More than 50 high school seniors in Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs at Robert D. Stethem Educational Center are one step closer to their futures following a May 23 recognition ceremony.
CTE students at Stethem are enrolled in one of five programs — automotive technician, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, horticultural services, interactive media production and pharmacy technician.
“When you made the decision to attend the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center you made the decision to invest in your future, and made the decision that will profoundly influence your postsecondary plans,” Traci Chappelear, coordinator of Career and Technology Education, said. “You are prepared.”
Justin Bennett was one of three students in Kyle Olsen’s horticultural services program. He and his classmates Noah Varnell and Tyre Mason were all accepted into the University of Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture. “It’s different from other programs,” Bennett said of horticulture and his interest in it. “This year we’ve been busy,” Olsen said. “I have a small class, but we do the work of a large class.”
Kenneth Stethem, the brother of the late Robert D. Stethem which the center is named for, offered closing remarks. A graduate of Thomas Stone High School, Stethem said while the center’s students come from different schools, they are all from the same place — Charles County. “I can’t think of a more beautiful way for that to be demonstrated other than this school,” he said.
He spoke how a student’s brain, blood, bile, and body are matter, they take up physical space. But discipline, courage, honor and kindness are antimatter. They exist, but a person can’t point them out of a chart or graph. “It’s the antimatter that makes the matter matter,” Stethem said.