President's perspective.

For my final column as president of this great association, I sincerely bring those Gung Ho greetings. If you have read the previous columns, you understand why-Gung Ho in Chinese means "working together." This has definitely been a year that has stressed the importance of all career and technical education professionals working together.

So, this brings me to the third and final principle of Gung Ho. It is the Gift of the Goose: Cheering Others On. This can mean two different ends of the spectrum for us in career and technical education. First, it can mean encouraging and motivating our students. (Or does it sometimes mean our students encouraging and motivating us?) Recently, I received a phone call out of the blue from a former student of just four years ago who wanted to talk and get some advice and encouragement. Actually, she encouraged me! This student, or "Sunshine" as I will call her (and actually do), was not one of those students that we try to brag about because she is not working in the field in which she was trained, nor is she what some people would consider a success. But Sunshine is a success to me. She struggled in high school for many reasons and was enrolled in health occupations. Sunshine came to me in the resource center to try to raise her academic skills. We achieved so much more. Sunshine graduated from high school, passed her Certified Nursing Assistant Certification, and was not a statistic! Because of circumstances, Sunshine married right after high school and then became a mother. She has worked several jobs since then.

What is the success from this? Sunshine is not another statistic. She now is successfully raising her son and works two jobs, which helps put her husband through school. What is important here is that one of those jobs is using her skills from her high school health occupations program. Sunshine is paid by her family to help take care of her precious grandmother, who has the beginning symptoms of Alzheimer's.

Sunshine has brightened my life, just like many of us have been brightened by the successes of our students due to an experience in career and technical education. It is time to be a cheerleader for our profession and the students we serve. We know how successful our students can be. We know the impact on economic development we have in our communities. We know the leadership and work ethic that are instilled in our students. We must "honk" about our worthwhile work, and we must make the message loud and clear that career and technical education is the wise investment in our country's future!

Career and technical education was certainly a wise investment in my life. I am ever thankful that my parents were so wise to insist I enroll in business education in high school. Not only did I gain skills to be competitive in the workforce, but I also gained the confidence to pursue the dreams I wanted. As a career and technical educator, I have been blessed by so many mentors in my life who have helped me grow personally and professionally.

It has been an incredibly rewarding year as your president, and I give you my humble thanks for this opportunity. Many thanks are due to my Georgia colleagues, specifically my tech prep coordinators, who are always there for me and have supported my efforts throughout this busy year. I also owe so much for my leadership development to my Oklahoma colleagues. Thank you for your encouraging "honks" to keep me going, just like a flock of geese that honk at the flock to reach their destination. I truly believe that is what we must continue to do and "honk" loudly and clearly for the value of career and technical education!