On Jan. 28, several sophomore students attended the Beaver County Career & Technology Center (BCCTC) tour. This year’s tour was different because of COVID-19 precautions and was held virtually. 

The BCCTC is a career and technology center. It is an extension of certain courses of study from high school, offering training in occupational, vocational and technical programs.This center provides a very wide variety of programs. The programs that students were able to learn about in this tour were: automotive tech, commercial art and design, veterinary assistant, machine tool technology, HVAC-R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration), carpentry, cosmetology, electrical occupations, business information systems, collision repair technology, masonry/bricklaying, health occupations, greenhouse/landscaping, welding, culinary arts, graphic design and printing. 

Usually, any students who are interested in attending this program will have an in person visit to the BCCTC and get to explore the programs that they offer there. But because of COVID-19, the visit was held as a Zoom meeting. 

“I would have much rather been there but it’s what has to happen to keep everyone safe. Although the visit was virtual, it was still very informative and made me still want to go. They did a presentation and talked about the programs,” sophomore Rachel Campbell said. 

“It was pretty good. I joined two different classes and both were short and to the point,” sophomore Nathan DiNardo said. 

According to Julia Mohrbacher, the CTC visit was very informative. She liked that she was able to see all of the classes she may be interested in, and said that the teachers were there to answer any questions she had. “I love being creative so CTC seems like a great place for me,“ Mohrbacher said. “I think that the entire visit was planned pretty well so it was all around good.” 

“Overall, the sophomore students seemed to enjoy the tour,” Campbell said.