enjoyed PT/OT the most, so I chose that program when I started going to the Bay-Arenac ISD Career Center. We spent a lot of time learning medical terms, and I really liked it. The teachers had us play vocab games that made it fun to learn. Then we did Labs, hands on work which really helped broaden the learning. We also did mentorships, I got to work with an elementary school physical therapist who helped get kids with physical challenges back into school. Then she did some cool sensory pathway exercises with the students.
All of that experience really gave me more perspective on the job of a physical therapist and occupational therapist. I also got to learn about Sports Medicine, which is really fun. I want to go into the medical field when I get out of high school, and my experience at the Career Center really helped me picture what that would be like.”
–Madisyn, student
“From when I was a little kid, I was really into electronics and that interest just kind of stayed. My cousin would just not stop talking about what a great teacher Mr. Mullin was in the Programming in Electronics and Robotics program, so that got me interested in coming here.
I am very glad that I ended up coming to the program. Right now, I think I’ll go into electrical engineering for my career path.
I like it here because you can explore. You can try something new, and it’s not the monotonous schedule of moving through your first, second, third hour, etc. classes every single day. You can explore what you’re going to do for the rest of your life.”
–Xavier, student
“I’m in the law enforcement program. I started off in veterinary science, and that experience made me realize I didn’t really want to go into that field. But while I was in that class, we got to sit in on a K9 officer presentation and that’s when I realized what I wanted to do. I liked the fact that I could help people instead of just animals and I can prevent something before it's a problem.
In class, we do a lot of hands-on stuff like witness interviews: things like reading body language, picking up on cues in the voice, and showing empathy.
This class has opened a lot of doors and presented opportunities for me. It got me into the Michigan State Police Explorers program, so every other Wednesday, I go there and get a lot of hands-on experience with the troopers. I've learned to like that post a lot, and I look forward to going there.
I learned a lot about how each branch of law enforcement is different, and the different specialties they have. And Michigan State Police has a lot of subcategories that you can specialize in. One of them is the K9 unit, so I'm planning on going into that.”
–Carrie, student
“I initially came to the Bay-Arenac Career Center for welding, but when I stepped into the welding room, I wasn’t sure it was the place for me. We walked around the Career Center, going to every class here. And when we stopped at the last class, the agriscience department, we walked into the greenhouse and it felt like home. I knew that's where I wanted to be.
The agriscience department has a two year program. The first year is a general introduction, teaching you all the different areas of agriscience, which is a massive career field. The second year, you get to choose what specific area you want to pursue, like environmental studies, greenhouse production, or livestock.mMy plan is to go into botany, but I'm taking the greenhouse production as a first step. I’m interested in watching the process of a plant growing throughout its stages, essentially getting to live with it.
Coming here opened my mind to a whole bunch of other things that I wouldn't have thought were possible.”
– Gavin, student
“I’m in the dental occupations program, where we study different careers in dentistry: hygienist, dental assistant, general dentist, pediatric dentists, orthodontist, endodontics, and oral surgeon.
If I had to choose right now, I would say I’m interested in getting into endodontics. That’s the study of root canals and gum tissue. I came into the program wanting to be an orthodontist, but after studying different endodontic procedures, I think it’s really cool that a patient could walk into your practice with teeth that are destroyed, you can fix their issues, and they can walk out with a bigger, brighter smile.
That could change somebody's life.
I'm a first year student, and I really like the Career Center. There’s so many opportunities. In my class, we get sent out to practices for job shadowing. Here you can look at what you want to do, and go out and follow that path. They offer so many programs here, you're bound to find one you like. Or if you have no clue what to take, you can come to our temporary days or open houses to view different programs and see what interests you.”
–Manuel, student
“I’m in the Building Trades program. We started out with masonry, laying brick and blocks and understanding the foundations of buildings. Right now we're doing carpentry, and I’m really interested in that. But I signed up for the Electrician path, so I’ll get to check that out towards the end of the year. It’s something that’s always interested me. I like starting from scratch and seeing a project being done, being able to look back with accomplishment on what you did. A normal day starts with the classroom to go over what we’re going to work on and do safety tests. Before we go out, we learn how to use certain tools. I like learning, and the fun part for me is coming here knowing that I’m going to learn something every day.
I got to participate in SkillsUSA competition in carpentry. We got a certain amount of materials, and time, along with a blueprint to build. If you qualify in the top three, you get to move on to regionals or State competition. I didn’t place in the top 3, but it’s only my first year and it was a good experience. It was fun to see everyone and participate.”
–Camden, student
