What’s recently happened?
Students have reached the final quarter of the year recently at the Hammond Area Career Center (ACC). A lot of stress but also fun has been happening at the ACC, which is to be expected as they came up to the fourth quarter.
“This year has been quite the experience, to say the least,” said Greg Siuba, a first-year student in the radio/TV program. “My favorite part of this year has definitely been doing the lights for our weekly news show and being able to learn everything that goes along with lights.”.
February was Black History Month and to celebrate, the ACC hung up posters of famous African-American people throughout history around the building.
The radio/TV class did a project researching famous African-American individuals in the film industry and their contributions to it. This was a wonderful way to showcase the incredible achievements of African Americans who usually get shadowed because of their race.
In addition to Black History Month, the Student Council at the ACC sold Crush grams as a fundraiser for the awards ceremony that is at the end of the year. Students were able to send a Crush gram to another student either in their own program or a different program and then they were delivered on Valentine’s Day.
Students also took the tests for the SkillsUSA competition that is coming up next month. These tests ask things about the SkillsUSA group and what kinds of things it stands for, such as good character and leadership. These tests are sometimes used as tiebreakers for competitions so doing well on them was very important, and most students did very well on the tests.
What’s coming up?
Spring break at the ACC is right around the corner! Everybody is looking forward to spring break and getting the week off to relax, take a brain break, and get ready for the home stretch of the year. Getting the rest and relaxation of spring break is something that everybody needs this time of year.
“For spring break, I’m going to downtown Chicago with some friends and family,” said Kaliah Blackmon, a first-year student at the ACC. “I love going downtown and shopping as well as going to different restaurants and getting food.”
Also coming up, students have the state SkillsUSA competition in April. If these students do well they will go to Atlanta, Georgia for the National competition. The State competition takes place in Indianapolis over a two-day span.
The first day has some competition but is mostly for registration and making sure everything is in place for the next day. The second day is when the rest of the competition takes place and it goes until mid-afternoon with the awards ceremony taking place in the early evening.
Students who do make it to Nationals have to stay a little bit longer at the end in order to get all of the information that they will need regarding the national competition.
For most students, it’s just about having fun and getting the experience of competition and showcasing the skills they have learned over the course of the year, as well as meeting students from around the state who are also in their competition.
Staff spotlight:
Sean McNamara is the Underground Utility Locator Services (USIC) instructor. He has been in the USIC field for several years now and really enjoys it.
“I got into USIC because I have always been in some kind of job where I had to help someone out and keep people safe, and USIC does exactly that,” McNamara said. “We locate lines so that when people are digging, they can do so safely and not hurt themselves or anybody else near them or not near them for that matter.”
The USIC program is new to the ACC this year and so far it has been a wonderful success and McNamara loves teaching it.
“I love being able to pass on the knowledge that I have from my years in the field onto the students who want to learn this fairly difficult job and to help people stay safe and keep everything we need like power and gas lines intact and safe as well,” he said.
Outside of the classroom, McNamara volunteers with multiple veteran groups whenever he gets the opportunity, as he is a veteran himself.
“I was in the Army for four years and being able to help out other veterans and be with them is something I really cherish and enjoy doing. I know what it is like to be a veteran and being able to support veterans that have gone through something means a lot to me,” he said.
McNamara hopes to increase the amount of students who come in each year. It is only open to seniors, but he is still hopeful that students find the class interesting and decide to continue joining.
Student spotlight:
Jori Lawson is a first-year student in the Radio/TV program at the ACC and a junior at Hammond Central High School. She enjoys the program because of the fact that she gets to direct students.
“What I’ve loved the most about this class is being able to direct news. I love being in charge and making sure stuff gets done and that everyone is on task and being productive,” Lawson said. “I also really enjoy being able to understand movies more like how they are made and why directors do what they do to make people watch their movies.”
Lawson also said that the film and radio industry is something that she could see herself going into as a possible career.
“The movie industry is something that I find very interesting but I am still checking out all my options for what I can do for my future,” she said. “I do really enjoy all the aspects of the film industry and getting to be creative and see my ideas come to life.”
Outside of school, Lawson plays sports for Hammond Central. She plays on the varsity soccer and varsity track teams.
