[dropcap style=”light” size=”5″]Y[/dropcap]esterday marked the first day for 8th grade tours at the Columbia Area Career Center (CACC). Both Jefferson Middle School (JMS) and Gentry Middle School (GMS) students arrived on campus to listen to representatives of the many career paths offered at the CACC. The 8th graders were divided into smaller groups, which were guided by RBHS students.
“There’s so much to learn about and there are so many opportunities available at the CACC,” sophomore Ammaar Firozi, student tour guide for the Jefferson Middle School (JMS) group, said. “From welding to cooking, I want students to challenge themselves and really experience what it is like to have an opportunity to go to the CACC.”
Firozi himself has been and is currently taking CACC classes like C++ IT Essentials, PLTW: Intro to Biomedical Sciences, PLTW: Human Body Systems and PLTW: Intro to Engineering Design. Firozi highly recommends all these classes to any incoming freshman who can take them.
“I want kids to realize that Career Technical Education is for everyone. What the CACC does is take learning in a normal classroom setting and elevates it.” Patrick Sasser, CACC
“I thought it was fun, and it was a good way to get us learning about the CACC”, 8th grader Olivia Green said. “My favorite part of the assembly was when we threw around the beach balls.”
Green has said she will sign up for a CACC class, specifically a welding or agricultural class. Her newfound interest is the kind of passionate fervor Patrick Sasser, a CACC instructor, hopes to see in other incoming 8th graders who will attend RBHS.
“I want kids to realize that Career Technical Education is for everyone”, Sasser said. “What the CACC does is take learning in a normal classroom setting and elevates it.”
Are you taking a CACC class? Let us know in the comments below.
Bailey Stover • Nov 16, 2017 at 4:00 pm
Students in and around Columbia are lucky to have such amazing programs and opportunities like those offered through the CACC. I hope students continue to take advantage of them and learn from the experiences. I remember really enjoying my 8th grade CACC tour and, I am happy that other students had fun at the event as well.