written by Miranda Baines, staff writer for The Gazette-Virginian. This article appeared in the October 29, 2025 edition of The Gazette-Virginian. Photos below are by SVHEC and differ from the photos that appear with the article in print.
A Thursday evening showcase at Halifax County High School gave parents and prospective students a glimpse of career and technical education offerings available to students.
A crowd gathered in the high school auditorium for the showcase’s kickoff, then headed through the halls of the school to explore the various program offerings.
“This is our third annual Career and Technical Education Showcase, and for the first time — we’ve been talking about this since we had our very first one — inside the brand-new high school,” said Amy Huskin, superintendent of Halifax County Public Schools. “When we first started talking about this, we had just a dream… And now our dream has come true for our community and here we are.”
The new HCHS building first opened to students in August. CTE classes are offered to HCHS students both onsite and at the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center. At the CTE showcase kickoff, SVHEC Executive Director Dr. Charlette Woolridge thanked the families of the students for encouraging them to explore their interests. She also addressed the students enrolled in the CTE programs.
“You should be proud,” Woolridge told the students. “What you are doing matters. You are building your future and strengthening the future for your community at the same time.”
Students in the CTE programs at HCHS shared their experiences with prospective students and their parents at Thursday’s showcase, while up-and-coming high school students got a feel for the programs and career paths that spark their interest.
Mallory Martin, an eighth grader at Halifax County Middle School, visited the automotive department and the welding program. She is considering both career options. “I like fixing things, taking things apart,” said Martin, who attended the CTE showcase with her parents Tina and Eugene Martin Jr. If she chooses the path of auto mechanics, Martin will follow in the footsteps of her father, who is a Ford technician.
In another hallway of HCHS, K’dyn Lucas and Serenity Brandon, 12th grade students in the health science program, showcased their knowledge and skills. Both students are certified nursing assistants — commonly called CNAs — after completing two semesters of nurse aide courses, and are currently enrolled in a medication aide class, offering them the opportunity to earn another certification after completing the class.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Lucas said, when asked how she felt about becoming a CNA before graduating from high school.
Lucas said she liked that the program was “hands-on,” explaining she worked with residents at Commonwealth Senior Living during the clinical portion of the nurse aide course. Her career goal is to become a pediatric neurologist. Brandon also shared her career goal: to become a nurse practitioner, specializing in dermatology. “The best part is knowing that you can help others,” Brandon said.
Students in CTE clubs offered at HCHS, such as the Future Business Leaders of America, also participated in the showcase.
“It definitely helps give us skills that we will need in business,” said Traniya Connally, a student in the FBLA Club. “We go to competitions and use our creativity together to raise funds and learn different things. Being in the club has helped me see what I like and what I don’t like and what career would best benefit me.”
Thursday’s CTE showcase also included a panel discussion featuring a student in a welding work-based learning program, 12th grader Kaylie Lewis, her mother Christie Lewis, and Neil Allen, president of Comfort Systems USA MidAtlantic.
“Work-based learning has definitely given me the opportunity to see what it’s like in a more serious job like welding and it’s given me more insight into it and made me confident about going into it as a career,” Kaylie Lewis said.
Christie Lewis said the team at Comfort Systems USA MidAtlantic welcomed her daughter “with open arms.” She said the work-based learning program has not only given her daughter the hands-on experience of honing skills she learned in the classroom but has also taught her how to work with others.
Christie Lewis urged parents of high school students interested in a work-based learning CTE experience, “Don’t be hesitant. Let them give it a try.”
CTE work-based learning programs such as welding offer HCHS students the opportunity to earn certifications recognized in the workplace, jumpstarting the students’ careers. Allen said the partnership with HCHS enables the company to hire the students completing the work-based learning program as certified, full-time welders after their high school graduation with no need for additional training.
“They’re advancing their career by three to four years,” Allen said.
Allen added on a personal note, “I graduated high school here and went on to become a diesel mechanic in the United States Marine Corps, so CTE worked then, and it works today. Support CTE.”