Photos by Rome City Schools
Thirty-five Rome High School students were surprised with a pizza party as part of a special announcement. They have all been chosen to represent their specific pathway as a Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) Student Ambassador for the College and Career Academy.
Holly Amerman, CEO of Rome City Schools’ College and Career Academy and CTAE Director was beyond excited to surprise these students with the great news.
“Essentially, these students are representing their pathway,” explained Amerman. “Student Ambassadors will serve as tour guides for the building, they will be the ‘salespeople’ for their specific program and they will also serve to help eighth-grade students and elementary school students understand what is available when studying specific programs.”
In October, students will also be attending a leadership summit with Congressman Tom Graves, which will host an introduction to further training events that will include storytelling, creating presentations and more.
Currently, RHS hosts 16 pathways. RMS also hosts five pathways. With the completion of the new building, Amerman is expecting a total of 25 by the year 2020-21.
RHS Pathways led by student ambassadors are as follows:
-Animation
-Business and Tech
-Construction
-Cosmetology
-Food Service
-Engineering
-Graphic Design
-Healthcare
-JROTC
-Law
-Marketing
-Teaching
“In the past, we have had teachers recommending the programs, but we started to understand that these eighth graders would be more apt to learning if they were being directed by other students,” said Amerman. “Therefore, all students who were interested and ultimately chosen had to complete an application, as well as get two letters of recommendation. They also went through an interview process with each of us at the College and Career Academy, which was an amazing process,” said Amerman.
The overall goal of the College and Career Academy is to help shine a positive light on the students at Rome and highlight the multiple career opportunities they have while still in high school. “Students will have the opportunity to earn dual-enrollment credits which will put them ahead of their peers at graduation with certificates and, in some cases, two-year diplomas right out of high school,” said Amerman.
RHS student Alleah Collins will serve as an animation student ambassador. “I have always interested in digital art, so what better way to bring my passion a step further than giving my art motion and bringing it to life,” smiled Collins.
“I have actually been involved with the computer science pathway,” Collins continued, “and we went and spoke to several kids at Anna K. Davie about it. I really enjoyed that experience. I enjoyed talking about things I love doing, which was the reason I applied to become a student ambassador.”
RHS student, Steven Carey was chosen to serve as a student ambassador for the construction pathway of the College and Career Academy.
“I like the fact that we can work hands-on while also learning in the classroom. I feel like this is one of the few classes that allows students to go straight to a career from high school. Construction is an important class, and as a student ambassador I feel like I need to continue helping to make sure it stays significant,” said Carey.
Carol Saunders was chosen to represent the Junior ROTC as a student ambassador and was so excited to hear her name called over the intercom. “As a student ambassador, I know we will be doing a lot of outreach in the community, especially with our middle school students, because we hope to continue building our program. This is a great opportunity,” said Saunders.
Amerman and RCS’s overarching goal for the CCA is for students to “find a home not only within the school, but also see a future for themselves as an active member of the workforce in Rome City/Floyd County. We also want to truly prepare them for college or work as our mission statement says. We want our community to help us with this effort by providing mentoring programs, internships and shadowing opportunities for our students. We believe that by doing this, we will improve our community overall.”
