All ninth grade students will be visiting the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center (GACTC) on Monday November 25 to help them to make some early career decisions. Next year freshman will be eligible to enroll in a select number of courses at GACTC.

GACTC is informally known at Tyrone High School as the “Vo Tech”. Because students must travel to GACTC for programs, students attend the GACTC for the first three periods of the day and return to the high school for their other core classes.

GACTC offers many career paths for students to choose from such as Culinary Arts, Health Occupations, Cosmetology, Emergency Services, Heating and Plumbing, and Visual Arts Technology. Students on the field trip will be exposed to several of GACTC programs based on their own personal interests.

Freshman Paige Umholtz chose Culinary Arts and Visual Arts. “They have sparked some interest in me as some point in time,” said Umholtz.

“I am most excited for culinary arts and visual arts programs because I have an interest in making food and [I] have enjoyed design and drawing for a long time,” said freshman Olivia Bietz, who is looking forward to the field trip.

One of the most popular program among the freshman is the Health Occupation program. This program particularly targets careers in the medical field and offers a wide variety of health related opportunities for their students.

“I’m excited for the learning experience,” said freshman Chloe Case, “I think it will help my career since I want to be a nurse.”

Though most 9th grade students are undecided about their future careers, now is an ideal time to collect information on careers of interest, according to TAHS guidance counselor Tiffany Johannides.

Even if they don’t choose to attend GACTC, Johannides hopes that this will help all students to begin to focus on their career path as they move into the second half of their freshman year.