Class of 2022
Congratulations to the nearly 2,000 high school students and adults who completed their career training at the East Valley Institute of Technology this spring! Their accomplishments were celebrated at two ceremonies in May at the Chicago Cubs spring training stadium in Mesa. This year’s class includes 382 students who earned over $11 million in scholarships to attend Arizona State University as RISE Scholars in engineering, business, technology, education and health services.
Students of the Year
Commercial Baking & Pastry Arts senior Vanessa Ruiz and Aviation senior Nicholas Vatis were honored at the completion ceremonies as the 2022 Students of the Year. During her two years at EVIT, Vanessa won numerous state and national baking, pastry arts and culinary competitions and was selected this year to host the National School Choice Week video featuring EVIT. Vanessa also won the America’s Best High School Pastry Chef competition and a $70,000 scholarship to Monroe College. Nicholas became a certified Airplane Private Pilot during his first year at EVIT. In his second year, he completed an internship and was immediately offered a job at World Wide Flight Service at Mesa Gateway Airport. Nick plans to attend the University of North Dakota’s Phoenix campus this summer to earn his instrument and commercial aircraft pilot ratings.
Top Scores
Over 1,900 students at EVIT’s Main, Power and Apache Junction campuses took the state Technical Skills Assessments this spring with a pass rate of 82%. Across the entire EVIT Career Technical Education District (CTED), over 7,500 students took the assessments with a pass rate of 77%. EVIT’s Main and Power Campuses had the state’s top average scores on 11 assessments: Air Transportation, Digital Animation, Emergency Medical Services, Finance, Fire Service, Interior Design & Merchandising, Music & Audio Production, Network Security, Pharmacy Support Services, Technology Devices Maintenance, and Veterinary Assisting.
Early Childhood Education
In May, 11 EVIT students not only graduated from high school and completed EVIT’s Early Childhood Education program, but also earned a certificate of completion from Mesa Community College at the same time. This unique program allows high school students at EVIT to earn a 19-credit certificate of completion from MCC in Foundations of Early Childhood Education. The program is offered through dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment at MCC with funding from the Professional Career Pathways Scholarship program paying for the students’ college tuition, fees and textbooks.
Inspiring alumni
Eight years after completing EVIT’s Dental Assistant program, Kirsten Carnevale is loving her work in Pennsylvania as a registered dental hygienist. Read Kirsten’s story: https://bit.ly/evitcarnavale522. As a freshman at Harvard University, EVIT Criminal Justice alum Kylie Hunts-in-Winter is already experiencing success: In May, she won Harvard’s “Emerging Global Leader” Award. Read Kylie’s story: https://bit.ly/evithiw522.
Thank you for your support in helping EVIT change lives.