The Visual Communications and Human & Retail Services Programs were getting in the holiday spirit this week! The students learned about letterpress printing, movable type and potato stamping. The students then worked on potato stamping wrapping paper, and were able to make a sheet for themselves for holiday gift wrapping. The rest will be donated to the Greene Rotary Club's Christmas Basket Project to wrap gifts for families in need.
Representatives Tim Daley and Brian Tiffany from Union Local 1249, Electrical Linemen and Tree Workers, came and chatted with our students about opportunities in the industry this week. Our Conservation and Carpentry students were able to learn about wages and benefits, types of work, education involved, and how to apply. Thank you Local 1249 for partnering with DCMO BOCES to educate our workers of the future!
We’re celebrating Mentorship Month throughout November with a series of mentoring success stories from the Regional Mentoring Program, including this spotlight on one of the volunteer mentors.
When Al Rubin joined the Regional Mentoring Program, he didn’t have to figure out how to approach it– he came already prepared. “I have a whole process. ‘Listen, Identify, Strategize and Teach.’ I go through what that all means with my mentees.”
Rubin, who describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur,” is a positive-focused area businessman, operating a number of companies, including A&D Transport Services. He’s also a father and a coach, and he brought all of these experiences to bear as a mentor last year for two students. His approach is definitely rooted in ideas of positive self-improvement. “I have something I say to my kids all the time: First, it’s ‘be better.’ Then it’s ‘be the best.’” When working with his two mentees, this idea of developing personal strengths was a consistent theme. “I don’t focus on the companies that I operate, the focus is more on working so people can see their strengths, and be able to harness that energy and feed off what other people bring to the table,” he said.
It's not just about the individual mentee– Rubin also believes in the contributions that others can make for the student, and that the student can make for others. “I talk about what their assets are, and how they need to observe other people, and figure out what their assets are and how to collaborate, work together,” he said. His suggestion? “Really, really listen– to what other people are saying to you. It really doesn’t matter if it’s the CEO of the hospital or the janitor at school– everyone has something valuable to teach you.”
Listening is also the key to Rubin’s mentoring. Engaging with his mentees in conversation allows the mentees to discover and identify qualities, talents, habits and challenges. Rubin listens carefully, “and I just try and figure out what their strengths are, and then we talk about how they can take those strengths and really push far ahead into the world, not just in business, but in their personal relationships as well,” he said. “I love seeing people take their strengths and create the best possible person they can be.”
Participants sometimes have a lot on their plate, including challenges that can seem overwhelming to a young person. Rubin found himself working with one mentee trying to make plans for her future while facing some tough problems in her personal life. “The personal issues were distracting her from her decisions,” he said, “How can you be the best person you can be to deal with the situation? You’re only 18 right now, but can you develop a stronger persona, that might help you deal with this down the road? Do the best that you can do to chart your course, but build the strength so that when it comes time to make a stronger move in that direction, you’ll have the power to do so.” Helping the student work through things was an experience that he won’t forget. “It was real and it was raw, and I believe that this particular person is going to do really well,” he said. “That was the most rewarding piece, for sure.”
We’re celebrating Mentorship Month throughout November with a series of mentoring success stories from the Regional Mentoring Program, including this spotlight on one of the volunteer mentors.
Ask Moo Taw why she wanted to become a mentor, and you’ll get a straightforward answer. “When I was growing up, I honestly always wanted a mentor for myself,” she said, “so I thought that giving my time mentoring someone else, especially someone who’s in high school who may not know what they’re looking to do…well, I feel like having a mentor who can guide you and help you figure out your path would be helpful,” she said. “So I wanted to be that person.” Taw, a People Team Coordinator at Chobani, did indeed get to “be that person,” volunteering as a mentor in the Regional Mentorship Program last year.
Taw worked with one student, who had a clear idea of what he was interested in for a future career path, and she considered that to be a starting point for their conversations. “He was interested in management, but I also talked to him about other paths as well. From personal experience, I went to school for criminal justice and ended up working in HR. I wanted him to not limit himself,” she said. “When we’re younger, we don’t really know what we’re doing– we feel like we know what we’re doing, but in actuality, we really don’t,” she said. “I mean, I’m still growing, and I am still paving my own path, even as an adult.”
Their discussions took place online, and lasted from 30 to 50 minutes. Taw found them to be positive and practical. “I really enjoyed talking to him about building his resume, building a LinkedIn account, making sure you’re always networking, because… opportunities are endless!”
