What’s recently happened?
The Hammond Area Career Center (ACC) recently had its Mass Casualty Day. This event had the students of the ACC act out a mass casualty shooting within the school in order to simulate what services would be required should an emergency occur. Students not enrolled in an emergency service program participated in the reenactment for the event.
Each program helped in whatever way they could to make the event feel as close to the real deal as possible. Cosmetology students worked to make volunteers look authentic with fake injuries using makeup. Criminal justice students acted as law enforcement, trying to apprehend the imaginary shooter. Emergency Medical Service (EMS) acted as paramedics, helping victims in a professional manner. The volunteer victims themselves did an amazing job, playing dead and screaming throughout the hallways.
Everyone did a great job acting out their roles. As a reward for everyone's hard work, pizza was available for them in the cafeteria after the reenactment.
The ACC also had its end of the year award ceremony, granting awards to graduating seniors and excelling students. Awards like Student of the Year in each program, work ethic certifications, and recognition for competitions throughout the year, such as Skills USA and Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), were given to numerous students of the ACC, to highlight their accomplishments throughout the year. Students walked across the stage to receive medals and certificates with their families, friends, advisors and community members present.
What’s coming up?
As school is beginning to wrap up, many classes have started their end of the year celebrations. Construction classes had outside barbecues, and other classes had pizza parties.
Everyone in the ACC is excited for the year to close and are preparing to come back next year to learn even more. Teachers are making plans for summer programs and incoming students. Seniors are making plans for their future with college applications, and juniors are searching for internships for their looming senior year.
A select few students are preparing for Skills USA, which is a competition for students to demonstrate their workforce readiness. Other students are preparing for HOSA, which is a similar competition for medical services. These students have earned the chance to compete at the national scale, where they will show off the hard work and skills that they have learned throughout their time at the ACC.
Students will spend a week this June in Georgia or Tennessee, representing their school and community. Nationals is a wonderful opportunity and a great achievement, and everyone at the ACC is proud to have them partake in this endeavor.
Staff spotlight:
Scott Ciupak is the construction trades teacher at the ACC. He has been a teacher for 19 years and was once even a student at the ACC. He always thought he’d be in a teaching position, but he never expected to start when he did. When he saw people building homes but didn’t see many workers back in 2006, he decided it would be time to start then.
In the beginning, he started out as the teacher's aid to the previous instructor. As time progressed, he was able to reach his current position. Ciupak’s favorite thing about being a teacher is watching students progress and seeing the confident professionals they become by the time they leave his class.
Although he rarely has any free time, he loves to spend as much time as possible with his family.
“I would spend more time working here if I didn’t have anything to do just trying to get stuff ready for these guys,” Ciupak said.
Many of his students have said that Ciupak is an amazing teacher who cares deeply for them.
Student spotlight:
Joy Kakish, a dental student in her junior year of high school, is an aspiring dental hygienist who wants to start interning in her senior year in order to get closer to this goal. Kakish has always been interested in the dental profession, but she wanted to see if it was right for her before she fully committed to it. She then enrolled into the dental program at the ACC.
She plans to return next year as a capstone student to further her knowledge about the dental field before college. She believes the dental program class that she’s enrolled in at the ACC is very hands-on.
”I love that it’s a very hands-on course,” Kakish said.
This April, Kakish participated in the dental science category of HOSA at Indianapolis.
At HOSA, Kakish had to demonstrate some of the skills she learned in class, like identifying dental instruments and setting up for an X-ray.
“We had to do a written test first, and you couldn’t even compete in the next section if you weren’t in the top 20,” Kakish said. ”It was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be. In fact, I was kind of relaxed throughout the whole thing.”
She ended up placing second, an incredible achievement considering she’s only a first year member in the program.
Whenever she’s not doing anything for school, Kakish balances work along with sports like track and soccer. Her free time is spent hanging out with friends and occasionally riding her bike.
