An aspiring marketing specialist has been named SkillsUSA Student of the Year on the Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical Education Center
Congratulations to BH-BL High School senior Hadassah Harrell who was presented the honor of Student of the Year during the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center Awards and Scholarship celebration in early June.
Harrell is completing the Cosmetology Program at Capital Region BOCES and will attend the University at Albany in the fall in pursuit of a degree in business and marketing.
The teen said she ultimately wants to go into marketing for the cosmetology industry.
“My parents are in sales, and we had a cosmetology marketing expert come into the class [at BOCES] and speak, and I knew right then that is what I wanted to do,” she said.
The SkillsUSA Student of the Year honor is given to the students on each Career and Technical School campus who best exemplify SkillsUSA by their leadership and service to others, participation in all facets of the organization, and dedication and diligence to their vocation.
Harrell served as president of the SkillsUSA Albany CTE Campus for the morning session this year and has taken part in activities on the campus that benefit the community, such as conducting a toy drive for an area mission and collecting school supplies for area youth.
She has also taken part in numerous professional and leadership trainings.
“BOCES opens the doors to so many opportunities around your passion,” she said. “Coming to BOCES is the best experience I have every day.”
Faculty and staff at Capital Region BOCES praised the scholar.
“Hadassah has taken every opportunity to grow as a leader and as a person. She currently serves as the president of our campus chapter and challenged herself to compete at both the regional and state level. She is always motivated to do her best and takes pride in all her accomplishments,” said Debra Toy, a campus advisor to the SkillsUSA organization.
Teacher Nicole Wentraub sounded a similar message.
“[Hadessah] is very motivated as well as talented. I’m looking forward to seeing what her future brings in the industry,” she said.