A new Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy and a Tulsa Technology Center instructor met in class decades after a deadly shooting.
Their story, reported by KJRH in Tulsa, began when Michael Brown, then an officer in the Tulsa Police Department, had to notify the family after a man was shot and killed by police. The man’s daughter, in elementary school at the time, was among the first class to graduate from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office’s new academy.
The new deputy, Aaliyah Sanchez, was a student of Brown’s at Tulsa Tech, where he is the senior instructor of the criminal justice program. Read more about their story on the KJRH website.
The Oklahoma Career and Technical Education Equity Council honored 17 Oklahomans and three businesses and organizations at the 29th annual Making It Work Day at the Capitol on March 6.
Making It Work Day recognizes nontraditional students and individuals who are committed to removing barriers to success for single-parent families by providing educational experiences for students beyond the classroom. The ceremony was held in the rotunda at the Oklahoma Capitol.
Outstanding Instructor recipients were Suzanne Damon, Mid-Del Tech; Leslie Pfrehm, Moore Norman Technology Center; and Mary Turner, Oklahoma City Community College. Outstanding Instructor of Non-Traditional Students recipient was Gail Sperry, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.
Outstanding Business and Industry Partner recipients were Healing Hands Veterinary Wellness Center, Oklahoma City; Bo Gwin, Sharpe’s Department Store Okmulgee manager; Holly Lantagne, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma – Norman office; and Oklahoma City VA Healthcare System. Outstanding Community Partner recipients were Janna Pelletier, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Garfield County; Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma; and Carol Hinex, Oklahoma Department of Human Services – Region II, Shawnee.
“OkCTEEC is very excited this year to be able to host the Making It Work Day event once again at the Oklahoma state Capitol,” said KayTee Niquette, Work Prep and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families coordinator at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. “It is the perfect venue to showcase the achievements of our students at both the CareerTech and community college level, as well as those community and business partners that have assisted our students in their educational and employment pursuits. The opportunity for legislators to be able to hear our students’ stories and see the difference our programs make is just priceless.”
She serves as an adviser for OkCTEEC, along with Lisa French of the Department of Human Services and Gina McPherson of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
“OkCTEEC is delighted to host Making It Work Day for another year. We honor our remarkable awardees at the state Capitol for their tireless efforts, commitment and resilience. Our programs, students, graduates, instructors and business and community partners around Oklahoma strive to create a positive change in the lives of families in the state. We take immense pride in recognizing and celebrating their contributions,” said Kelly Vinson, OkCTEEC president and director of Project Achieve at Northern Oklahoma College.
OkCTEEC is affiliated with the administrative division of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education. The council advocates for students pursuing nontraditional careers and for resources for educating single parents.
OkCTEEC’s purposes include promoting and supporting career and technology education, increasing its effectiveness, promoting research in the field and in educational equity, developing leadership and advocating for equity and diversity.
For more information about OkCTEEC, visit https://www.okcteec.com/. For more information about the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, visit www.okcareertech.org.
Oklahoma CareerTech is known for being nimble and flexible, quickly adapting to the needs of industry in Oklahoma. In addition to 29 technology centers across the state, Oklahoma CareerTech provides training through 391 PK-12 school districts, 15 Skills Centers, 32 Adult Education and Family Literacy providers and Work-Based Learning programs.
A new Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy and a Tulsa Technology Center instructor met in class decades after a deadly shooting.
Their story, reported by KJRH in Tulsa, began when Michael Brown, then an officer in the Tulsa Police Department, had to notify the family after a man was shot and killed by police. The man’s daughter, in elementary school at the time, was among the first class to graduate from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office’s new academy.
The new deputy, Aaliyah Sanchez, was a student of Brown’s at Tulsa Tech, where he is the senior instructor of the criminal justice program.
Science Academies Opened Doors to Medical Careers (and Romance) for Recent CareerTech Grads
What do sauerkraut and kombucha have to do with CareerTech? Both the holistic tea and the German cabbage dish involve fermentation, a process Ashley Powers said she learned about in the biomedical sciences program at Red River Technology Center in Duncan, Oklahoma 10 years ago.
Dr. Ashley Watson
Ashley enrolled at the technology center in high school. She wanted to become a doctor, but she was homeschooled and didn’t have access to the hands-on educational experiences that would be available at Red River.
