Michigan Student Wins ACTE National Student Trophy Design Contest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2020
Contact: Megan Kmiotek
mkmiotek@acteonline.org
Michigan Student Wins ACTE National Student Trophy Design Contest
Recent Graduate of Kent Career Tech Center Wins National Award
Alexandria, VA – Today, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) announced a Kent Career Tech Center recent graduate Sara Tatreau as the national student trophy design winner in its fifth annual student trophy design contest. Sara graduated from Kent Career Tech Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the spring of 2020. She was taught by Larry Ridley, an instructor at Kent Career Tech Center. The contest was sponsored by ACTE and Stratasys, Ltd., a manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems.
Since 1954, ACTE has awarded those who have made exemplary contributions in the field of career and technical education (CTE). The student trophy design contest is a competition for students to design the 3D trophy to be used to award the national winners at the association’s annual VISION conference. This year’s conference will be held in virtually with over 4,000 educators, administrators and CTE industry stakeholders in attendance. Sara’s submission was selected by ACTE’s Board of Directors out of entries from students all across the country. In addition to having her design used to create this year’s trophies,Sara will receive a $1,000 scholarship and Kent Career Tech Center will receive a free one-year lease of a 3D printer, courtesy of Stratasys, Ltd.
As a young person with interests in STEM, Sara’s path through life has been an interesting one. From a young age she enjoyed and excelled in STEM classes, so she was sure to fill her high school career with them. In Sara’s freshman year, she joined Kent Innovation High, where they taught math, science, writing, and history using project based learning. She loved working in groups to put what we were learning into a project. She has always been a tactile learner, so she thrived in the environment for all four years. Coincidentally, Kent Innovation is housed within Kent Career and Technical Center with some of the best programs in the state. Sara enrolled in their Design Lab course in her sophomore year. It was an exploratory STEM program with a wide variety of lessons such as electronics/robotics, CAD, woodworking, and coding. After the one year program ended, Sara enrolled in the Aviation Electronics course, which happened to be the only high school Avionics program in the country. Sara’s goal is aimed at becoming an electrical engineer working in the aerospace industry and she could not pass up the opportunity to learn more about the installer’s viewpoint. Sara earned industry-level certifications and received the academic experience she was looking for. While taking the second year in the Avionics program, Sara also enrolled in the Engineering program for her final year of high school. There she also earned industry level certifications and amazing experience with the different CAD software. In all programs, Sara was pushed to do her best and beyond. Between both schools and three programs, Sara knows she can handle whatever comes her way next.
“The Student Trophy Design Contest has successfully helped promote CTE classrooms across the country for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, engineers, and more,” said ACTE Executive Director LeAnn Wilson. “Sara’s outstanding achievements, and her passion for CTE, are further evidence of the critical role high-quality CTE plays in maintaining and growing America’s role in the global economy. We are so proud of Sara and her accomplishments, and we are honored to have them as public ambassadors for all that today’s CTE has to offer.”
Jesse Roitenberg, Stratasys National Education Manager shared his thoughts on the contest over the years, “Stratasys is pleased to partner with ACTE to create this contest for the students. It is clear that the educators are doing an outstanding job immersing the students in Additive Manufacturing and Computer Aided Drafting. The trophy entries we have judged over the past 5 years are phenomenally designed and could not be created by any other manufacturing process.”
Sara, ACTE and Stratasys are available for interviews upon request. Sara’s trophy design and headshot (courtesy Sara) are attached to this email.
###
About ACTE: The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, school counselors, guidance and career development professionals and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities.
Click here to view this press release on ACTE’s website.