Love for trucks, engines lead to a career as a diesel technician

Keven Haywood graduated from Geneseo Central Schools in 2021 after completing the two-year Diesel Mechanics program at the Mount Morris Career and Technical Education Center. Haywood attended the Mount Morris CTE Center during his junior and senior years in high school.

Haywood visited the campus during his sophomore year to learn more about the program BOCES had to offer. He knew early on college wasn’t for him and he wanted to learn more about the trade industry. After the visit, he knew the Diesel Mechanics program would be the best fit since he had always been fascinated with trucks and diesel engines. As a student, he learned to take opportunities given to him and put his best effort into them.

During his senior year of high school, he interned at TJ Marquart & Sons and was hired full-time. He worked there for a year where he learned about trucks thanks to seasoned technicians who trained him.

After about a year, he felt ready to transition to a dealership. He has always had a sweet spot for Peterbilt because it’s his favorite brand of truck. Haywood is now a diesel technician at Utica General Peterbilt in Rochester. He repairs anything that has a Peterbilt logo on it.

Working on diesel trucks and engines for a living came naturally to him since he has always had a passion for it.

His favorite part about his job is having the ability to fix some great looking trucks because Peterbilts are the best-looking trucks on the road, especially the 389, according to Haywood.

Another part of the job Haywood enjoys is getting sent out for training every once in a while, so he gets to travel, which he enjoys.

Also, he has his CDL, so driving trucks after a repair is rewarding.

Haywood has fond memories of his time as a BOCES student. A memory he will remember forever is the time they got a DT466 running on a stand and twisted up the fuel pump, they made some power and smiles that day.

“I’m proud of all the things I learned from Mr. Jacobi and Mr. Cramer,” Haywood said. “They taught me a lot; definitely one of the main reasons I’m where I’m at.”

Della Penna thriving as child life specialist

Allison Della Penna graduated from Batavia High School in 2015. During her senior year, she attended Batavia Career and Technical Education Center. Della Penna participated in the Health Careers Academy Program. She now works for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital as a certified child life specialist.

From a young age she knew she wanted to become a child life specialist. After hearing about the Health Careers Academy, she knew the program would assist her in obtaining the necessary college credits and give her opportunities to network in the health field.

After high school, she went to Utica College where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology-child life. While a student at Utica, she obtained an internship at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse. Her child-life internship was 600 hours during a 15-week span. As a requirement to work in the health career field, she had to complete the internship.

After she completed the requirements for her degree, she took her certification exam and officially became a CCLS.

Della Penna describes herself as lucky because she received a job at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in the pediatric emergency department. She has been working there since 2019. She now works with the burn service, working with pediatric burn survivors and their families.

Her role as a CCLS is to provide education for patients and parents about what to expect during their treatment and provide preparation and support for various procedures that occur during hospitalization. She also orchestrates expression activities that normalize the hospital stay through play and provide ongoing support during their transition home.

“My favorite part of the job is working with pediatric patients and their families, supporting them through the difficult experiences they face during hospitalization and seeing the resiliency children often have to overcome during these challenges,” explained Della Penna.

For the patients that become long-term, she loves seeing their growth. This makes her job truly special, being able to see patients overcome and beat the odds.

The Child Life Department at Upstate is built of child life specialists, art therapists, music therapists, and gaming and technology specialists. The team members are valued by the multidisciplinary team at Upstate and are active members of the patient care team.

“My advice for students interested in the health field is to immerse themselves in as many volunteer/shadow opportunities as possible in hopes of validating that this is the field you wish to pursue and to obtain experience that will help you stand out from other students,” said Della Penna.

She is proud she obtained college credits during high school through the Health Careers Academy and it validated her that the health field was right for her.

Mileham to lead building trades remodel this year

Kelly Mileham, a building trades instructor at Batavia Career and Technical Education Center, attended the Batavia CTE Center and graduated from Oakfield-Alabama Central School.

Mileham was interested in the trade because of the skills he learned from helping his father and uncles. After graduation he went right to work in the trades field. His first job after graduation was at Overhead Door of Batavia.

After a few years he made the switch to Lehigh Construction where he worked for 13 years. While at Lehigh he served in different roles. He started as a laborer, then ran small jobs, and eventually started working in the pro division.

The promotion came with a company truck and a gas card and the difficulty of the jobs increased. It was a good fit for him, but he worked a lot of hours. He felt the hours were getting in the way of his family life, and that he was missing his children’s milestones. He decided to find a job closer to home.