At the tech center, she learned to make sauerkraut and kombucha, which she occasionally makes at home. But that science-based cooking lesson was just one of many life-changing benefits of the biomed program.
Flash forward nearly a decade, and Ashley Powers is now Dr. Ashley Watson. She is a resident physician at Capital Region Medical Center in Jefferson City, Missouri. In 2024, she hopes to complete her residency and receive her board certification.
She credits Red River for helping her reach her career goals, but she gives additional credit to HOSA, for introducing her to her future husband and medical colleague.
Dr. Tyler Watson
HOSA is a co-curricular organization for students interested in health careers. Ashley’s involvement in that CareerTech student organization at Red River led her to Tyler Watson, then HOSA state president. Their paths hadn’t crossed at school, because Tyler attended Francis Tuttle Technology Center. Ashley was president of her local HOSA chapter, however, and one day she reached out to Tyler for advice.
“She was looking at colleges and wanted to know more about the biology/pre-med program at the University of Oklahoma,” Tyler said. “We started talking, and the rest is history.”
(Well, the rest is science, actually.)
Today, Tyler is completing his medical residency in Missouri, alongside his wife. Like Ashley, he credits Oklahoma CareerTech for laying the groundwork for his medical career.
In 2013, Tyler was a Putnam City High School student. He said he enrolled in Francis Tuttle’s biosciences and medicine academy because he wanted a challenge. The academy offered that challenge, as well as insight into potential career paths.
“I loved science and I knew I wanted to pursue more rigorous training than what my high school alone could offer,” Tyler said, “but I wasn’t yet committed to a specific career path.”
In their respective programs at separate tech centers, the two received invaluable technical skills as well as life skills. Ashley said Red River prepared her for the rigorous medical training that followed. Her new acquired skill set included public speaking, study skills, and an understanding of experimental design.
“These skills have made my life richer and have made transitions through seasons in my career go more smoothly,” she said.
Tyler also credits CareerTech for his public speaking skills.
“I’m fairly shy by nature,” he said. “I still struggle with public speaking but learning those foundational skills as a high schooler allowed me to compensate for and improve my social interactions over time, giving me confidence to approach intimidating situations.”
Francis Tuttle also helped Tyler become more adaptable, he said. An important life skill for a student and a doctor.
“Learning to adapt early to academic challenges and new situations has made life run more smoothly,” he said.
After graduating from their respective technology centers, the Watsons followed nearly identical higher education paths, eventually receiving their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degrees from Oklahoma State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.
For Tyler and Ashley, CareerTech was a college-prep experience. But Tyler said for some of their fellow HOSA members, CareerTech was their primary vocational training.
“CareerTech directly and successfully prepared them for a career,” Tyler said. “For all of us, choosing CareerTech showed a dedication to improving skills necessary for a career.”
Ashley’s CareerTech experience offered her the applied learning experience she had wanted as a high schooler.
“CareerTech grads offer employers a spectrum of highly-qualified individuals who have experienced hands-on training beyond what an academic-only setting can provide,” she said. “They are an essential part of today’s workforce.”
They’ve studied together, worked together and lived together. But even though their education and career paths have been similar, their approaches to medicine are different, according to Tyler. As a result, the two have learned to divide up tasks according to each person’s strengths.
“I’m more mechanically minded and better at administration,” Tyler said, “and Ashley tends to be more holistically minded and better at public relations.”
After the Watsons receive their board certifications, they plan to return to Oklahoma to practice medicine.
Sixty-four Oklahoma CareerTech students met at the state Capitol Feb. 21 to speak to legislators about how career and technology education helps teens prepare for careers and college.
State officers from Oklahoma CareerTech’s seven co-curricular student organizations attended the CareerTech Student Organization Day at the Capitol, visiting with legislators from their districts. Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. John Talley, R-Stillwater, recognized the students in their respective chambers.
“This day is a phenomenal way to connect our legislators with the future leaders of our state,” said Paxton Cavin, state BPA and DECA adviser at Oklahoma CareerTech. “By meeting state officers from each of the CTSOs our legislators are able to witness the positive impact CareerTech has on students from all around the state, in various fields of study, in K-12 schools and technology centers. CTSOs are changing lives on a daily basis, and Oklahoma is powered by one of the best CTSO support systems, Oklahoma CareerTech.”
