Holmes County Hosts Student Showcase

Holmes County Career and Technical Center business, marketing and finance teacher Bessie Dedeaux (second from left) assists students Nic’Tavious Dawson (l-r), Kasmin Thomas and Marshay Stewart in showcasing their items at the center’s first student showcase.

Community members enjoy viewing all of the items made by Holmes County CTC students and showcased during the center’s first student showcase.

The Holmes County Career and Technical Center (CTC) hosted its first CTE student showcase in 2022.

Shintri Hathorn, Holmes County CTC director, said the idea of the showcase stemmed from the center’s leadership team seeking additional ways to promote the center and the skills the students were learning to the local community.

The center planned the showcase in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide the skills, community service projects, preparation for national certification and exams, student organization competitions, college and industry tours and other components essential to the center’s excellence.

The showcase allowed the community to witness how students can apply the handson skills they learn to real-world projects. Students entered items they have built, created, assembled, designed and grown at the center, and several attended to describe, market and answer visitors’ questions regarding the displayed items. Some of the student-created items included fire pits, planter boxes, raised garden growing tables, birdhouses, doghouses, shoe racks, key chains, jewelry, door signs, breast cancer awareness tabletop symbols, flowers and squirrel feed- ers. Health science students provided basic health screenings (glucose and blood pressure checks) to community members.

Students enjoyed engaging with community and business members while browsing and taking an interest in their creations. This interaction with the local community made their learning relevant to them and allowed them to implement the management and leadership skills acquired in their programs. Students assisted with setting up, arranging and pricing items, determining which items to include and explaining the design and creation of the projects.