Salem High Student Leads CTE Awards With State, Local Honors

SALEM, MA — Salem High School senior Johan Polanco received two statewide honors during the school’s Fourth Annual Career Technical Education Senior Awards Ceremony at the M. Ruth Norton Auditorium.

Polanco, an Early Childhood Education and Care student in the school’s Career Technical Education program, was named the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators Scholar of the Year and also received the Massachusetts Vocational Association Presidential Certificate of Merit.

The MAVA Scholar of the Year award is presented to the student whose scholastic achievements have significantly contributed to the local CTE program. The MVA Presidential Certificate of Merit recognizes a student’s performance, dedication and commitment to their area of study.

Polanco was also among several students to earn multiple honors at the ceremony. He earned the Angelas Preschool and Daycare Award alongside seniors Pauline Babineau, Jazmine Bouras, Daisy Gomez and Isabella Ortiz Cruz. Ortiz Cruz also received the Rotary Directors Award for the Early Education and Care track, while Monserratt Juarez earned the Vocational Achievement Award.

The ceremony opened with the induction of 27 new members into the Salem High School National Technical Honor Society. Polanco and Ortiz Cruz were among the new inductees, along with seniors Carlos Polanco Ramirez, Safiyah Pina-Harding, Ayden Lacerda and Dewa Trisna, each of whom was also recognized in a CTE pathway.

Polanco Ramirez received the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 Award and the Vocational Achievement Award for the Electrical Technology track. Pina-Harding was one of four seniors honored with the Steve Whittier Memorial Scholarship Award, along with Thomas Ferrioli, Mason Potorski and August Hunter.

Potorski and Ferrioli also received the Rinus Oosthoek Salem Rotary Club CTE Directors Award and Vocational Achievement Award for Building and Property Maintenance, while Pina-Harding and Hunter received similar honors for Carpentry.

This year also marked the first presentation of the Brendan Balfour Award for the outstanding student in the Electrical Technology track. That award went to Trisna, who also received the Vocational Achievement Award for Electrical Technology.

Other students honored included Sindi Sula and Karly Swiniarski, co-recipients of the American Red Cross Scholarship Awards, as well as recipients of the Salem Rotary Directors Award and Vocational Achievement Award. Additional major award recipients came from Culinary Arts, Graphic Design and Visual Technology, Programming and Web Development, and Automotive Technology.

The ceremony also recognized four Beverly High School students who took part in Salem High’s CTE tracks. The CTE program serves Salem High students as well as visiting students, and the ceremony reflected the district’s strategic plan focus on elevating learning and centering belonging.