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  • Classes refurbish tractor

    Junior and senior Auto Body students at the Wildwood Education Center recently completed a project that they spent nearly an entire semester on.

    The classes painted a tractor for a Hornell resident who, in turn for their hard work, made a generous donation to the Auto Body program. The job required complete dismantling of the tractor, including removing the large wheels and mounting new tires. Students had to sand some parts by hand and were able to sandblast others. Some body work also was needed before the entire tractor was primed, painted and reassembled.

  • New Visions students prep for clinical experience

    New Visions Medical students on the Wildwood campus practiced wearing personal protective equipment to prepare them for upcoming clinical experience. The attire is worn to protect the patient and the student. Infection control is a large unit students cover in the beginning of the school year that includes hand washing, personal protective equipment and swabbing everyday items like cell phones to see how many germs are on them. The swabs are put on petri dishes and grown out to isolate amount and types of germs.

  • Students complete BOCES Adult Cosmetology program

    In August, 19 students graduated from the GST BOCES Adult Cosmetology program at the Bush Campus.

    Graduates included: Danielle Akins, Kyra Clark, Sunni Clark, Alyssa Dense, Galyne Fischer, Stephanie Glover, Rebecca Hulslander, Jamie Kennedy, Andrea Kent, Nicole Kress, Fawn Mitchell, Alyssa Pratt, Shanna Price, Aranda Robyck, Mandy Smith, Tiffany Trenchard, Peyton Westlake, Samantha Wheeler and Emily Wilcox.

    The 17-month program included 1,000 hours of instruction to prepare students for the New York State Cosmetology Board exam.

    For more information on this and other courses, please call 739-7905 or log onto http://www.gstboces.org/adulted.

  • Wildwood Student wins a new car

    The Student of the Month Committee at the GST BOCES Wildwood Education Center partnered with Maple City Dodge for a car give away at Wildwood's graduation ceremony. Maple City Dodge graciously donated a 2008 Suzuki Reno in support of Career and Technical Education.

    Chad Warriner, a Heavy Equipment student from the Canisteo-Greenwood Central School District, was drawn as the winner at the Wildwood awards ceremony. Warner (left) is pictured with Maple City Dodge President Gary Harwood as he picks up his new car. Harwood is an alumni of the Wildwood Education Center Auto Body Repair Program and a member of the GST BOCES Hall of Fame.

    To be entered into the car drawing, students must have been selected as a Student of the Month and/or a National Technical Honor Society Member, maintained 80 or above average, had 6 or fewer days absent for senior year and no discipline referrals, and received recommendations from instructors.

  • Coopers class builds house for Habitat for Humanity

    Juniors and seniors in the Building Construction classes at the Coopers Education Center had a unique opportunity to help their community this year. The students constructed a home for Steuben County Habitat for Humanity in their shop. The house, which was built in two sections, is the first Habitat house that was not built on-site. The sections were transported to their permanent home on Hamilton Street in Corning in May, a complex operation that involved detailed planning and the assistance of the New York State Police.

    "This is the first time we’ve tried something like this," says Matthew Harmer, the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator for Steuben County Habitat for Humanity. "We're used to doing everything at the work site, so it was exciting to watch it all come down the road. We're really impressed with the work these young people did and the time and effort they put into it."

    Building Construction Instructor Roger Reep said that this project will be a source of pride for his students for many years to come. "This house will be something they can go back and see, like a time capsule of their work," he said. "It's a great experience to build something like this that will mean so much to a local family."

  • Bush Culinary students face off in Cupcake Wars

    Seniors in the Culinary Arts program at the Bush Education Center recently faced off in a Cupcake Wars competition as a culmination of their baking unit. The event was modeled after the popular Food Network competition in which contestants are judged on the taste and presentation of their confections.

    Students worked in two-person teams to bake and decorate cupcakes in unique flavors and themes. They were judged on consistency, presentation and taste by a panel that included selected staff. In addition, juniors in the program offered peer evaluations of the cupcakes.

