CRTC Completion Ceremony Rises Above COVID Challenges



For a second year, COVID precautions forced the CRTC program completion ceremony to be held in the Concord High School parking lot. But location had little impact on the spirits of attending family and friends or the celebration of the accomplishments of 237 CRTC students who successfully completed one of the CRTC’s 11 Career Pathway programs.


CRTC's Comp Night, despite being held in a parking lot, went remarkably well,” said CRTC Director Steve Rothenberg. “Our student speakers shared their personal journeys in both a thoughtful and candid manner. Their insights into how they have grown assures me, and I think the audience, that personal discovery, and college and career success are accessible by so many more students than we ever dreamed of.”


One theme of the night was the benefits to students from having the CRTC open for in-person, on-site learning for almost the entire school year, something CRTC administrators, teachers and students petitioned the school board to allow prior to the start of the school year. Student speaker Khia Blankenship spoke for many CRTC students when she said she took this as a point of pride.


“Our teachers and administration fought our way into the building, allowing us to come to class every day,” the Cosmetology student from Merrimack Valley High School told the crowd during her graduation speech. “I took part in this fight, which isn’t something that I would normally do, (reaching) out to school board members with my reasons on why I felt it was important to come back full time. When hearing the news that we would be open for on-site learning, I was so excited.”


The completion ceremony was held in two sessions to maximize social distancing, with Emergency Services, Cosmetology, Graphic Design & Creative Media, Health Science and Theater & Film completing students getting their certificates in the early program, and Automotive Technology, Computer Engineering, Construction Trades, Culinary and Education & Behavioral Science students coming in the second session.


Elizabeth Marino, a Criminal Justice completer and Concord High School senior from Deerfield, sang the national anthem. Elizabeth was recognized for completing a work-based learning experience with the Manchester Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Unit this spring, and she will be going on to St. Anselm’s College in the fall. There also were seven other student speakers at the event: 

  • Khia Blankenship, Cosmetology, Merrimack Valley High School

  • Kasey Czarnecki, Education & Behavioral Science, Hopkinton High School

  • Emma Hall, Criminal Justice, Concord High School

  • Madison Tobin, Automotive Technology, Concord High School

  • Haley LeBlanc, Health Science, Pembroke Academy    

  • Emma Burbank, Health Science, Concord High School

  • Elizabeth Downing, Health Science, John Stark Regional High School


Education & Behavioral Science speaker Kasey Czarnecki talked about her excitement for meeting new students from a variety of regional high schools as she entered the program two years ago.


“Being in a classroom with people who all share the same interests makes it even easier to get along and we all bonded very quickly,” the Hopkinton High School senior said. “We all wanted to be there and chose to be there, and every one of us continued to prove that every day. That’s what it is to be a CRTC student.”


Kasey told the crowd of parents, friends and relatives spread out in folding chairs across the parking lot about how the 16 college credits she earned in the EBS program not only helped to jumpstart her SNHU education, but also made her feel more confident and prepared to enter college in the fall. And she talked about how her CRTC experience was a journey of personal growth and discovery. 


“This class has taught me far more than I ever imagined because not only did I learn about how to be the best teacher I can be, but I also learned a lot about myself and becoming who I was meant to be along the way.”


After the event, Mr. Rothenberg said that the CRTC relied on its value proposition to “Be Prepared to Stand Out” throughout the entire school year, as teachers, staff and students pulled together to overcome challenges and to find a way to adapt to shifting circumstances in order to keep in-person learning alive at the CRTC throughout most of the school year. This included the work to plan and present the parking lot completion ceremony.


“Special thanks to our team for pulling off this complicated event,” Mr. Rothenberg said. “It went like clockwork.”


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