While the doors to the Ulster BOCES Career Academies at iPark 87 officially opened to more than 1,400 of Ulster County’s high school juniors and seniors in early September, nearly 200 educators, business/industry leaders, government officials, state education officials, and representatives from higher education were able to explore the new facility on Friday, October 3. The guests joined over 100 Ulster BOCES young professionals, staff, and administrators at its new state-of-the-art training center in the former IBM-complex on Enterprise Drive in Kingston for an official ribbon-cutting event with the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Ulster BOCES Hudson Valley Pathways Academy (HVPA) marked a significant milestone on June 2, hosting a Completion Celebration for three young scholars who successfully completed six years of rigorous academic and professional training through HVPA and SUNY Ulster. The event was held at Selux Corporation, a longtime industry partner located in Highland.

Tucker Chase is an outstanding example of what young scholars at the Hudson Valley Pathways Academy (HVPA) at Ulster BOCES can achieve. Tucker has been awarded a scholarship from the Career Readiness Educators Association (CREA) of New York State for his exemplary participation in a work-based learning program or experience. Tucker was also named as one of three “Work-Based Learning Students of the Year” by CREA. 

The future of Georgia Maritsas, a former young professional of the Ulster BOCES Transitional Occupation Program (TOP A) who graduated from Kingston City School District in 2024, is in the bag–a granola bag, that is. Since completing the program in June, Georgia has successfully launched a local business selling her own healthy granola mixture, known as Georgia’s Organic Granola.

Ulster BOCES-trained young professionals Levi Peterson and Tyler Bradley spent much of their senior year of high school as paid electrical construction interns with National Resources, a real estate and investment firm that is currently renovating the former IBM site in Kingston to become the future home of the Ulster BOCES Career Pathways Academies at iPark 87. 

Cosmo McIntosh, a recent graduate of the Saugerties Central School District who
completed the Ulster BOCES Small Engine Mechanics Repair program, earned third place in the Motorcycle Technician category at the SkillsUSA national competition. The event, which was held from June 24-28, took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. 

Ulster BOCES Auto Collision Technology program students–or “young professionals” as they are referred to around the school building as a nod to their growing skills–gave a new look to some old faces–table faces, that is. 

The project aims to refresh old, beat-up wooden classroom work tables by sanding them down, varnishing them, and adding a bit of school spirit by incorporating the Ulster BOCES logo. The revamped tables, six which have been completed so far, have been returned to their original classrooms where they will be ready for everyone to admire when they return from the summer vacation. Twenty additional tables are slated to be refinished in the upcoming school year. 

Ulster BOCES Transitional Occupation Program (TOP A) students–or “young professionals” as they are referred to around the school building–have been catering to the Ulster BOCES school community and beyond, using skills they have developed through practice, professional learning, implementation, and assessment. 

The Ulster BOCES TOP A program is geared towards young people in Grades 9-12 who may struggle with academics and motivation, but who possess the ability to comply with directions effectively enough to build pro-technical and employability skills. The program is designed to maximize the time the young professionals spend performing hands-on work in jobs, trade areas, and field locations, leading to more advanced technical program participation or an effective transition from school to work.