    The winner of this year's competition was a Starbucks-themed Snickerdoodle Frappe Cupcake.

  • Student saves neighbor’s life

    A junior in the Nurse Assisting program at the Wildwood campus used the skills she learned in her program to save a life recently. On May 24, the student's neighbor was having a hard time breathing and then suddenly collapsed. The student initiated CPR and continued until an ambulance arrived. Her neighbor was taken to the hospital and survived because of her quick thinking and willingness to take action.

    "I am so proud of her for taking what she has learned here at BOCES and applying her knowledge and skill when it was most needed," said Nurse Assisting Instructor JoAnn Phillips. "It takes courage to act in an emerging situation such as this was. She didn't shy away, but jumped in and acted."

    The student was presented with a certificate of recognition at the June 6 GST BOCES Board of Education meeting.

  • Dale Robie honored with Legislative Resolution

    Digital Media Arts Instructor Dale Robie, who was named SkillsUSA New York State Advisor of the Year, received a special surprise in recognition of that honor. In June, New York State Senator Tom O'Mara and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano visited the Coopers Education Center to present Dale with an official Legislative Resolution recognizing the SkillsUSA designation.

    The state Senate and Assembly unanimously adopted the Legislative Resolution (J2486/K537) honoring Robie's SkillsUSA "Advisor of the Year" award earlier that week. The resolution reads, in part, "Dale Robie has educated students not just academically, but about life lessons such as responsibility, teamwork and hard work… those who enhance the quality of life in their community, and have shown a long and sustained commitment to the maintenance of high standards in their profession, certainly have earned the recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State."

    In a joint statement, O'Mara and Palmesano said, "Workforce development is one of the critical challenges facing the Southern Tier and no one plays a more active role in preparing our students. Dale instills character in young lives. He nurtures their skills and builds a foundation for their success. His commitment to his students and their futures is unmatched and we could not be prouder to have this opportunity to thank Dale for making such an enormous difference in so many young lives."

    "I proudly and humbly accept this award on behalf of myself, students and advisors who have been a part of SkillsUSA at GST BOCES," said Dale Robie. "I want to thank Assemblyman Palmesano and Senator O'Mara for taking the time to award this and to recognize the work of SkillsUSA. I am happy to represent SkillsUSA and GST BOCES across New York State. Every year, I am impressed with the work ethic and skills that the SkillsUSA students bring to the regional and state conferences. The technical trades are an important part of our work force and SkillsUSA helps promote that. I hope to continue to have an impact on all students through involvement in SkillsUSA."

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Discover GST BOCES! Use the A to Z index or the Search Box located near the top of the page.
We deliver a variety of innovative programs and services from our three beautiful campuses. A full list of services can be found in the footer of this page.
Bush Campus
459 Philo Road, Elmira, NY 14903
(607) 739-3581 - Fax: (607) 795-5304
Coopers Campus
9579 Vocational Drive, Painted Post, NY 14870
(607) 962-3175 - Fax: (607) 962-1579
Wildwood Campus
1126 Bald Hill Road, Hornell, NY 14843
(607) 324-7880 - Fax: (607) 324-3842
GST BOCES has successfully completed the inspection of all schools and buildings in accordance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.
For details or to obtain a copy of the management plan, contact Brian Bentley at 739-3581, X1385.
Five inducted into Hall of Fame



Photo caption:
(L-R) Ryan Harrison, Heather McLaughlin, Abe Thomas, Jody Andrus and Jason Emo were recently inducted into the GST BOCES Hall of Fame. Photo by Tom Mike..

Jody Andrus graduated from Alfred-Almond Central School and completed the Cosmetology program at the Wildwood Education Center in 1979.

After graduation, Jody worked at two Hornell salons before opening her own business, Jody's Unisex Hair Design, in 1989. She ran her salon until 1998, when she accepted a position as a Cosmetology teaching assistant at the Steuben-Allegany BOCES (now GST BOCES) Wildwood campus. She still holds this position today and now works on the Coopers campus. For the past three years, she also has served as an advisor for the student SkillsUSA chapter.

