Oakland Community College hosts first "National Signing Day" ceremony
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - "National Signing Day" is an exciting opportunity for most students.
For the first time, Oakland Community College held its first signing day for kids in high school. The ceremony took place at the Auburn Hills campus.
The event mirrors when an athlete signs a letter of intent to play on a sports team. Only at OCC, high school seniors sign a letter of intent to study skilled trades or technical careers.
"Those include all the occupational fields…the automotive, the manufacturing, the electronics, the heating ventilating air conditioning, police, firefighting, emergency service," said Joe Petrosky, Associate Provost of Academics and Workforce at Oakland Community College.
This week, 16 high school seniors put pen to paper at Oakland Community College choosing what career they hope to pursue.
"It's kind of the recognition of yes this is a decision that I've made, I've committed to this. It's not legally binding of course, but I've committed to this and this is the program that I'm entering in to," said Petrosky.
Petrosky says OCC has a lot to offer.
"Community colleges, we're kind of the best kept secret around very often and sometimes students will say you know university is not for me or college is not for me and they kind of don't realize all of the career in technical education things that happen in a community college. We've got all these certificates that are short term skills preparing you to get a job to work in these different fields," Petrosky stated.
Jhamita Wright is from Pontiac and is grateful to sign this letter.
"This is an extraordinary moment for me…it is," Wright said.
Though experiencing many hardships, Wright is eager to earn her law degree and hopes to inspire others.
"No matter what somebody says you can't do, go and achieve it anyway. You're not achieving it for them, you're doing it for yourself. If I learned anything in life, you have to fight for what you want," Wright said.
"We're here for you and we're here to support your career aspirations," Petrosky said.
If interested in signing up for classes at Oakland Community College this summer or fall, administrators say there's still time.
