Lewiston, ID – Lewis-Clark State College’s School of Career & Technical Education celebrated new students committing to attend in the fall with its first NC3 National Letter of Intent Signing Day on Thursday.
The event held at the Williams Conference Center served as a welcome to new and prospective career and technical education (CTE) students who plan to enroll at LC State next fall and major in one of the college’s 21 CTE programs.
“This was a very exciting day to celebrate the dignity of work and welcome these new students and their commitment to attending LC State this fall,” said Jeffrey Ober, dean of Career & Technical Education at LC State.
Students who participated signed a letter of intent to attend the college next fall and then posed for pictures with family and dignitaries.
Among those in attendance on Thursday were LC State president Cynthia Pemberton and Dodd Snodgrass, executive director of the Clearwater Economic Development Association. Also attending were Cory Koole of NAPA Auto Parts, a member of the LC State Auto Technical Advisory Committee, and Brian Ward of Snap-on, a member of the college’s Diesel Technical Advisory Committee.
During the event two students received Skilled Trades – 3M Transformational Scholarships. Mason Gilchrist of Colfax High School in Washington and Ryan Sackett of Kamiah High School, each received $1,000 scholarships to use next fall at LC State to support their education in skilled trades. Gilchrist plans to major in diesel technology, while Sackett plans to enroll in the auto mechanics program. To qualify for the scholarships, a student must have at least a 2.75 GPA or higher in high school, plan to enroll in a CTE program, and participate in the signing day. Only 50 such scholarships are awarded nationally each year.
The signing day event mirrors the NCAA’s National Signing Day for athletes who commit to play sports in college. It is designed to honor students who are entering a technical field and celebrate their entry into a CTE career path.
The event is part of the NC3 Leadership Schools National Signing Day. LC State is an NC3 Leadership School member and one of 74 taking part in the signing day event. NC3 was established to help connect employers with educational institutions to prepare industry-ready employees, both now and in the future. NC3 builds this employer-educational institution partnership through certifications built on national skill standards by using effective teaching and training to prepare students for employment opportunities.
LC State has CTE programs in auto mechanics technology, CNC machining, collision repair, diesel technology, engineering technology, fire service technology, heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, industrial electronics, industrial millwright and maintenance technology, information technology, welding, administrative medical assisting, early childhood development, graphic communications, hospitality management, legal practice assistant, medical assistant, packaging design, paralegal, bookkeeping, and web design and development.
More information on these programs can be found at www.lcsc.edu/cte.