Students of Excellence Awards Ceremony Recognizes Outstanding Achievements in Career Technical Education Courses
PLEASANT HILL, CA — Students who have excelled in Career Technical Education (CTE) classes were honored by the Contra Costa County Office of Education’s Regional Occupational Program (ROP) at the annual Students of Excellence Awards ceremony on the evening of Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at Pleasant Hill Community Center.
Some 50 students were nominated to be Students of Excellence recipients, and 39 won the award based on their teachers' recommendations and the nominee’s submitted statement. Honored students were awarded a certificate of merit and a $300 scholarship. Additionally, the nominees received a gift card. Monetary donations were provided by Chevron, Phillips 66, Earn & Learn, Junior Achievement, Travis Credit Union, and Biocom California.
“Recognizing Students of Excellence for their hard work and dedication is not only exciting, but also a proud moment for the entire college and career readiness community,” Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey said. “The training these high school students receive helps Contra Costa County fill industry sector jobs in the future. Additionally, our CTE and ROP courses would not be successful without the phenomenal teachers in our county that provide networking opportunities with local businesses and work-based learning experiences our students need to be inspired and engaged.”
Students took classes in a variety of career fields tailored to civil engineering, law enforcement, tv production, advanced audio production, construction technology, biomedical sciences, and careers with children.
For more than 47 years, CCCOE’s College and Career Readiness Program, which includes CTE and ROP, has provided career and technical education opportunities to high school students and adults. During the 2022-23 school year, the Career Readiness Program served more than 8,000 students in 305 classes at 22 high schools throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties, including court and community schools. Some 110 instructors taught CTE/ROP courses in 13 industry sectors.
CCCOE’s ROP is one of 74 statewide ROP programs. California’s Regional Occupational Program engages over 470,000 students (about half the population of Montana) each year. CCCOE (Contra Costa County Office of Education) ROP courses meet A-G requirements for University of California and California State universities. The courses also link educators with business and community partners, creating work-based learning opportunities for students, guest speakers, job shadowing connections, support for CTE student organizations, and relevant industry experience for students. For additional information about programs, go to
https://www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/departments/studentprograms/college_and_career_readiness.
Students of Excellence Award Winners
| First Name |
Last Name |
School |
Course |
| Aiden |
Bartling |
Liberty High School |
ROP TV/Video Production |
| Alyssa |
Villarde
|
California High School |
ROP Computer Graphic Arts |
| Ananya |
Dasannacharya |
Dougherty Valley High School |
Empowering Entrepreneurs |
| Antoine |
Justin |
Pittsburg High School |
Advanced Audio Production |
| Bethany |
Schmidt |
Liberty High School |
Exploring Computer Science |
| Braden |
Madden |
Heritage High School |
Digital Recording Studio |
| Brendon |
Chang |
Heritage High School |
Robotics Engineering |
| Brian |
Garcia Viveros |
Mt. McKinley High School |
Computer Science - Introduction to Programming |
| Carlo |
Buenconsejo |
Deer Valley High School |
TV Production |
| Christopher |
Guintu |
Pittsburg High School |
Art of Video |
| Colleen |
Gu |
Dougherty Valley High |
Computer Graphic Arts 2 |
| Dana |
Rodriguez-Castillo |
Las Lomas High School |
Foods 2 |
| Dehlia |
Strassner |
Pittsburg High School |
Broadcast Journalism |
| Destiny |
Pinto |
Dougherty Valley High |
Level 1: Accelerated Biotechnology and Research |
| Elena "Kit" |
Town |
California High School |
Play Production |
| Ellie |
Wang |
Dougherty Valley High |
Level 2: Biological Laboratory Sciences and Research |
| Emily |
Beeson |
Clayton Valley Charter High School |
Sports Medicine - Advanced |
| Eva |
Vurghese |
Monte Vista High School |
Architectural Design 2, Architectural Design |
| Gabriel |
Jimenez Santana |
Pittsburg High School |
Computer Graphic Design |
| Jacob |
Topete |
Pittsburg High School |
Advanced Graphic Design |
| Jennifer |
Misenhimer |
Alhambra High School |
Contruction Tech |
| Kailey |
Gotfried |
Clayton Valley Charter High School |
Honors Civil Engineering and Architecture |
| Kassandra |
Meeks-Harris |
Freedom High School |
Careers with Children |
| Kate |
Crosby |
Campolindo High School |
Wood Engineering - Advanced |
| Kayla |
Fernandes |
Heritage High School |
ROP Law Enforcement & ROP Mock Trials/Moot Courts |
| Kimberly |
Alvarez |
Dozier-Libbey Medical High School |
Advanced Sports Medicine |
| Kylie |
Gancos |
Liberty High School |
ROP AP Computer Science Principles |
| Luke |
Wilcox |
Antioch High School |
Construction Technology |
| Madeline (Maddie) |
Geernaert |
Monte Vista High School |
Advanced Sports Medicine |
| Molly |
Breznikar |
Campolindo High School |
Advanced Sports Medicine |
| Nola |
Griffin |
Freedom High School |
ROP Art of Video Production |
| Riley |
Kolb |
Alhambra High School |
Auto Tech ROP |
| Savannah |
Cowan |
Antioch High School |
Advanced Web Social Media Program & Design |
| Savannah |
Rogers |
Freedom High School |
ROP AP Environmental Science |
| Sophia |
Huff |
California High School |
Careers in Teaching 2 |
| Stefano |
Nosenzo |
Heritage High School |
Advanced Video Production |
| Taylor |
Williams |
Heritage High School |
Sports Broadcasting |
| Ysabel |
Garcia-Bonds |
Freedom High School |
Advanced Graphic Design |
| Zachary |
Taylor |
Dougherty Valley High School |
International Cuisine |
Students of Excellence Nominees
| First Name |
Last Name |
School |
Course |
| Angeles |
Cruz |
Marchus School |
Culinary Arts |
| Austin |
Kabat |
Liberty High School |
Auto Engineering |
| Jio |
Alexei Linsangan |
Pittsburg High School |
Game Design and Development |
| Josephine H. |
Yu |
California High School |
PLTW Biomedical Pathway: Honors Human Body Systems |
| Kaitlyn |
Bray |
San Ramon Valley High School |
AP Computer Science A |
| Manuel |
Simonson |
Antioch High School |
Intermediate Social Web Media Programming & Design |
| Nate |
Habas |
Campolindo High School |
Art of Video Production |
| Ngozichukwu |
Ejimadu |
Dozier Libbey Medical High School |
Emergency Medical Responder |
| Norah |
Hom |
Los Lomas High School |
PLTW Human Body Systems |
| Oshin |
Rex |
California High School |
AP Computer Science A |
| Seth |
Riley |
Heritage High School |
Culinary Arts |