What’s recently happened?
Recently at the Hammond Area Career Center (ACC), students participated in the SKILLSUSA State Competition in Indianapolis. Almost all of the programs, excluding the health classes, participated in the competition and students did fairly well.
Several students placed in the top three for their respective competitions, but some students from the radio/TV, digital design, cosmetology, and construction programs are all going onto the National Competition in Atlanta this summer.
Roman Lopez, who placed first in video news, was thrilled at the school’s performance.
“I didn’t think that we would make it to Nationals to be honest,” Lopez said. “There were some obstacles that were in our way and we didn’t think we would be able to get first place but I’m really excited to be able to go and compete against students from around the country.”
Several schools competed in the competition, but the ACC did very well across the board. They took silver in video production, bronze in cabinetmaking, bronze in restaurant service, and participated in a variety of other competitions.
Students in the health programs at the ACC had their State competition, which is also known as the Health Occupational Students of America (HOSA) competition. In this competition, they have to do a variety of different skills that are related to the health field such as dentistry and EMS skills.
Several students placed high in that as well so as of late the ACC has done very well in competitions and all the students that are going to nationals are excited to showcase their skills against students from across the country.
What’s coming up?
Coming up at the ACC is the end of the year and final projects. All the grades are due on May 19, so students are beginning to start their final projects and complete any missing work. Some classes have big projects like building a house for construction or doing their own radio station for the radio/tv program.
In all of the programs, students have the chance to get certifications for their programs that they can use when they go onto college or the workforce. All in all, it is just a chance for students to finish up their work and get ready to celebrate the end of the year.
Students also get a movie day at the end of the year where they can relax with their friends and celebrate. There is also a student award night where each instructor gives one student a “Student of the Year” award. Students who did extremely well this year get the recognition that they have earned. Some students get scholarships, while others get awards for merit and hard work from their teachers.
“This year has been really fun and I absolutely love it,” said Molly Hamer, a first year student in early childhood. “My teacher is amazing, and my internship has been my favorite part of this entire year by far. I get to intern at a school and work with little kids, which is just so fun and I love it so much.”
Staff spotlight:
Gianna Mirowski is the early childhood teacher at the ACC and has a strong connection to the school.
“I actually started my teaching education here at the ACC when I was in high school, so it has been a full circle career for me,” Mirowski said. “I always wanted to be a teacher. In first grade, I even got an award for most likely to become a teacher.
Early childhood education is one of the less popular programs at the ACC, but Mirowski still absolutely loves seeing her students engage in the activities.
“Being a teacher is amazing, but seeing the students have their own teacher moments where that lightbulb goes off in their heads is really rewarding as someone that knows how they are feeling,” Mirowski said.
Outside of school, Mirowski really enjoys reading books and spending time with friends.
“I have a goal of reading 25 books this year. Right now, I am at 11, so hopefully I am able to reach that goal,” Mirowski said. “I also love spending time with my cats and going out with my friends and family to have fun and enjoy each other’s company.”
Student spotlight:
Christian Schoop is a first-year student in the construction program at the ACC and a senior at Munster High School. He enjoys the program because he gets the opportunity to build different projects.
“I have always loved building stuff,” Schoop said. “This is something that I want to do after high school, so having the chance to be in construction is something that I am really grateful for. I absolutely love doing it. Mr. Scott Ciupak makes the class really fun and engaging, so that just makes the entire class even better.”
Outside of class, Schoop enjoys hanging out with friends and working on his truck, which he has had for a couple of months now.
“It’s fun working on my truck because mechanics are another thing that really interests me besides construction,” Schoop said. “I enjoy hanging out with my friends since I am graduating at the end of the year, so being able to hang out with them has been really nice.”
After high school, Schoop plans on joining a local electrician union so he can apply the skills he has learned in construction once he graduates. Schoop also competed in the electrical competition at the State competition and placed well, so he is excited for his future career.
