The turning point: Robeson County celebrates state-of-the-art career and technical education center
Born and raised in Robeson County, Aaron Thomas remembers being a student in Mrs. Geraldine Clark’s second grade classroom at Pembroke Elementary School in the early 1980s. He recalled that era being the last time a new school building was constructed in the district.
Until now.
Four decades later, Thomas is the president and CEO of Metcon, a Native American-owned construction company headquartered in Pembroke. Through a design partnership with SfL+a Architects, along with $87.2 million in state and county funding support, Metcon built the 110,000-square-feet Robeson Career and Technical Education Center (CTEC).
According to its website, the CTEC prepares Public Schools of Robeson County (PSRC) students for college, careers, and the workforce through hands-on learning in high-demand fields.
At the grand opening, Thomas expressed the amazement of witnessing the vision come to fruition, in addition to his gratitude for the full-circle opportunity to be a part of the experience.
For Thomas, Metcon’s success “won’t be measured by the building that we constructed.” In his speech, he professed that, 20 years from now, their success will be measured by students from across the county who will find their path through the CTEC.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we did here. We’re even more excited about what will be built inside of it: careers, businesses, families, futures. That’s what builds a stronger Robeson County,” he concluded.
Sign up for the EdWeekly, a Friday roundup of the most important education news of the week.
New opportunities for Robeson
On Aug. 21, PSRC welcomed community members to witness the new CTEC. Situated off of Livermore Drive in the COMTech Business Park, the career center is conjoined with Robeson Planetarium and Science Center.
According to PSRC’s recently retired superintendent, Freddie Williamson, the opening of the new career center represents opportunity, hope, and a brighter future for the people and students of Robeson County.
“This facility will provide students credentials and certification. It will help prepare job seekers and individuals looking to build new careers with access to training, to resources, to guidance, and to the skills they need to succeed in today’s workforce,” he stated.
The state-of-the-art facility features an exposed steel framing and an open-concept lobby and common area, alongside large windowed classrooms that allow for observers to peer into the learning from outside of the room.
Look up, and visitors will see large words that help identify the designated workspace for over a dozen different programs: automotive, business, carpentry, culinary, drone technology, electrical, emergency medical technician (EMT), masonry, plumbing, welding, and more.
During the tours of the facility, EMT instructor and public safety instructor Jonathan Bell showcased a new ambulance simulator equipped with cameras for observations, a medical test dummy, and other features.
A product of PSRC, given that courses weren’t offered to high school students at the time, Bell completed EMT training at Robeson Community College his senior year, which transitioned into decades of following his calling as a paramedic.
“To be here today in this moment is just a privilege, and I’m ready to teach the next generation.” he stated.
Whether simulating calls from dispatch, practicing initial assessments, or loading patients into the vehicle, Bell stated that the biggest impact of the new equipment is “giving the students a realistic approach to their learning, as it would be if it was in the field.”
Matthew Locklear, electrical trades instructor, is a 1986 graduate of the CTEC predecessor, Robeson County Career Center at Hilly Branch. An 18-year professional in the electrical industry, Locklear stated that taking an electrical class at the school changed the direction of his life.
Today, Locklear seeks to pour into the next generation the same skills that his former teachers bestowed upon him — to “introduce them to an opportunity that can keep them in Robeson County if they desire, or take them to any part of the world if they desire.”
As the principal of the CTEC, Mark Smith invited the community to witness what the school has to offer the county. “We’re going to be a real change maker for this county economically, educationally,” Smith said. “Come and see what your tax dollars have helped to build.”
Tearing down the poster on the wall
Robert Farris is the president and CEO of SfL+a Architects. Reflecting on his time in drafting class at E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville, he referenced a poster that displayed a construction worker. On it, the caption read: “Go to college or this will be you.”
Raised by a father who was a carpenter, the cautionary message contradicted Farris’ knowledge and admiration for the man who proudly built with his hands and provided for his family.
“That poster was a lie,” Farris said. “(Trades) are not what happens when education fails — they are what happens when education works. When knowledge travels from the mind down to the hands, into a building, into something you can actually stand in like we’re standing in today.”
Alluding to the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Farris recalled the impact of plant closures and job loss in the Robeson County that he described as once being a mecca of manufacturing.
Farris believes that the new CTEC is a turning point.
“When industry looks for a home, it goes where the workforce is,” he said. “This building will train that workforce. This building will tell every manufacturer in America that Robeson County is open for business, we are ready, and we are skilled.”