HANCOCK — George Stockero, superintendent of the Copper Country Intermediate School District, is a very strong advocate for Career Technical Education as an alternative to traditional college-based education. Under his leadership, the CCISD has worked hard to develop an extensive CTE program, and just recently, he received some comments from a former CTE student who has stayed in the medical field after graduating from high school, offering him some perspective on how effective the program can be for those who are serious about it. The comments came in the form of an email from someone Stockero did not name, but he read the email.

“I am writing to thank you for all the hours of instruction, and encouraging me to never quit, even as I so badly wanted to,” the email began. The former student went on to say that she had, the day the email was written, she had officially become a certified nursing assistant.

“I’ve worked at a nursing home for the past couple of months and heard your voice(s) in my head many times as I performed care, especially after my first post-partem care,” the email stated. “Once again thank you for giving me the training program so extensive that almost a year and a half later, it was almost like riding a bike.”

Stockero expressed his pride in Amanda Hermanson and Lorie Maki, teachers for Health Career and Certified Nurse Assistants.

“These two teachers work very hard to provide the necessary skills to our students and this email is just one example demonstrating their effectiveness,” Stockero said. “We are very fortunate to have two such strong instructors.

Stockero is also proud of the program that continues to grow at the CCISD.

“I think we have a very strong CTE program,” he said, “and as you can see from our students, it matters.”