Eight Transition Academy students completed vocational adjustment training courses.
Victoria Atkinson, Loren Cordero, Danielle Green, Isaiah Puente, Pablo Lopez, Melissa Martinez, Juan Rivera, and Craig Tenorio received certificates for completing three courses provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
“The goal of the TWC courses is to work with parents, teachers, and those who play a supporting role in the lives of these young students in order for them to have a future with great outcomes,” Transition Academy teacher Maira Gutierrez said. “The TWC will help place our students with job opportunities, provide job coaches, and fund work attire.”
The courses that the students completed allowed them to explore skills and potential job matches. They learned about the interviewing process, how to acknowledge a potential employer, and how to present a resume.
Prior to the awards ceremony, students had an opportunity to experience the process of buying work attire which they proudly wore to the event.
“The services we provide are helping them with the transition to either go to college or go to employment, “counselor for the Texas Workforce Vocational Rehab Alejandra Fernandez said.
Before each student was called up to receive their certificate, Superintendent Dr. Alicia Noyola shared a message of congratulations and appreciation.
“We know that you have done a lot of work, not just for this certificate, but all year long,” Dr. Noyola said. “I just have so much pride that we have gotten here in this short amount of time. I am so grateful for that, but we don’t accomplish things by ourselves. There are always people that help us along on the journey, and today I want to thank the Texas Workforce Commission. Through their partnership and through the support of the community, we are here today to celebrate our students and to help them get one step further along on their journey.”
To demonstrate some of the skills that students had learned, Texas Workforce instructor, Brenda Greagrey practiced a live mock job interview with student Craig Tenorio.
“I always go in thinking I am going to teach them so much, and I always come out learning more,” Greagrey said. “For me, it is a great honor to be here. At the end of the day, our mission is for our students to be successful.”
In addition to receiving a certificate of completion, students graduating at the end of this school year also received a Transition Academy Scholarship.
“This year, we’ve seen so much growth in all of you, and we are so proud of you,” Special Education coordinator Felicia Garcia said. “We have six of our students who are graduating, not returning, but moving on to bigger and better things. We are going to miss you, but we are very, very happy for you. We would like to present you with a scholarship. Our first Transition Academy Scholarship is to help you with your future endeavors, with employability, or anything you need.”
