Building From Scratch: CTE Students Present Final Projects in Showcase

Career Technical Education (CTE) students at Valley Oaks Charter School (VOCS) presented their signature pieces Thursday evening at the school’s annual Senior Showcase. The event allowed the CTE Capstone students to express themselves through show-stopping creative projects.

Valley Oaks’ CTE program includes several career pathways where students can choose to learn art, welding, metal fabrication, architecture, drafting, design, woodworking, and more. Capstone students are those who have completed 300 hours of their chosen craft to earn their certificate. A group of six seniors and one junior presented their final pieces to judges made up of local experts in their fields.

The pieces span various mediums, demonstrating the students’ versatility and creativity. From crafting a firewood stand out of metal to constructing a cabinet to designing a house, students followed their imagination and called upon their hours of training to bring their creations to life.

“I must have said four times, I’m so proud of you guys,” said CTE instructor Todd Warren. “To see it all come together, then seeing their finished product. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
 
CTE is a primary focus at Valley Oaks, with several pathways geared toward getting teens ready to enter the career field as soon as they graduate. Warren says these classes not only teach students job-specific skills, but vital lessons needed to thrive in any workplace.

“If they never do any of this after they graduate, they’re still career ready, which is a heavy focus on their work ethic, the ability to communicate, showing up on time, all those things,” he said. 

Visual Arts teacher Sarah Samms was here last year for the first student showcase, where participation was limited to art students. She says she’s excited to see this event expand to include all the CTE pathways and give the seniors a chance to shine.

“Just to see it grow from last year to this year, to see it changing according to how the students and the program is changing, it’s awesome,” she said.

The open-house style showcase provided light refreshments and allowed the guests to walk through the exhibit and talk with each of the students about their projects. The VOCS ballroom dancing club put on an impromptu performance for the guests, demonstrating an adaption of West Coast Swing and Line Dancing.

Bodies of work from all the student projects will be added to the display, and open viewing for the public will continue until May 6 at the Bakersfield VOCS campus on North Chester Avenue.