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<\/a>However, step inside the TCE Center\u2019s modest walls and you will find every classroom bustling with activities related to the 22 credentialed programs offered \u2014 ranging from landscape management and culinary arts to electronics and practical nursing.<\/p>\nYou\u2019ll hear the whir of blow dryers in cosmetology, the knocking of hammers in carpentry, the purring of engines in automotive service technology and the buzzing of tools in dental assisting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came here for orientation, and I thought I was going to go into nursing,\u201d said Cydney Gelico, a senior at Princess Anne High School who is a second-year student in the dental assisting program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came into this room and I fell in love. The open house changed my whole decision,\u201d continued Gelico. \u201cWhen I came in this lab and saw everything, it was just so fascinating. Now I get a head start on my future and will spend less time in college. I want to be a dental hygienist.\u201d<\/p>\n Students getting a head start on their futures will be the focus of the TCE Center\u2019s open house Feb. 10, from 7-9 p.m. The event is an opportunity for students to visit the center\u2019s state-of-the-art labs and learn more about its programs, like Gelico did two years ago. The open house coincides with Career and Technical Education Month, celebrated nationwide in February.<\/p>\n Dressed in colorful scrubs, Gelico and her classmates were learning about the different restorative materials used in dental work, such as bases, cement and liners.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is for a temporary filling or temporary crown,\u201d explained Sam Puryear, a senior at Green Run High School. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have an appointment and you need assistance right away, it\u2019s basically to hold you over until you have time to come back for a real filling. It\u2019s to get you out of pain today.\u201d<\/p>\n Kempsville High School senior Nicole Hawkins, influenced by her mother\u2019s work as a dental hygienist, applied to the dental assisting program before her junior year.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to stay at regular school. I wanted a hands-on experience,\u201d said Hawkins.<\/p>\n She is considering a career in forensic dentistry to examine and evaluate dental evidence and identify unknown remains that may also help law enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cI really like the CSI kind of work,\u201d Hawkins added.<\/p>\n Like Hawkins, Tyler Artis wanted hands-on experience and gained entry to the TCE Center\u2019s program for welding. He also sees it as an investment in his future.<\/p>\n \u201cI just like working with my hands. I\u2019ve been building little things since I was little,\u201d said the Kellam High School senior. \u201cYou go to a school like this one and you can find anything. Welding is where the money is, and that\u2019s why I came here. That\u2019s what this is about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday, a lot of people go to college, earn their four-year degree and find jobs,\u201d said Swanger.\u00a0\u201cStudents transition from our programs into a trade school or apprenticeship program and they make even more money. And, they\u2019re coming out debt-free.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur students can still go to college and many do, but coming here and learning these skills as a high school student for absolutely nothing? You can\u2019t beat that,\u201d stressed Swanger. \u201cIt\u2019s a free opportunity, and you\u2019ll have skills that will last you a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n The seniors in Emma Williams’ cosmetology class plan to use their skills for a lifetime, some by opening their own businesses.<\/p>\n “I really encourage that,\u201d said Williams, a former owner of hair salons herself. \u201cIt\u2019s hard work. You work, work, work and work some more. You never stop. It\u2019s your baby. That\u2019s what I tell them. You have to be prepared to work. It\u2019s not a 9-to-5 job. It\u2019s 24-7.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut,\u201d added Williams, \u201cif you love it, it\u2019s not work.\u201d<\/p>\n Katie Kattau\u2019s love is doing makeup. The Green Run High School senior currently has an internship at the The Makeup Studio in Virginia Beach and it has reinforced her desire to do bridal makeup for a living in her own studio.<\/p>\n Student internships are another valuable aspect of the TCE Center\u2019s programs, according to Swanger.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents get to spend time with an industry professional in a one-on-one situation, and you cannot have a greater classroom than that,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re performing the skills they\u2019ve learned here out in a real industry setting side-by-side with industry professionals and gaining real world experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Industry professionals and potential employers were on-site for a recent TCE Center career fair, giving students an opportunity to network and, in some cases, apply for jobs.<\/p>\n Less than 24 hours after the career fair, Marlin has heard from even more people.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve already gotten several emails about people wanting to come in here as guest speakers. The employers are telling me, \u2018We want to get in there and work with your students and your teachers because we have something for them,\u2019\u201d said Marlin. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a lot more partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Swanger is not surprised potential employers are impressed with TCE Center students and want to work with them.<\/p>\n \u201cOur students are focused, dedicated, willing to learn, flexible, eager to take on any new task, driven, simply excited about having the opportunity to be here. They\u2019re just great kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe programs are for everyone. All kinds of students can benefit from being here,\u201d continued Marlin.<\/p>\n \u201cKids complete our programs and go to college. Kids leave with hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, like our culinary arts students. This program helps prepare students for military service – getting various skills and certifications and doing better on their ASVAB [Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery] when it comes to mechanical and technical sections. And, we do have great straight-to-work opportunities,\u201d Marlin said.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Puryear said he\u2019s become more interested in dental lab work as a result of his experiences at the TCE Center and hopes to continue his studies after graduation in the dental laboratory technology program at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond.<\/p>\n<\/a>The financial gains available to program completers is a benefit TCE Center director David Swanger highlights any chance he gets.<\/p>\n<\/a>But first, \u201cI do whatever she asks me to do,\u201d says Kattau with a smile regarding her internship and the learning opportunities. \u201cTomorrow I will help her do makeup for six ladies who are having headshots. I will start by doing their cheeks and lips.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cWe had about 43 vendors throughout the hallways – a mix of career and technical education schools, apprenticeship programs, businesses, military and summer job opportunities,\u201d said Rob Marlin, TCE Center school counselor. \u201cHome Depot called us out of the blue and said they are starting to hire 16-year-olds and wanted to come to our school because they know we have career-focused kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cThe biggest misconception is that this is a program only for kids who want to leave here and go straight into the workforce,\u201d said Marlin, who was a school counselor at two comprehensive high schools before joining the TCE Center this school year.<\/p>\n