Career Elevation and Technology Center celebrates 50 years

The Career Elevation and Technology Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools is celebrating 50 years with the completion of new renovations. 

Formerly known as the Career Development Center, the new name and renovations better reflect the center’s mission, said ToniJo Niccoli, the center’s principal.

“In the past two years we became the Career Elevation and Technology Center just to kind of mirror the innovative work and elevated work our teachers are doing,” Niccoli explained. “Getting the upgrade to the building has really uplifted our image, and it honors the work that’s happening inside of this building.”

The center has new lights, new carpets, an upgraded exterior, a new student center and a newly remodeled Advanced Manufacturing room that the center plans to turn into an optics lab.

“A lot of our imagery is brightened up in the hallways — when people are walking through, they’re seeing images of our students and our eight program pathways,” Niccoli said. 

Those programs are Automotive Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Agricultural Science, Health Services, Internships, Interactive Media Technology, Prostart and Culinary Arts, and Welding and Fabrication. A new Pre-Law program was also added this year. 

“We just evolve with the needs of industry, so as things change out in society, we just kind of want to make sure our programs are mirroring what the local and global community needs,” Niccoli said.

Several years ago, the center launched its Advanced Manufacturing academy in response to the needs in Weld and Boulder counties, which are “hotbeds” for the manufacturing industry on the national level, she explained.

“They were coming to us and saying, ‘we really need the workforce, and the support to back this up,’” Niccoli said. “We started building that program over time, and now that program is at capacity, and we have multiple industry partners.”

The center’s goal is to connect students with their fields of interest and allow them to explore future careers, while they earn college credits and workforce certifications.

Some students also attend the center for fun, Niccoli said.

“They might want to be a doctor, but they are also passionate about vehicles, and they’re going to spend a year down in automotive because it’s a passion for them, but not necessarily their career path,” she said. “So I think there’s a place for everybody.”

Industries, local businesses and the community have supported the center for five decades, and its programs wouldn’t be the same without that support, Niccoli said.

“Lots of things come and go in 50 years time, but what’s kind of stayed true is just this commitment to making sure the students of St. Vrain are just really, really well-prepared for their future — that they’re going to have the strongest jump start on their foundation,” she said.