ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – APG hosted a field day for the Pathways in Technology Early College High School, or P-TECH program May 13, at the Myer Pavilion, in celebration of Armed Forces Week. The event marked the end of the school year and gave the Army civilian mentors a chance to wish their Joppatowne High School P-TECH students farewell for the summer.
The P-TECH program expands students' educational skills through a technical and work-based learning environment, gaining relevant workplace experience, while the students build innovative and creative portfolios.
Students and their mentors participated in several team building activities and learned about STEM-based innovations during the day-long event. The experience also provided students an opportunity to present their end of year projects to U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command senior leaders, showcasing their innovative computer programing skills and allowing them to demonstrate how far they’ve progressed in the program.
The highlight of the day was the “Behind the Fence” tour of the Aberdeen Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC). P-TECH students and their mentors had the rare opportunity to go behind the fence line to learn about ATEC’s unique contribution in protecting our Soldiers and the nation.
Governor Larry Hogan supported bringing P-TECH to Maryland in 2016 because of how beneficial the program is to students and the economy. Now P-TECH is presented at eight schools throughout the state. It provides Maryland students a pathway from high school to college to career, opening a steady flow of educated professionals into Maryland’s workforce.
CECOM partnered with Harford County Public Schools and Harford Community College to encourage this unique workplace experience for students. In turn, the Army will offer paid internships and full-time professional-individualized mentorship for current and future P-TECH students. The program uniquely develops the kind of innovative and technically minded future workforce needed by the CECOM and other APG research, development, testing and acquisition leaders.
CECOM’s command chief warrant officer, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Linc McCoy, talked about the importance of having more local kids in the P-TECH program.
“What it does is it allows them to see what’s outside the constraints of the community, and if they’re introduced to what’s outside that means the possibilities are endless,” said McCoy. With more students attending, and spreading the word themselves about P-TECH, McCoy believes there will be an uptick in enrollment.
Students start this program in ninth grade, providing them with an edge in the competitive STEM career environment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor of Statistics, STEM careers will increase 10.5% from 2020 to 2030. The average median wage for STEM workers is $95,420, and that varies based on STEM profession, experience, and training. Despite their youth, students participating in P-TECH will have the advantage over other prospective workers looking to work in the STEM field.
Other opportunities offered to them during the program: visits from technology experts, field trips, coaching, and mentorships. Upon graduation and completion of the program, when P-TECH students apply for jobs at APG they are first in line for interviews with CECOM.
The P-TECH curriculum is completed within four to six years while students earn their high school diplomas. At the end of the rigorous and challenging program, students receive a High School Diploma and an Associate of Applied Science Degree in either Computer Information Systems or Cyber Security from Harford Community College at no cost to the parent or student.
Many students who enter the program have parents providing support and guidance throughout the curriculum. One of those parents is an Inventory Management Specialist with CECOM's Integrated Logistics Support Center, Erica McLeod, whose daughter Na’Kya Good, 10th grader at Joppatowne High School, is in her second year of the program.
“I feel excited because I never knew there was stuff like this out there,” said Good. “I feel like this is a great opportunity to learn new things and I really like that.”
McLeod looks forward to the possibility of her own daughter working at CECOM in the future.
“It’s really nice because she gets college coming right out of high school and everybody is preparing their kids to adjust from high school to college, and she’s already getting that,” said McLeod. “So it’s going to be a good transition for her.”
Each student participating in the program has the opportunity to assert themselves in government-related career fields. CECOM provides students with a multitude of opportunities at APG if they so choose.
STEM careers are evergreen in our fast-growing technological society, and the P-TECH program is building society's next greatest STEM-minded generation while fostering a positive mentality for young adults. The project these P-TECH students were involved in was building and programming robots, which were displayed and demonstrated by students to Senior Leaders at the event.
A child’s environment can dictate their future career and life outcome, according to McCoy, and the environment can be the thing which enlightens children.
“Many individuals if they grow into a certain situation will tend to want to hang out there because they are accustomed to the environment, to their family, and community,” said McCoy. “CECOM is part of that community, CECOM is part of their family! They bring that expertise they’ve been learning over the course of four years of high school, their education through internships, and they bring that into one full circle. It also brings the opportunity for each individual that grows up in this community to work with CECOM and then give back to their community. When you see someone who looks like yourself and has been through the same lifestyle you had, you are more prone to say, I can see myself doing that.”
P-TECH combines the best elements of high school, college, and work-based learning. Students are immersed in high school as well as college courses while working in the field of computer information systems or cyber security. The program empowers students to pursue an advanced education and to be financially successful in a global economy.
The program meets the needs of any high school student who wishes to graduate from high school with a free college degree in four to six years. Any rising ninth grader may apply to the program.
P-TECH is offered at Joppatowne High School in partnership with Harford Community College and the CECOM on APG, offering students paid internships and individualized mentorship throughout their educational journey.
The P-TECH program is currently looking for individuals interested in being mentors for the next cohort of students. For any Army employees considering taking a mentor role in P-TECH, there are positions available. Anyone interested or has questions about the mentorship portion of the program can reach out to Cassandra Boyer at cassandra.y.boyer.civ@army.mil or call 410-688-3005 for more information.
Social Sharing