At the heart of LBCC’s approach to education lies a knowledgeable staff eager to connect students to the various industries that excite them as they navigate potential careers after their studies.
This dedication to hands-on, industry specific exposure has been on full display at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach where the Career Technical Education (CTE) Program has been stationed in the center of the Lifestyle Expo.
CTE’s exhibition features a wheel that race fans can spin to score free prizes like frisbees and foam fingers, along with interactive displays like mini golf and a race simulator.
Current students were also around to share how the program has inspired them to pursue their goals, like president of the automotive club on campus, Jose Espinoza.
“It’s (CTE) to help students who want to go a bit further, this helps them get exposure,” Espinoza said. “No matter what they want to pursue within the industry, even if it’s something like admin work.”
Espinoza went on to say that for anyone interested, they should simply dive in and take an entry-level automotive class and see how they feel.
For another member of the CTE program, Antonio Pantoja, being a part of the automotive program has led to great opportunities.
“My favorite thing was going to SEMA(an annual auto show in Las Vegas). We got to take a trip to Vegas and got to see a lot of specialty equipment,” Pantoja said, “I hope to be a technician after my studies here.”
The CTE program does not just focus on the automotive industry, however.
At the Lifestyle Expo, people were introduced to the many opportunities the program has to offer within various fields such as welding and TV/radio broadcasting.
Throughout the weekend, co-department chair of digital media Robert Hersh was overseeing a control booth as students live streamed on 4k televisions throughout Grand Prix weekend.
Across the way from the Lifestyle Expo on a grassy lawn in the food truck village, the culinary arts department served Bahn Mi sandwiches out of a food truck, sporting the CTE logo, shining a light on the intersectionality of applied technology.