While they met for their mentoring sessions virtually, Taw said the end of the program provided an opportunity to meet in person. Martha Ryan, DCMO BOCES Public and School Liason, invited all the mentors and mentees to the BOCES Alan C. Pole Campus in Norwich for a little celebration and to receive certificates. Taw went because “I wanted to meet my mentee for the first time,” and because she was on the campus where her mentor attended, “he was able to show me his work that he had done that semester. That was fun– I really enjoyed that.”
Now that she’s completed a mentoring experience, what does Moo Taw think about mentoring? Would she do it again? Her answer, not surprisingly, is “Yes. Absolutely!”
The mentoring program will now be coordinated by Commerce Chenango, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and Otsego Chamber of Commerce. For more information on how to become a mentor, visit the chamber organizations’ website. For students’ access to mentoring services or to learn more about mentoring support, visit www.dcmoboces.com.
On Thursday, 24 students at the Alan D. Pole Campus were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS). They included Trevor Ketcham, Harlee Montgomery and Russell Moore from Greene CSD; Caden Wallen, Michael Blenis, Kathleen Bordonara and Hailee Blackman from Norwich City School District; Kendra Doroshenko from Otselic Valley CSD; Brenna Calkins, Jessica Pautard, Nivayah DeMuth, Justin Chesebro and David Ferreira from Oxford Academy CSD; Michael Fetzko, Kandy Hicks, Jacob Dunham and Wyatt Harvey from Sherburne-Earlville CSD; Brooke Harris, Joseph Thomsen, Connor Edgett, Kristofer Laymon, Aden Pierce and Makayla Proskine from Unadilla Valley CSD; and Jessup Ross from Valley Heights Christian Academy. The NTHS Advisor at Pole Campus is Michelle Schwartz. Congratulations to all the new inductees!
On Wednesday, 47 students at the Robert W. Harrold Campus were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS). They included Tracey Joslin, Naomi Nabinger, Kendall Winans, and Allison Hauptmann from Afton CSD; Brendan DeForest, Levi Gregory, Gavin Gifford, Arien Sherman, George Pratt, Alyssa Finch, Nathan Kanzer, Cohn Foster, Makayla Nelson, Cadence Medlar, Lyndsay Shirkey and Joseph Doyle from Bainbridge-Guilford CSD; Corey McCumiskey, Perrylee Eubanks and Greenlee Kivell from Delaware Academy CSD at Delhi; Sieg Aurich, Shantel Knorr and Madison Garcia from Downsville CSD; Madeline Hyzer and Kaitlin Ogborn from Franklin CSD; Morgan Williams and Thomas Breslau from Gilbertsville-Mount Upton CSD; Hazel Bennett, Audree Harris, Alexis Mead, Davis Herzog, Kaelyn Dawson and Evan Persbacker from Hancock CSD; Gina Turner, Cassandra Cole, Liv Gavin, Rosanna Lambert and Renee Gregory from Sidney CSD; Alexes Sousa, Schyler Grabo, Cailyn Wood, Peyton Coleman, Corinne Ashley and Nicole Ashley from Unatego CSD; Joseph Fay, Abigail Brown, Troy Angevine and Colby Phraner from Walton CSD. The NTHS Advisor at Harrold Campus is Jessica Soulier. Congratulations to all the new inductees!
We’re celebrating Mentorship Month throughout November with a series of mentoring success stories from the Regional Mentoring Program, including this spotlight on one of the volunteer mentors.
Mary Branham believes that a good professional network is a key to success. When it came to mentoring a student, she turned that believe into action– in many different ways. Branham is President of Pivotel LLC, a telecommunications services company based in Norwich.
First, Branham’s network brought the mentoring opportunity to her attention. Branham is involved with Development Chenango Corporation, a partner organization of Commerce Chenango, and learned of the mentoring program through that connection. She was interested, and that interest was shared by one her network connections, Jenna Ostrander, Economic Development Specialist at Chenango Commerce. “Development Chenango had a big hand in making sure the mentor program started off well,” according to Branham. “I have to give kudos to Jenna– we wanted to have a goal that Chenango County got the most mentors” of the three counties involved, and Ostrander helped promote the program to successfully pull in plenty of eager mentors.
Then, Branham got a surprise when she found out who she would be mentoring, because it was someone who was already in her network– sort of. “We’ve known each other since she was born,” Branham said of her new mentee. That close connection allowed the two to quickly have a good rapport, and they built a strong mentoring relationship. Their conversations covered a wide range – from career to college to dealing with setbacks. “I always tell people, first and foremost, when it comes to your career path, if at any point you find out that it is maybe not your career path after all, and you want to change it, do not look at it as a failure.”