For some students, like Maricela De Leon-Barrios, this was their first time to visit the Capitol.
De Leon-Barrios, a Metro Technology Centers pre-nursing student and state HOSA officer, said she was nervous and excited about the visit. She hoped to get the message out to legislators about how CTSOs teach students leadership skills and help them plan their futures, she said.
The high school junior plans to be a nurse practitioner and said her time in HOSA taught her nursing skills and helped her overcome her fear of learning new things.
The students also heard from Oklahoma CareerTech State Director Brent Haken and Oklahoma Association for Career and Technical Education Executive Director Skye McNiel before meeting with their legislators.
“It’s very important to share the importance of CareerTech,” McNiel told the students. “We are worth investing in because it’s an investment into these kids.”
CTSOs give students opportunities for personal growth and scholastic achievement, as well as the chance to develop skills in public speaking, planning and organizing. Members work on various community projects, competitive events and leadership activities and meet other students who share similar interests.
In FY22, more than 95,000 Oklahoma students were members of one of the seven co-curricular CTSOs: Business Professionals of America; DECA; Family, Career and Community Leaders of America; FFA; HOSA; SkillsUSA; and Technology Student Association.
More women are joining the aviation and aerospace industry. They are astronauts, pilots, maintenance technicians, engineers, air traffic controllers and business owners. In this video on Oklahoma’s aerospace industry, we interviewed several women who are working in the industry or pursuing a career in aerospace. Here are their stories.
About Oklahoma CareerTech
The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education provides leadership and resources and assures standards of excellence for a comprehensive statewide system of career and technology education. The system offers programs and services in 29 technology center districts operating on 60 campuses, 391 PK-12 school districts, 15 Skills Centers campuses that include three juvenile facilities and 32 adult education and family literacy providers.
The agency is governed by the State Board of Career and Technology Education and works closely with the State Department of Education and the State Regents for Higher Education to provide a seamless educational system for all Oklahomans.
The Oklahoma Procurement Technical Assistance Center has a new name, but its mission is the same: to help Oklahoma businesses secure contracts and other sales worth billions of dollars with government entities.
The Oklahoma Accelerator is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense, which changed the program name in November. The new name will help build a consistent awareness across federal agencies and local businesses, said Carter Merkle, OkAPEX program manager.
“The federal program management recently moved from one DoD agency to the highest levels of the Pentagon, giving the program new visibility. This also helps all of us connect more directly with the decision-makers in government to better assist our business clients,” he said. “Our core mission and our set of services remain the same.”
The Oklahoma CareerTech System’s technology centers have offered the program for more than 35 years, first as the Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network and then OkPTAC. The program regularly works with about 1,100 businesses each year, Merkle said.
The Oklahoma Accelerator funds 11 programs with 13 procurement counselors in technology centers across Oklahoma. The 13 counselors assist businesses through one-on-one counseling, training programs and business networking events.
The counselors help businesses find ways to be more competitive and new opportunities to pursue, help them be aware of regulatory requirements and help them avoid missteps that can cost them business. The program also helps government agencies connect with supply chains and helps larger prime contractors find smaller partners to complete complex projects and meet government-required small business subcontracting goals, Merkle said.
Information about the Oklahoma APEX Accelerator, including locations and contact information, is available at www.okbid.org.
Brighton Snow – Mid-America Technology Center and BPA
Brighton Snow has his own production company and manages social media networks for large businesses. His company creates marketing videos, promotional graphics and advertising imagery for his clients. Not bad for a small-town boy with one semester of college under his belt.
Snow grew up in Washington, a south-central Oklahoma town with just over 600 people. He toured Mid-America Technology Center as an eighth grader, but he would have to wait more than two years before he could enroll.
He was so excited he could barely wait. Snow had a passion for multimedia, and when he discovered he could attend the tech center while he was in high school, he seized the opportunity.
“I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without CareerTech,” he said.
The hands-on learning environment appealed to Snow, who said he loved being able to learn with industry-leading technology.
“In the multimedia industry, technology is always improving and changing,” he said. “Mid-America gave me the resources to learn film production, graphic design and social media marketing. I can confidently create marketing videos, promotional graphics and advertising imagery using the career skills I’ve learned.”
