Caleb Elliott will graduate in May 2022 from Haralson County High School, where he was involved in the automotive technology pathway and the manufacturing pathway. Not only has Caleb gained valuable knowledge through CTAE courses, but he has successfully secured employment post-graduation at his work-based learning site, Southwire. Since 2007, the Carroll County School System and Southwire have partnered for the 12 to Life program, which combines classroom instruction with hand-on job training on-site. Caleb participated in 12 for Life until it was halted by COVID-19, when he was forced to turn to alternative training to continue building his manufacturing skills. He obtained a Certified Manufacturing Associate credential, completed OSHA 10 training, and enrolled in West Georgia Technical College to obtain a forklift certificate. Caleb plans to continue working for Southwire as part of their Safety Management Team while attending West Georgia Tech to obtain a maintenance degree. 

“The program has helped me prepare for future career success by allowing me to be fully employed and understand what is expected of me as an employee, but also by providing me opportunities to obtain additional certifications that will set me apart from others. I have obtained soft skills, manufacturing skills, and leadership skills that I had never imagined I would be able to acquire as a part of this program.”

Seth Peavy completed the agriculture pathway while attending Bleckley County High School, where he graduated in 2008. Seth was heavily involved in his school’s FFA program as a competitor and eventually became an officer for his local chapter. After high school, he attended the University of Georgia to study agricultural engineering, then obtained a master’s in systems engineering. The technical and leadership skills Seth acquired through his involvement in CTAE and FFA have been critical in his professional career as a product design engineer for John Deere. He credits his agricultural mechanics teacher, Mr. Jump, for sparking his interest in agricultural engineering, as those courses allowed him to problem solve and learn how machines operate. His interest in the field and dedication to the FFA organization led him to his dream job at John Deere, partially in thanks to the working professionals he was able to network with at the state FFA convention.

“The CTAE curriculum did a fantastic job of providing the technical knowledge I needed for my professional career in the agriculture field. The team projects and competitions also enabled me to learn leadership skills in high school that easily transfer to the professional field today. My leadership skills learned through FFA in high school and college still impact the way I lead teams at Deere today.”