Jody is active in her community and helped coordinate fundraising efforts for many local causes, including Relay for Life and Lungs for Leah. She also works with Volunteer Caregiver, providing hair services and visiting with elderly residents in local nursing homes.

Jason Emo graduated from Alfred-Almond Central School in 1990 and completed the Auto Body and Heavy Equipment programs at the Wildwood Education Center during his high school years.

After graduation, Jason began his career with the Town of Hornellsville as an equipment operator. He was able to merge his automotive and heavy equipment knowledge as he used down time to refurbish and maintain the town's aging fleet of equipment. Eventually, he was able to transform old pieces of equipment into a useful and reliable fleet. Jason later became the assistant highway superintendent and, after 20 years working for the town, was elected Town of Hornellsville Highway Superintendent in 2012. In this position, he put in place a system that reduced the town's spending on equipment maintenance by replacing it with debt service on bonding for new equipment. This approach has saved the town a significant amount of money, allowed debt to be almost eliminated and provided new equipment to the town on a regular rotation.

Jason provides internships for current GST BOCES students; he enjoys working side by side with them and serving as a mentor as they develop work skills.

Ryan Harrison completed the Criminal Justice program at the Wildwood Education Center and graduated from Hornell High School in 2005. After graduation, he attended Corning Community College and earned an associate degree in Criminal Justice.

In 2012, Ryan was sworn in as a full-time police officer for the City of Hornell Police Department. Four years later, he was promoted to sergeant, the position he still holds today. He leads the field training program for new officers and is a certified computerized voice stress analyzer, general instructor and bicycle patrolman. He also has taken additional training in narcotics investigations and interview techniques and recently graduated from the state-certified supervisors school.

Ryan remains involved with the GST BOCES Criminal Justice program by serving as a guest speaker and mock interviewer. He also assists with student performance evaluations.

Heather McLaughlin, a graduate of Corning-Painted Post West High School, attended the Licensed Practical Nurse program at the Coopers Education Center as an adult student while working full-time and raising four young children. After completing the program in 2001, she went on to work as an LPN at Elcor, The Waters of Three Rivers and Pathways, Inc.

Heather attended Corning Community College and earned a nursing degree in 2006. Her career path included jobs at Robert Packer Hospital and then Arnot Ogden Medical Center. While working in Arnot's emergency department, she earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Keuka College and a master's degree in Family Health Nursing from Binghamton University.

After earning these degrees, she returned to Robert Packer Hospital, taking a position as a Nurse Practitioner. She also was a clinical instructor for the Registered Nurse program at Corning Community College. Heather is currently a Nurse Practitioner at the Bath Veterans Administration.

Abe Thomas completed the Auto Body Repair program at the Coopers Education Center and graduated from Corning-Painted Post West High School in 2003. After graduation, he worked as an auto body technician at Loren's Body Shop in Corning. He went on to work at Crane's Towing in Painted Post and Goodrich Auto Works LLC in Bath before joining the Fox Auto Group in Painted Post in 2011.

Abe has worked his way from collision repair technician to his current position of auto body shop manager. He earned the Automotive Service Excellence Technician certification and I-CAR certifications. In addition to his job at Fox, Abe operates his own business, Against the Grain Paint, Body and Sales. He has built a reputation for quality of work in complete restoration, custom paint and body work. Abe has earned several awards for his work, including an award at Daytona Bike Week for a custom motorcycle that he painted.

Abe remains involved with the GST BOCES Auto Body program. He provides internship experiences for students at Fox Auto Group and works with his contacts at area body shops and estimators to secure internship opportunities. He also volunteers his time to share his experiences with BOCES students at events throughout the year.

The Hall of Fame recognizes the personal achievements of former GST BOCES students who demonstrate an understandable connection between their BOCES experience and career choice achievements. Anyone who has successfully completed an Adult Education, Alternative High School or Career and Technical Education program is eligible for the Hall of Fame. Applicants are eligible after the sixth year following their program completion. Inductees are selected by the CTE Advisory Council, which is made up of business and community leaders.