Dulaney High School students have proven to be terrific leaders and two more are now representing Dulaney on a statewide level. Hailey Brennan, a sophomore, was recently elected Skills USA Maryland Historian, while Connor Ford was elected as the organization's Western Region Vice President. With about 5,500 members in Maryland alone, Skills USA is a nationwide organization designed to promote and strengthen student leadership and entry into the skilled trades and service industries; it represents such industries as HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), nursing, culinary and welding.
"Hailey and Connor were very well prepared and gave terrific speeches in front of their peers," said Jamie Gaskin, Dulaney's HVAC Engineering teacher and lead adviser to Skills USA. "They were ecstatic to be elected."
Dulaney High School has a thriving HVAC program, which is the only program of it's kind offered by Baltimore County Public Schools. Started just six years ago, the Dulaney program has grown from seven students to more than 120. It gives students many benefits, including potential job placement, industry certifications, and the chance to earn college credit through CCBC. If students complete all four levels of the program, they leave high school as second year apprentices. Dulaney also has partnership programs in place with many local companies who provide support, resources and internships.
The Hunt Valley Rotary held its annual 4-Way Test Awards Ceremony on April 20, the culmination of the club's signature project. Honoring more than 110 winners from 15 area schools, the program reaches close to 2,000 students in northern Baltimore County schools, teaching them Rotary's ethical precepts. The 4-Way Test is a moral code to be applied to almost any aspect of life, and asks the students to consider these four basic tenets: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? The Rotary encourage students to creatively express their thoughts about the ethics program. Elementary school students in grades 3 through 5 can develop a poster, while middle school students are encouraged to write a short essay, and high school students a speech. The code's usefulness is exemplified by the wide variety of topics chosen by the students — from political to ethical to social to personal challenges they are facing.
"The winners are only a small fraction of the total program participants," said Jane MacMillan, of the Hunt Valley Rotary. "Just for example, there were 126 essays written by the 7th-graders alone at Cockeysville Middle, from which the best 3 were chosen — a nearly impossible task."
Top elementary school honors went to Shivani Mutreja, Faith Dore and Marley Edwards from Warren Elementary School; Manahil Sabeeh, Nandhu Pillai and Momna Athat from Padonia Elementary School; and Emily Noonan, Caroline Bowden, Daniel Moore and Laura Pohl from Pot Spring Elementary School. The middle school winners, from Cockeysville Middle School, were Emma Franz, Will Stocksdale and Anna Stein. The winners from Dulaney High School included, Anna Garman and Delarum Doorandish. Farehaa Hussain not only took top honors for Dulaney but also won the entire oratorical contest among the participating high schools. Congratulations to all the winners!