AUGUSTA — Capital Area Technical Center has selected its Professionals of the Month for December, according to a news release from the center.

Mietek Gawron of Wayne and is a senior from Maranacook Community High School in Readfield enrolled in the Automotive Technology program for the second year.

He decided to take the program for a second year because he has liked how the program allows him to learn by actually doing and having real life experiences. When he is not in school, he can be found working on one of his four vehicles that he owns.

His instructor, Keith Hart said, “Mietek has a great attitude, is professional and has very good attention to detail. He will be very successful going forward,” according to the release.

Gawron is employed by Quirk Ford as an auto technician and plans to continue working there when he graduates.

Tyler Vaillancourt of Chelsea and is a senior from Hall-Dale High School in Farmingdale enrolled in the Automotive Collision program for the second year. He has enjoyed the hands on portion of the class and being able to work in the shop.

His instructor, Romeo Roy said, “Tyler is always there with a helping hand, he stays on top of his classwork and is here every day ready for whatever challenges I give him,” according to the release.

Vaillancourt is employed by Daniels Auto Body in Gardiner. Upon graduation, he plans to pursue a career in the auto collision industry.

The center’s Alumni Spotlight shines on Katrina Booth. Booth is a 2016 graduate of Maranacook Community High School. She completed the Early Childhood Education program at the center during her senior year in high school. She originally took the Early Childhood Education program in hopes that it would help her further her future career in adolescent psychology.

In order to make sure she had all her bases covered, she also signed up for a dual enrollment college course in psychology. These two course enrollments quickly taught her that this career path was not for her. She remembers loving her time with the pre-K students at the center and in turn dreading her time in psychology class. Senior year in high school was really when her passion for education began.

Booth said, “My passion for teaching had never been apparent to me prior to my time at CATC. In fact, I recall saying earlier in life that I would never become a teacher, especially a high school teacher!”

Now she sits at a desk in her very own high school English classroom at Winthrop High School. Her principal at Winthrop High School, Mark Campbell said, “We were fortunate here at Winthrop to find Katrina ‘Kat’ Booth in a large, competitive pool of applicants for our open English position. Kat has a strong command of her content which is evident through her lessons and her discussions with her department colleagues. Her ability to be an inspiring educator in all of her classes speaks volumes of her strengths.She has some tough assignments, but she is able to maintain a safe learning environment all while creating and maintaining positive relationships with her students. She is a first-year teacher with the skill set of a veteran teacher. Winthrop High School is fortunate to have her on the team,” according to the release.

Booth also said, “CATC sparked my love for education and I started college focused in Early Childhood Education because of the program and the people there. As I worked through my classes, I later found my passion for the secondary education setting and later changed my major. I can say without a doubt that without CATC, I don’t believe that my path would have taken the road that it did. Because of them I am able to sit here in my first year of teaching and say that I truly enjoy each day with my students in my classroom.”

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