When 冰球突破豪华版试玩 awards welding certificates this spring, a half-dozen students receiving them will have just graduated from high school.
和多佛高中有独特的合作关系, Great Bay’s Early College program welcomed the cohort of seniors in the college welding program after they had completed all the high school welding classes available to them.
斯蒂芬妮Riotto, 大湾的早期大学协调员, worked with Dover High School welding instructor Nicole Witham to arrange the students’ early release at 11 a.m. to attend welding classes two afternoons a week at Great Bay’s Rochester campus. 除了, Great Bay restructured its sequence of classes so the high school students could complete all three by the time they received their high-school diplomas.
“They are taking the third and final welding class we offer in the spring, 只要他们从高中毕业, 我们会把焊接证书发给他们,里奥托说. “They will graduate from high school with a completed welding certificate from Great Bay.”
Some of the students are also interested in taking Computer Numeric Control (CNC) courses at Great Bay. In doing so, they can accumulate credits toward a second certificate or associate degree, or both.
Great Bay’s Early College program allows high school and home-schooled students to take college-credit courses that satisfy high school graduation requirements and that count toward degree requirements at Great Bay and colleges and universities nationwide. At the same time, they acquire skills that will benefit them in the workplace.
多佛焊工体现了该计划的潜力.
“They are learning work-based skills while earning credits toward their college certificate,威瑟姆说。, who credited Great Bay for accommodating Dover High’s schedule. “为了让这件事成功, Great Bay catered to our start times and our semester schedule, and they worked with our guidance counselors so all the students could have early release and go to college.”
For these students, the Great Bay welding program is “a nice segue into the real world,” she said. The students are getting a step up on the job market with their Great Bay education, 这使得他们在毕业后更容易被雇佣.
“They go into the workforce with much more experience than a high school graduate with little experience,里奥托说. “他们利用了这一点，是聪明的孩子.”
Students who continue their college education are closer to completing their goals. 对于车辆Pinkham, one of the 多佛高中毕业班s, is among them. 基于他在焊接方面的积极经验, 他参加了大湾大学的两年制副学士学位课程, which means he will have one more year to go by the time he earns his high school diploma and welding certificate this spring.
Upon graduation, he intends to work as a pipe welder or welder of exhaust systems on automobiles. 从长远来看，他希望经营自己的焊接业务. “我不知道那是什么生意, 但我知道我想成为一名自雇焊工,他说, noting that he is taking a business class at Great Bay as part of his associate degree in addition to welding. “这门课内容丰富, and I feel like it will put me in a much better spot to reach my career goals.”
Pinkham credits Witham’s high-school welding classes for setting him up for success and Great Bay’s program for helping him visualize his future. “My high school welding instructor set a great base for my welding career with a good solid understanding of the trade. But my certificate has helped me really hone my welding skills and put me in a much better place to go out directly into the field.”
特里斯坦纳什, 也是多佛高中的高三学生, said he appreciated the opportunity to learn more about a trade that he’s been around much of his life. “我的祖父和叔叔使用很多重型机械, 每隔一段时间, 他们必须在机器上焊接并修理它们,他说.
He’s unsure about his career track, but he knows it will be better with his time at Great Bay. “Having the experience and certificate will definitely be a big help in the future,他说.
Great Bay’s Early College program also works with welding students at Portsmouth High School and Seacoast School of Technology in addition to Dover. What makes the partnership with Dover unique is the large cohort of students who participated at once and Great Bay’s ability to accommodate their schedules.
Riotto hopes it serves as a pilot for partnerships with other schools. “我们希望重复这种模式, so any student from any high school who has been able to get an introduction to welding can take advantage of it.”
平克汉姆敦促他的同行们这样做.
“Great Bay has been nothing but accommodating of me and my school and work schedule,他说. “It makes learning something new easy when people around you are understanding and care about what they are teaching you. My experience at Great Bay has shown me nothing less than exactly that.”