Snow joined Oklahoma Business Professionals of America, serving as state president in 2021. He competed in BPA events, using skills such as using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, operating a camera and editing video. He has won nearly a dozen awards, including the title of world champion in social media management two years in a row.
In addition to his technical skills, Snow said, he also gained confidence.
“My adviser, Paxton Cavin, had a huge impact on me,” he said. “She always motivates me to be the best.”
That confidence helped Snow become one of only three Oklahoma students selected as U.S. Presidential Scholars in 2022.
He said CareerTech taught him the value of hard work, honesty and dedication, attributes he no doubt implements as he simultaneously runs a business and continues his education. Snow is enrolled at Oklahoma State University and after college plans to start a marketing company designed to help local farmers explore new marketing platforms.
“Local farmers often don’t know how to take advantage of social media,” he said.
The Oklahoma CareerTech System continues to grow as it offers educational programs to Oklahomans of all ages.
The CareerTech System is celebrating CareerTech Education Month in February. Gov. Kevin Stitt recently issued a proclamation declaring this month as Career and Technical Education Appreciation Month in Oklahoma.
“We strive every day to provide students with skills demanded by the labor market in Oklahoma,” said CareerTech State Director Brent Haken. “Bringing innovation to Oklahoma education is core to Oklahoma CareerTech’s mission to help students explore their interests and businesses meet their workforce needs.”
In Oklahoma, enrollment in CareerTech programs is up across the board, and memberships in CareerTech student organizations such as FFA and HOSA rose 20% in FY 2022 to 95,390 members. The increase in enrollments and CTSO memberships, Haken said, reflect a growing realization of the value of a CareerTech education and the need for curricula that emphasize career readiness.
“CareerTech programs and student organizations are designed to simultaneously provide students skills demanded in the labor market while preparing them for postsecondary degrees,” Haken said. “In addition to specific career-oriented classes, students are offered opportunities that include internships, apprenticeships and in-school programs aimed at fostering work readiness.”
Oklahoma CareerTech achievements in the past year include being named a CyberPatriot Center of Excellence by the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot program in May. Participation in the Oklahoma CyberPatriot program has more than doubled under CareerTech’s leadership.
CareerTech began a partnership with Express Employment Professionals and the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development to create more work-based learning opportunities for students. Students in the program are employed by Express and serve as contract employees for worksite employers, reducing liability for employers and opening more opportunities for students.
CareerTech also launched Get Skilled Now, an online platform that allows students and employers to find each other for work-based learning opportunities.
Also in the past year, Oklahoma CareerTech received $8.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to expand programs to address the state’s nursing workforce shortage, $5 million to create a program to train broadband infrastructure installation workers and $6.2 million to expand its truck driver training program. CareerTech awarded $4.5 million to schools, technology centers and educators in lottery grants and scholarships.
CareerTech serves nearly half a million students through a network of 391 school districts, 29 technology centers, 15 skills centers and 32 adult education and family literacy providers. CareerTech also serves Oklahomans through its business and industry programs.
Enrollment in the 29 technology center districts was 298,675 in FY 2022. Enrollment in CareerTech courses in PK-12 schools totaled 127,875 in FY 2022, with 83,580 students in ninth through 12th grades enrolled in CareerTech classes.
In FY 2022, more than 95,000 students participated in CareerTech’s seven co-curricular CTSOs: Business Professionals of America, DECA, Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA and Technology Student Association.
More than 8,900 people enrolled in adult education and family literacy classes offered by 32 providers around Oklahoma; the courses help adults become literate, earn their high school equivalencies and obtain the skills necessary for employment.
The Skills Centers School System enrolled 1,045 adult and juvenile offenders in FY 2022, and more than 95% of those who completed training found jobs with an average hourly wage of $14.64.
In addition to teaching individuals through technology centers, skills centers, PK-12 schools and adult education and family literacy programs, Oklahoma CareerTech also provides customized training and other services to companies in the state to help them increase profitability.
In FY 2022, CareerTech served 6,671 companies through entrepreneurial development, firefighter training, customized industry, safety training, adult and career development, training for industry and OkAPEX Accelerators. The TIP program helped companies locate in Oklahoma and provided training for 2,941 new jobs, and OkAPEX helped state companies secure 1,775 federal, state, local and tribal government contracts valued at $392,442,455.
