GHS Holds AOF/AOIT Pinning Ceremony

     On October 30th Gaithersburg High School held a pinning ceremony for its Academy of Finance (AOF) and Academy of Information and Technology (AOIT) students. Gaithersburg High School is the only high school in the county who houses both AOF and AOIT. In order for students to graduate from these academies they are required to take certain classes and complete an internship. The pinning ceremony specifically highlights the completion of the internship; internship providers are invited to the event and recognized for helping students gain business experience within the community. “It’s a milestone,” said internship coordinator Joanne Allen. “It’s a milestone that says you’ve worked hard for a couple of years… it just acknowledges that students are on their way to graduation.”

     The academies provide students with a chance to learn and focus on subjects that they truly have an interest in. After taking an accounting class her sophomore year, Michaela Colon decided she had a real interest in finances. “I decided to be in AOF so I could further my knowledge in the business field,” said Colon, who is now the co-secretary of AOF at Gaithersburg High School.

     The academies also allow students to explore a variety of jobs in their field, and help students choose what career they’d like to pursue early on. “It’s helped me decide what major I want to be,” said AOIT president Aaron Taylor. “[AOIT] has helped me towards that decision.” Taylor would like to become a civil engineer and design, construct, and maintain building structures.

      The internship is an important part for students in the academies. They are able to gain real-life experience in their chosen fields at an early age, and are given opportunities that not many high school students often get. Both Colon and Taylor worked with Hess Construction, a local business, during the summer. “My internship definitely boosted my interest in [civil engineering],” said Taylor. “But I’ve always loved science and math.” Taylor got to work with those in charge of making the new Gaithersburg High School building, helping with organization and time management.

     Colon, on the other hand, worked for the accounting department, and also worked with the office manager and as a secretary during her time at Hess. She did feel like her academy courses had prepared her for her summer internship. “I could see the relationship between the two and how the stuff I learned in class related to what I did during my job,” said Colon.

     In order to prepare for the pinning ceremony, students were asked to update their resumes, create a slideshow explaining the function of the academies at Gaithersburg, and make a poster showing the benefits and skills they obtained from their internship. These were all displayed during the ceremony.

     Among the list of speakers was Mayor Sidney Katz of Gaithersburg, who congratulated the students on their achievements and thanked the internship providers for reaching out to Gaithersburg High School. Principal Dr. Handy-Collins and Hess’s senior project manager Aaron Mengel also congratulated the students on their high success in their academies. It was an evening dedicated to celebrating the hard work and dedication shown by the AOF/AOIT students.