Branham’s mentee did in fact have a particular career in mind, and so once again, Branham reached out to her network and pulled in three professional practitioners in the field her student was interested in, setting up meetings with each, allowing the student to hear about different aspects of the field, and getting specific advice on exploring different options, including how to study for it in college. Branham reinforced good networking practices with her mentee, encouraging her to follow up with the practitioners she was introduced to. “Never underestimate how important it is to make connections with the people you’ll need to deal with.”
The importance of having a good network seems to have been embraced by Branham’s mentee, who she is still in touch with, and still advising. Branham enjoyed the experience, and considers it to have been successful, but not just because of Branham and her network. “The reason why it was so successful was also the student. She went beyond the required commitment. She was very invested in this as well.”
This week, 71 students were inducted into the National Technical Honor Society in ceremonies held on each campus. We'll share more photos and a fuller report soon, but in the meantime, congratulations to our new NTHS members!
DCMO BOCES is hiring! Come visit our Human Resources team at the Job Fair on the SUNY Morrisville Norwich campus today from 2 pm to 4 pm. Learn about our openings and ask questions.
The Chenango County Board of Supervisors declared the month of November as Mentorship Month at their November meeting Monday.
The celebration marks the successful completion of the DCMO BOCES Mentorship Program Pilot and the transition of the program to the Regional Mentorship Program to be led in the Chenango County region by Commerce Chenango. Receiving the proclamation were Martha Ryan, Public and School Liaison for DCMO BOCES, and Commerce Chenango President and CEO, Salvatore Testani.
Ryan addressed board members and said, “Your efforts today send a very strong message to our community that mentoring is a powerful tool to keep our young workers right here in our region.”
The Foundation for South Central New York funded the new mentorship platform that will recruit new mentors and will provide online access to students. Stacy Mastrogiacomo, the foundation’s Program Officer, expressed their excitement about the program, saying “We were thrilled to be able to help support this program. By fostering mentorship, we are not merely investing in education; we are investing in the sustained growth and prosperity of our community. The success of this program speaks for itself and we are honored to have been a part of it.”
In addition to the financial support from the Community Foundation for South Central New York, the program recruitment efforts were funded by The Greater Norwich Foundation and Visions FCU. The mentorship pilot implemented in 2023 was funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission.
According to Ryan, Commerce Chenango is well-positioned to lead the program in collaboration with the Otsego and Delaware County chambers, making it able to serve not only BOCES students, but all school students in the region. Ryan added that the program is looking for volunteer mentors to begin serving students in February of 2024. Individuals interested in volunteering as a mentor can contact Jenna Ostrander at Commerce Chenango at 607-334-1400.
We’re celebrating Mentorship Month throughout November with a series of mentoring success stories from the Regional Mentoring Program, including this spotlight on one of the volunteer mentors.
Local businessman Chris Hayes didn’t join the Regional Mentoring Program until it was already underway, but he didn’t let that affect the mentoring of his two mentees. “We worked with the time limitations that we had, and had an abbreviated experience as a result, but a good one,” said Hayes, owner of Hayes Office Supplies and Norwich Copies Plus in downtown Norwich.
Hayes worked with two mentees in the program, and drew upon his own appreciation of mentoring and its impact on his professional life. “I’m a self-employed individual and always have been, and I’ve always leaned on mentors to help me on my path,” he said. “And not necessarily mentors that I know personally,” he continued. Hayes is a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and Steven Covey, the man behind The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People books. “The stuff that they teach was and is a very valuable guidepost that I use each and every day. So I wanted to share some of that with them.” As someone who’s run a business for several decades, Hayes felt a little sense of duty, too. “Along the way, you gather some experience, you gotta give it away,” and the mentoring program offered a great opportunity to share his experience.
But it wasn’t just Hayes doing the talking– his mentees needed to hold up their end of things, too. “We spent a good amount of time learning about them,” he said of his two mentees. Hayes really wanted to understand where they were at, and where they were going. “They’re looking to step out on the next phase of their journey,” he said, and he found their conversations rewarding. “I was very pleased. I enjoyed the interaction. These two young men weren’t just punching a ticket,” he said. “They were very interactive and enthusiastic and engaging.”
