Levittown students are career ready

There were no gowns, or caps to be thrown in the air, but there was still a feeling of pomp and circumstance as 170 seniors graduated from the Gerald R. Clapps Career and Technical Center on June 9 at Wisdom Lane Middle School.

Commonly known as GC Tech, the center is run by the Levittown School District in a former high school, and features eight career programs, including automotive technology, computer animation, cosmetology, culinary arts, electrical technology, graphic arts, medical and health occupations, and police science and emergency services.

While a majority of students in the program are from Levittown’s MacArthur and Division Avenue high schools, GC Tech also welcomes teens from other districts such as Plainedge and Massapequa. All the students will also participate in their respective high school graduations.

Parents, siblings and friends cheered for the graduates during the hour-and-a-half ceremony, which featured numerous award and scholarship presentations. Steven Galli received the Town of Hempstead’s Community Service Award, John Farrell was the Chamber of Commerce Scholarship recipient and Nick Boretta was given the Teachers’ Choice Award.

Instead of having one of its members rewarded with a scholarship, students in the Key Club voted to donate the funds to the John Theissen Children’s Foundation in Wantagh.

Many of the graduates will be continuing on to college, while others will be entering the workforce. Principal Joan Lorelli spoke to the importance of having a strong career preparatory program in place in the district. “The world of work is the end point for all of our students,” she said. “Our career and technical program is no longer about just landing a job after high school. It’s about earning a degree, or an industry recognized certification, and landing a job that leads to a successful career.”

Lorelli said that whether a student goes to college or begins a career, they still need the same skills and abilities — reading and writing competency, critical thinking, problem solving, communication and teamwork. Levittown’s GC Tech program provides that rigor, she explained.

She added that in a globally competitive, knowledge-based economy, the students will need to be lifelong learners to be successful.

Andrew Streppone, the Skills USA President, gave the student address. He said his two years attending the automotive technology program at GC Tech was a time he would never forget, as he made a lot of new friends who felt to him like a second family.

“By having the same interests as one another,” he said, “we’ve all created special bonds that will never be replaced.”