Columbia Area Career Center student named State Breaking Traditions winner

The Missouri Breaking Traditions contest has announced this year’s outstanding students in nontraditional career and technical education programs. Madeline Harl was awarded State Breaking Traditions winner by Dr. Janet Bagby, College and Career Consultant-Central Missouri on March 20, 2015.  Madeline is student in Brad Mann’s Civil Engineering program at Columbia Area Career Center.  Nontraditional means occupations or fields of work in which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25 percent of the individuals employed in that occupation or field. For twenty-two years, Breaking Traditions has honored outstanding students who have chosen specific career and technical programs based on their interests and abilities, and who have not let their gender influence their career decisions.

Career Centers, public two year colleges and comprehensive high schools can nominate a single student from each nontraditional program. Winners from the nine regions in the state are chosen by a panel of judges, and these finalists then compete for male and female secondary and postsecondary/adult State awards.

All State and Spirit winners will be honored April 29^th during an awards ceremony at the James C Kirkpatrick State Information Interpretive Center in Jefferson City. 

State and Spirit winners will receive scholarship offers from most Missouri Community Colleges and from the State Technical College of Missouri. Scholarship amounts and guidelines vary and are set by each school. State and Spirit winners have been given a list of college people to contact for more information about these scholarships.

In addition, each State, Spirit and Regional winner who continues his or her education next fall will receive a $100 scholarship from the Missouri STEM Foundation (formerly the Foundation for Missouri Women). College and Career Consultants have information on these scholarships.

Sponsored by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Regional College and Career Consultants, the Breaking Traditions awards are an excellent opportunity for students, career-technical education programs, educators and schools to receive recognition and statewide publicity. Special thanks go to the instructors who took time to complete nomination forms for their outstanding students. 

Brad Mann Civil Engineering instructor, Madeline Harl and Dr. Janet Bagby, College and Career Consultant