The Portage Lakes Career Center ambassadors were selected and announced at the November meeting. Almost 60 students were nominated by teachers to be an ambassador. They were selected based on grades, attendance, someone made a recommendation to the school counselor, they needed a letter of recommendation from a professional and went through an interview.

In the end, 19 students were selected.

“It is one of the best marketing tools,” Krista Haubert said. “They go with us to schools and tell what they like about the career center. They are a great voice for us.”

Two of the students spoke indepth about why they wanted to be ambassadors.

“We are the main advertisement,” Tyler Wilson, who attends Green HS and specializes in Web Design at PLCC, said.

Wilson explained how throughout the winter season, they will go through lunchrooms and talk about what the school is about. In January, they give a presentation about how it has improved their lives.

“I find it hard going through college working at like a pizza shop,” he said. “With my experience (in web design), it will get me ahead in life and support myself in the area I’ve chosen.”

Angel Shiverdecker of Manchester High and a Visual Design and Imaging specialist, explained the other ways they try and promote the school.

“We have booths set up at the home schools,” Shiverdecker said. “We plant the seed in ninth graders that it might be a good opportunity for them.”

The other ambassadors chosen by PLCC are Cody Alloway, Elizabeth Blair, Deroderic Brown, Laura Christner, Tyler Dean, Monique Hayes, Katie Hindinger, Ciera Matthews, Jordan Neimetz, Adam Rosen, Tiffani Ross, Courtney Shook, Joe Stubbs, Tori Tesmer, Anthony Whitacre, Tiffany Wilson and Kati Yalch.

The other major announcement at the meeting was showing off the new PLCC Web site to be launched in mid-January.

Ben Moore, PLCC Associate Principal for Curriculum and Technology, presented the new Web site to the board.

“Our Web presence is in many ways as important as our physical presence,” Moore said. “It needs to be consistent, clean, professional and complete.”

Moore explained how the new site will improve communication between the school and the community and employers. Job openings for students will be able to be posted by employers on their own with the new open source format.

Mambo Schools out of Indiana will be who PLCC will be using to create the Web site. The open source format they provide will help save the school money as well.

Moore said the end goals of the site are 1) A one stop portal for the school rather than six or so links as it is currently. 2) Save costs on printing by providing things online. Examples are a calendar of events and making payments online. 3) Eventually all classes have an online interaction so PLCC can have a way to reach students in this new technology era. The goal is start this with some classes in the spring.