Triniti Vazquez ’22 will soon spend her days helping bring life into the world. But it wasn’t long ago when her life would change forever. The Maine-Endwell grad now holds the unique distinction of being the first BOCES Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) student to graduate from the prestigious, and highly competitive SUNY Broome nursing school. At just 19-years-old, Vazquez has accepted a position as a registered nurse in the maternity ward at UHS Wilson Hospital.
(Photo by Matt Ebbers)
“Getting to work as a nurse was really kind of healing, because I spent my whole childhood in and out of hospitals. Being able to help other people was like healing a part of me that was there,” said Vazquez.
Shortly after moving to the district, Vazquez was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and now lives with four chronic illnesses. She’d get exposed to the medical field at an early age, and it was then when she developed a love and appreciation for the work and care that goes into it. Vazquez now had her dream career, but her pathway to get there was uncertain.
That was until one day, sitting in an art class, where the 2022 grad remembers watching a brief promotional video showcasing a new program at the time known as P-TECH, a specialized, six-year educational path that offers students from the region the opportunity to earn their high school diploma and a free associate degree from SUNY Broome in the fields of computer technology, engineering technology, health science, and nursing. She couldn’t have imagined anything more fitting.
“After I heard the video, I never heard anything else after that, and I was like, I’m really interested in this. There was no way I would have ever gone to college. And so I was like, this might be the door to what I was looking for.”
P-TECH brings students from multiple districts together in a partnership between their schools, BOCES and SUNY Broome. Triniti spent half the day at Maine-Endwell, and the other half at BOCES, taking a combination of SUNY Broome Fast Forward classes, high school gen-ed requirements, and career-centered training. By her senior year, Vazquez was taking classes on SUNY Broome’s campus while still in high school.
Now in its tenth year, P-TECH continues to be a great option for students at Maine-Endwell. Thanks to 19 free SUNY Broome Fast Forward classes, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders have the unique opportunity to get a jumpstart on their higher education, taking and earning college credits while still in high school.
“I graduated high school with over half of my Associate’s in Health Science because I took so many fast forward classes, not only at BOCES, but here as well. I think it really helps you understand what you're walking into when you get to college.”
Maine-Endwell offers the following SUNY Broome Fast Forward classes:
· ART 106 – Introduction to Three-Dimensional Design
· ART 115– Beginning Drawing I
· BIO 101– Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
· EDU 111 – Foundations of American Education
· ENG 110– College Writing I
· FRE 201– Intermediate French I
· FRE 202– Intermediate French II
· HIS 130– United States History I
· HIS 131– United States History II
· MAT 124– Statistics I
· MAT 156– Algebra and Trigonometry for Calculus:
· MAT 181– Calculus I
· MAT 182 – Calculus II
· PED 119 — Solutions in Fitness and Wellness
· PED 173 – Fitness Walking
· PHY 161– Physics I: Mechanics and Heat
· PHY 162 – Physics II: Wave Motion, Electromagnetism, and Atomic Physics
· SPA 201– Intermediate Spanish I
· SPA 202– Intermediate Spanish II