TURNERS FALLS — There is no doubt health technology senior Kristin Slowinski worked hard to win this year’s Outstanding Vocational Technical Student Award.
In addition to keeping a near-perfect 3.9 GPA at Franklin County Tech School, she participated in a number of extracurriculars that kept her involved with the school and her career path.
However, to say Slowinski was involved in extracurriculars is an understatement. Not only does she work at Baystate Franklin Medical Center’s intensive care unit for FCTS’s cooperative education program, she also works part-time at Buckley Healthcare Center as a dietary aide.
She also volunteers with her local youth group and in the Greenfield Visiting Nurse Association Adult Day Program.
At school, Slowinski is a known leader; she is class treasurer, a member of the National Honor Society and president of FCTS’s chapter of SkillsUSA, which she competed in this year, first in the district level for medical terminology and then advancing to the state level. She also plays varsity field hockey and runs track.
Finally, she is dual-enrolled at Greenfield Community College.
Perhaps outstanding work in tech school runs in her family; her brother Robert won the award five years ago.
The award is sponsored annually by the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA) and recipients must meet certain criteria to be considered. Criteria includes grade point average, vocational aptitude, leadership qualities, work experience, work ethic, community involvement, participation in extracurriculars, and more.
The award ceremony was held at Mechanics Hall in Worcester, where students from 52 vocational schools across the state were honored for their outstanding achievements.
Slowinski plans on attending UMass Dartmouth this fall to study biology in the Honors program.
“I went down there for the open house and I just felt like I was at home,” she said of the campus.
After completing her education there, she hopes to work toward becoming a doctor specializing in gastroenterology. She says participating in the program at Baystate helped spark her interest in these studies.
Until beginning her college adventure this fall, she plans to continue her work at Baystate Health and Buckley Healthcare.
Slowinski admits that she may have taken on more than she should have, but nevertheless she has been rewarded for her hard work.
“I know I took on too much,” she said. To others looking to take on a full class load and extracurriculars, she advises high schoolers to choose the activities and classes they like the most so they don’t bite off more than they can chew.
Slowinski says she decided to attend the tech school because she became a bit bored at her old school. She thought the classes had too heavy of an academic load and wanted more hands-on experiences.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said of her years at FCTS.
Reach Christie
Wisniewski at:
cwisniewski@recorder.com
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