Students who participated in ConVal’s Career and Technical Education, External Learning Opportunities, apprenticeships and the Makerspace Young Makers programs had their creativity on display and shared their experiences at a Celebration of Learning Thursday night at ConVal High School.

The evening also showcased ConVal’s young filmmakers, who presented short films in the Lucy Hurlin Theatre. 

Students who took part in External Learning Opportunities, which is designed to allow students to explore a career of their choice, gave presentations about their experiences interning at local businesses. 

Kayla Bond interned with Private Roots Veterinary in Peterborough.

“This internship definitely helped me make a decision for my career. I wasn’t sure if a veterinary career was for me, but after doing this internship, I know it is definitely for me,” she said. “Having such a positive team made it really easy.”

Bond, who “has had animals her whole life,”  said she was initially interested in getting her veterinary technician’s license, which is a two-year program.

“Pre-veterinary school is really hard to get into, obviously; it’s a four year degree,” she said. “It’s very competitive and I would not have applied to veterinary school  without Dr. Estle supporting me and encouraging me to apply.” 

Kayla has been accepted to the pre-veterinary program at Montana State University.

Senior Matt Palmer talked about his internship in the family business, Mike’s Towing, which was founded by his parents.

“It was an obvious choice, getting to work with my family,” he said. “I definitely learned a lot more about all apsects of the business and just have so much respect for what my parents do.”

Connor Haney found full-time employment with a local company through his ELO welding program. 

“I’m a welder and fabricator for American Steel,” Haney said. “I started learning about welding at PHAZE Welding, and I was there for about 18 months, and then I quickly excelled through that-- passing my tests, getting my cut tests, and then Dan got me an internship at American Steel, and I got my certifications and said ‘You’re so good we want it  hire you.’ So now I’m working there.”  

Haney plans to start full-time at American Steel when he graduates. 

Tucker Pierson, who began began apprenticing with with master plumber Sam Harding in September, displayed tools of the trade. 

“We can do a lot of different of things. We can install a gas cook stove; we can redo all the plumbing in a whole house; we can install a boiler,” he said. “This is something I want to pursue as a career, and I’m getting hours toward my certification.” 

Damien Howell, the CTE Technology teacher, displayed student projects, including designs and assistive technology prototypes. 

“The course is like a buffet. I just want to let the students to experience as much as they can in engineering and computer science,” he said.  “We did video game development, starting with a prototype phase; we also expose them to simple programming and electronics.” 

Students who participated in the ConVal Film Festival included Pietro Souza, Henry Chamberlin, Mariah Woodhouse, Quinn Crook, Dylan Farrell, Sawyer Bouchard, Jacob Carter, Gage Blanchette, Ben Sawyer, Chloe Ward, Gus Dreher, Luci McClay, Julianna O’Mahony, Ryan Close, Judah Cyr-Underwood, Ashlyn Slossar and Violette Dube.