WBIW: 3rd Annual CTE Summit Boasts Largest Attendance To Date

November 19, 2016

Via WBIW (WESTGATE@CRANE) - Haas Automation (Haas), in association with the Region 8 Works Council (R8WC) and the local Career Centers/Cooperative hosted this year's CTE Summit Friday, November 18, at WestGate Academy Conferencing & Training Center. More than 520 students were in attendance, making the third Summit the largest yet. The Summit was developed by R8WC in partnership with Indiana Region 8 employers and educational institutions so students learn career pathway options available, engage in active thinking around regional opportunities, and are enlightened of Career and Technical Education opportunities. Hoosier Hills Career Center of Bloomington is part of R8WC. Hoosier Hills Career Center Assistant Director Christi McBride says this event helps students understand there are options available close to home. 'The focus is to regionally acknowledge what we have and to try to create an opportunity for a lack of a brain drain to happen. And to have something fun for kids.' Bloomington High School South Junior Emily Brown was representing Project Lead the Way Biomedical Innovation at the Summit. She says she was excited to meet peers with similar interests. 'I thought it was really interesting running the booth and interacting with the kids that came up and finding people that are actually really interested in biomedical studies. It was a lot of fun to actually connect with people.' McBride says she receives positive feedback from students and vendors and that each Summit is a success. 'I heard from a lot of students they enjoyed hearing about [the job opportunities] and actually seeing the reality of what they can do with where they want to go with their lives.' Twelve high schools (from Region 8 listed below) brought more than 500 students to this year's Summit. More than 40 vendors had informational booths and sessions educating students, focusing on the eight career clusters (Information Technology, Engineering & Defense, AgriBusiness/Food Science, Hospitality & Human Servies, Biomedical, Construction Technology, Automotive Technology/Logistics, Advanced Manufacturing-CNC) highlighted in Regin 8 (consisting of Owen, Monroe, Brown, Greene, Daviess, Martin, Lawrence, and Orange counties).