Mileham then began a new position as a machinist at Bailey Electric Motor and Pump. While working there he started taking a larger role in his kids’ lives. He became a cub master for his son’s Scout troop, as well as a T-ball and soccer coach for both his son and daughter. Mileham coaches soccer year-round and is on the Batavia Soccer Club Board. He also coaches modified girls’ soccer for Batavia City Schools.

Mileham saw an advertisement for the Building Trades Instructor at Batavia Career and Technical Education Center and knew he had to apply. He has been teaching since 2021.

Each year the Building Trades program builds a house. This year the class project is a little different from previous years. This year’s project is a remodel with an addition. With the scope of work this year, the students get to learn safe demo processes along with new construction processes.

He shared some thoughts on what he learned as a BOCES student: “I am most proud of the houses I built when I was at BOCES. It is a great learning tool that stands for many years after you graduate. The house we built in 1999 is a house down the street from one of my friend’s houses and I tell the kids every time we go by.”

Mileham says taking pride in your work and having a committed work ethic is something he hopes each student gets from his class.

The three things he learned as a BOCES student that he values most are how to work in a group, how to be a leader, and how to strive to be the best.

Gibson is graphic arts teacher at Batavia CTE

Erica Gibson grew up wanting to help others and planned to attend Batavia Career and Technical Education Center to study Health Dimensions.

In 10th grade, she toured the campus where she felt her career dreams change to graphic arts. She was immediately intrigued by all of the Mac computers and wanted to learn more about the design process.

When it came down to it, she chose the graphic arts program because she wanted to take outside-of-the-ordinary classes, and learn more about Adobe applications and photography.

She attended Batavia CTE Center from 2014 to 2016 and graduated from Oakfield-Alabama Central School.

After graduation, Gibson continued her education and attended Monroe Community College, where she studied visual communications.

During her senior year at Batavia CTE Center, she received a paid internship and continued to work there throughout college.

While attending MCC, she received a call from her former teacher, Doug Russo, who asked her to be a part of the Graphic Arts Advisory Committee. She served on this committee until she moved.

Gibson spent the next few years after graduation traveling around the United States capturing the beautiful places she encountered.

A few years passed and Russo called again to tell her Batavia CTE Center had a graphic arts teaching position open, and to see if she would be interested in teaching.

“Becoming a graphic arts teacher has been a dream of mine that I did not think was possible,” said Gibson.

Gibson started her new career as the graphic arts teacher in September. She is excited about helping students the way she feels Russo helped her.

She wants students to look back on her class and have nothing but positive and impactful memories. A goal of hers is to teach them motion graphics as well as video editing.

As a teacher, her priority is making a difference in her students’ lives. She wants them to experience as much as they can, and plans to add field trips and fun projects for them to participate in. These types of activities are things she fondly remembers as a student and wants her students to have the same experience.

“BOCES has changed my life for the better, so I hope I can have the chance to help other students’ lives and encourage them to go further in their education and career,” said Gibson.

Embracing a career change

After 15 years of working in management as a team leader for Wegmans, Dan Cragg of Batavia decided to further his education and work toward obtaining a Class A CDL License.

“Getting my CDL was something I always wanted to do, so I decided to pursue it before any more time went by,” said Cragg. “I discovered the program at BOCES when I began searching for truck driving schools. Most of the schools I inquired about were ridiculously expensive and they didn’t fit my schedule with working a full-time job.”

The Genesee Valley BOCES program in Batavia lasted about six months,” Cragg said.

“The first six weeks were classroom sessions, three hours per week and then roughly 30 hours’ drive time,” Cragg said.

The instructors at BOCES have real-world experience with trades taught through their programs, including firsthand commercial driving experience. “The great thing about the drive time is the instructors were flexible enough to work with my schedule. Nights, weekends, whatever worked for me. The tuition was affordable also, only $2,000 compared to three times that for some of the trucking schools I looked at. I had to apply, but really it was as simple as calling the instructor and getting my name put on a list. Since the classroom sessions go so quickly, they have new sessions starting every eight to 10 weeks. The instructor called me literally two days before the session and I told him I would be there,” said Cragg.

The instructors go above and beyond to prepare students for their driving tests. That includes extra help with pre-trip inspection or practice with backing.

“I feel I made the right choice going there to get my license. I can’t speak for what it is like now because at the time I got my license the federal regulations for obtaining a CDL were changing, but I would 100 percent recommend it to anyone looking to pursue a CDL,” said Cragg.

Although Cragg initially wanted to drive for Wegmans to extend his career with the company, he chose to drive for a local beverage distributor while he gains more experience on the road.

“…Yes, I’m enjoying the change very much. I would tell anyone that is thinking about attending BOCES for a career change to do it,” said Cragg. “You won’t find a better place as far as money is concerned with instructors that are as dedicated to helping you succeed as you will there.”