November 20, 2009

This has been such a busy week here at Ohio Hi-Point! We really got off to a roll late last week as 10th graders from our partner schools visited for Sophomore Career Days. We had some make-up days this week for 10th graders who couldn’t visit last week due to fog. And last evening we invited them all back, along with parents and other community members, for our annual Career Preview/Taste of the Future open house. WOW is all I can say! The turnout was fantastic (we’re waiting for final estimates), the labs were full of visitors, the media coverage was terrific, and the food for Taste of the Future was yummy! I know we had many, many students make the decision to enroll as a result of this event. The teamwork in pulling off such a successful event was obvious—thanks to all of you for the extra time and effort you put in!

Seeing our potential students (of all ages) visiting and selecting one of our programs (or thinking about it) reminds me of the courage it takes to take this major step. Adults choose to go back to school to improve skills or take a totally new direction in life, on top of the challenges of families, work, and life. And high-school students leave their comfort zones and venture off, many to an entirely different facility, to take advantage of our career-tech programs. Reminds me of a quote I saw recently: “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” (J.K. Rowling) The choices these students are making will impact both their abilities and their quality of life for a lifetime!

I held my quarterly Superintendents Meeting on Tuesday; and for our “Spotlight on Students” segment, several students from our Electronics Engineering Technology Program spoke to the superintendents about their current lab projects, their involvement in SkillsUSA, and their plans for the future. They did a great job sharing their enthusiasm for engineering and their excitement about entering the field! Many thanks to LaRanda (Mikki) Pickering, Taylor Allen, Brandon Gamble, and Robert Smayda for taking time to share with us—and thanks to Mike Kouse, their instructor, for allowing them to do so!

We had some of our alumni from North Carolina stop in for a visit a week or so ago (a married couple who met at OHP), and they each wrote us a note requesting to be included in our Alumni & Friends Association. Thought you’d be interested in seeing some of their comments:

In June 1979 after graduating I entered the Army as an Electronics Technician and retired in 1998. My current position is Assistant IT Manager for an herb company. I am responsible for 8 servers, 70 desktops, 20 laptops, network switches, and the phone system. I have fond memories of Hi-Point and the people here. I see many additions!
Doug Myers
Printing & Graphics, 1979

The school has changed so much! I notice the curriculum has changed. When I came here, English and Government were the only extra classes. Hi-Point “JVS” as it was called started my career in office management. After attending JVS, I went to Clark Tech for a year and then transferred to Edison State Community College where I earned an Associate’s of Data Processing.
Tami (Saul) Myers
Office Machines, 1979

Well, you’re at it again showing your generosity for a worthwhile cause! Darlene Roll, our Intervention Coordinator, shared the following this past week:

My husband is delivering 11,513 pairs of eyeglasses to the Lions International Eyeglass Recycling Center in Upland, Indiana today. About 100 pairs of those glasses have come from Ohio Hi-Point Career Center employees and students. It’s just another example of how wonderful and giving our staff and students are!

Great job in supporting this project!

We have a mid-year retirement coming up, and I’d like to close by wishing Nancy Decker, GRADS Instructor, many happy, healthy years of retirement. Thank you, Nancy, for your 16½ years of caring and service to our students at Ohio Hi-Point. You will be missed—and know that you’re always welcome to visit!

Enjoy your weekend!