Hayes had something he wanted to get out of the experience as well. “We’re always looking for talent,” he said. “By getting in front of young people, especially young people from BOCES who are hands-on oriented, we’re trying to get a sense of what these kids are like today and see if there are any entrepreneurs out there,” he said. His mentee meetings appear to have left him feeling optimistic. “This showed me that there’s some promise in the youth of today. They communicated well, they demonstrated good people skills. My big takeaway: I’ve learned we’ve got some sharp people out there. We’re in pretty good shape going forward.”
“I’m encouraged by the quality of the interaction and encouraged by the quality of the students coming out of the BOCES program,” he said. Left me feeling pretty good.”
The mentoring program will now be coordinated by Commerce Chenango, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and Otsego Chamber of Commerce. For more information on how to become a mentor, visit the chamber organizations’ website. For students’ access to mentoring services or to learn more about mentoring support, visit www.dcmoboces.com.
DCMO BOCES welcomed business and industry professionals from a number of fields to both campuses this week. Our industry expert teachers met with their Career and Technical Education Consultant Committees members to advise them on curriculum, equipment, facilities and other topics related to the fields associated with the programs. The consultants were served dinner prepared by the Culinary Arts students at each campus, and then met with teachers in the program classrooms and labs. The Consultant Committee Dinners were held at Pole Campus on Tuesday and Harold Campus on Thursday. Photos are from Harrold Campus.
On November 5-7, 2023, four students and their advisors from The Alan D. Pole Campus attended the SkillsUSA Fall Leadership Conference in Albany, NY. Students participated in group trainings and activities that centered around the SkillsUSA Framework. These students plan to take what they have learned and share it with other SkillsUSA members in our chapter.
The Robert W. Harrold Campus celebrated Native American Month with a great meal at lunchtime, inspired by Native American traditions: Three Sisters Stew with Boulette (boiled meatballs) and Cornbread Muffins, accompanied by fruit and milk. Delicious! The world is full of tasty and interesting food, and each month the campus food service picks an international cuisine to celebrate, complete with flags! Hats off to Lisa, Brandi, Mike and Connie for today’s feast!
On November 5-7, 2023, six students from the DCMO BOCES Robert W. Harrold campus attended the SkillsUSA Fall Leadership conference in Albany, NY. The students participated in leadership training focusing on the SkillsUSA framework. Pictured from left to right: Cailyn Wood, CNA, Unatego; Aireonna Beardalee, CNA, Walton; Hailey Byam, Culinary Arts, Unatego; McKenna Tilley, Culinary Arts, GMU; Baylee Lowe, CNA, Unatego; and Rosanna Lambert, Culinary Arts, Sidney.
The Pole Campus College and Career Center team has been busy, preparing students for life after graduation! The Assistant Director of Financial Aid from SUNY Morrisville recently presented a Financial Aid 101 Workshop to graduating Seniors; we’ll also be hosting a working session with students and parents in January once the new improved FAFSA is available. An Admissions representative from Mohawk Valley Community College also provided an informational table to Juniors and Seniors. The Armed Services Voluntary Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) was administered on November 1, and our comprehensive Career Exploration program will be starting in just a few weeks!
Educational professionals from several area school districts attended a Science Investigations (Grades 3, 4, 5) professional learning workshop at the DCMO BOCES Support Services Center in Norwich today. A second Science Investigations (Grades 6, 7, 8) will take place Tuesday. The investigations are hands-on laboratory experiences that prepare students for the written Elementary- and Intermediate-level Science Tests measuring the NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards that are scheduled to be first administered in Grades 5 and 8 in Spring 2024. Betsy Hartnett, Assistant Director of Instructional Technology & School Library System presented today’s investigations, part of the many professional learning opportunities available to component school districts through DCMO BOCES Instructional Support Services.
Educational professionals from several area school districts attended “Using the FBA and BIP Process to Support Students Needing Intensive Intervention,” a professional learning workshop presented Wednesday and Thursday at the DCMO BOCES Support Services Center in Norwich. The training was led by Gretchen Jones, Behavioral Specialist with the Regional Partnership Center. This was one of the professional learning opportunities available to component school districts through DCMO BOCES Instructional Support Services.
Sgt. Shaffer and Sgt. Winter from the US Air Force visited the Security and Law classes on the Pole Campus today, speaking to students about opportunities with the Air Force, what they could expect, and how students enlist. Specifically, Sgts. Shaffer and Winter talked about security careers in the Air Force. Students were able to get some great information so they can make informed choices about careers.
Preschool and daycare children from DCMO BOCES Pole Campus in Norwich visited the DCMO BOCES Support Services Center this morning, showing off their fun costumes and maybe collecting a treat or two. Employees at the center certainly enjoyed the visit!
