It is with mixed emotions that ESUHSD CTE announces the retirement of Tim Nguyen, who has served as the Director of Career Services since 2015. Under his leadership, CTE experienced renewed growth with a focus on relevant technical skills, career skills, and work-based learning opportunities to empower students to succeed in diverse careers. Mr. Nguyen led with integrity, vision, and an unwavering commitment to the values that define the East Side Union High School District and has been an inspiring figure for both faculty and students, always placing the needs of the learners at the heart of every decision. While Mr. Nguyen will be greatly missed, his legacy will continue to guide CTE as it moves forward. We are deeply grateful for his 42 years of service and dedication, and we wish Tim Nguyen all the best in this well-deserved next chapter.
Silver Creek High School - Business and Innovation
- Silver Creek High School shined brightly in the Intuit Hour of Finance Challenge this past spring. A grassroots effort spearheaded by Silver Creek DECA and FBLA students got students involved, engaged, and prepared to participate in this national contest during Financial Literacy Month. The challenge kicked off during Spring Break but dedicated Silver Creek Business pathway students made time to participate and got us onto the leaderboard early. We ended up with over 750 students participating, securing a top 10 national ranking garnering the highest school participation in the nation.
- Silver Creek FBLA Competes and wins in Orlando! Early on the morning of June 28, nineteen students and three chaperones boarded a plane for Orlando to compete in the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference. The Raiders returned home with some hardware from several competitive categories representing top tier performance in the nation!
A Double Dose of Innovation: Our students demonstrated exceptional leadership and collaboration by organizing two successful events. In October, FBLA, DECA, Computer Science, and other clubs joined forces to host our first TEDx event. The event featured inspiring student speeches that explored life lessons beyond the classroom. Building on this success, we hosted Creek Tank in November, a student-led business pitch competition. The event showcased the innovative ideas of our students, from practical apps to safety-focused smart devices.
Yerba Buena High School - Engineering
- Students in Introduction to Engineering have been making mousetrap powered cars with 3D printed parts. The parts include gearing to make the cars go further by more slowly and efficiently releasing the energy of the mousetrap. The students design and 3D print the cars and then put them together and test them.
Mount Pleasant High School - Multimedia
- Program students put their skills to use creating an updated promotional video for their program.
Independence High School - Construction Technology
- The IHS Construction Technology program has been hard at work renovating the Memorial Grove part of our campus with new concrete work and redwood benches. These will serve as communal spaces to be used for lunchtime and break gatherings but may also be utilized as an outdoor classroom for teachers hoping to take advantage of our new outdoor space.
- Job Shadow Day @ Franklin Templeton Investments - San Mateo: Fifty AoF students participated in a job shadow event at Franklin Templeton Investments, hosted by Junior Achievement. The day started with an introduction to the company and career advice from a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner. Students then shadowed professionals in roles like graphic design, ETF product development, and corporate treasury. Many expressed interest in Franklin Templeton’s rotating internship program after the experience. The event inspired students to explore careers in finance and other fields.
Ayaan Hassan - Silver Creek High School, Business & Innovation
Another Silver Creek business student is off to the Big Apple to Compete! Ayaan Hassan placed second in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) West business plan competition qualifying as a National Finalist in the 2025 NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge! Ayaan’s business idea, Aidly Ai so far has yielded him $1,000 in seed capital. Next up is the Big Stage in New York City on October 10 to compete against 40 other talented young entrepreneurs from all over the U.S. Ayaan is Silver Creek’s fourth national finalist in five years including Avi Goel (2020 National Runner-Up), Abinav Gorrepati (2022 National Runner-Up), Saket Pathak (2023 National Semi-Finalist)
Santa Teresa High School - Systems Programming
Students visited Roku where they were introduced to the basic concepts of connecting to a Roku device with the ultimate goal of creating an interactive program that can be accessed through the device. In April, we will return to show off everything the students have learned in hopes of securing a position for a summer internship.
Mount Pleasant High School - Animation Program
Mt Pleasant's animation program visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium last month for a sketching trip. The main focus of the trip was to have students observing, analyzing and sketching animals in their habitat, while studying their movements and forms, through sketching. Animation studios often send their employees on these types of sketching trips to have their animators understand how they are going to depict their subjects on the big screen.
Andrew Hill High School Medical Magnet
Seven members from our HOSA chapter, along with our advisor Mr. Shih, attended the FLC at Ygnacio Valley High School. It was a great experience with a variety of health-related workshops and delicious food. I had the chance to participate in four workshops: CERT, CPR, First Aid, and Suturing. Before attending the CPR workshop, I already knew the basics, but I’d never actually performed it on a dummy. I learned some important steps, like ensuring the scene is safe, checking if the person is conscious, and feeling for a pulse before starting CPR. One challenge I faced was that I had trouble pushing down two inches during chest compressions. However, I realized that I wasn't leaning over the dummy properly, and once I adjusted my posture, I was able to apply more pressure. The CPR and suturing workshops were definitely my favorites because they offered the most hands-on experience. In the suturing workshop, I learned how to sew the needle through the skin, but I had some difficulty with the knotting. I found using a monofilament suture (a single thread) much easier than the braided suture, which has multiple threads twisted together. Overall, attending FLC was a great opportunity to meet new people from other HOSA chapters and I learned new skills that I wouldn't have sought out on my own. I would highly recommend that other members in our chapter should attend FLC at least once to get the experiences before going to SLC and even participating in workshops that could help with their events.
Silver Creek High School Business & Innovation
This past summer, Silver Creek’s BizCamp 24 provided 25+ students with an intensive nine day entrepreneurship course. Under the guidance of Mr. Butler, guest speakers, and student volunteers, participants took their creative ideas and developed amazing business plans. The camp concluded with a startup pitch competition, pizza, and $1,500 in prizes and stipends being distributed. ($750 distributed).
Independence High School - STEAM Academy
Nearly 50 STEAM Academy students from Independence High School participated in Manufacturing Day by touring Shastha Foods, a local food company. They toured the facility and were able to see the processes used to produce many of the company's products. They were also able to visit a local solar cell company who is on the cusp of creating a solar cell that will be four times better than the ones currently on the market. Students were able to not only see true innovation at work, but they were able to witness it in their own area.
Vivian Ho, Piedmont Hills High School - Marketing & Entrepreneurship, Class of 2025
“My internship offered the opportunity to interact with professionals, giving me valuable insight. The supportive and collaborative environment fostered strong professional relationships and encouraged growth..”
Derin Abraham, Santa Teresa High School - Systems Programming, Class of 2025
“My CTE courses prepared me for the work environment by providing opportunities like these that allow students like me to actually work in the field they want to go into and also to apply the skills they learn in the classroom.”
Lena Cung, Independence High- Academy of Finance Class of 2025
Second-year President of the Academy of Finance Student Board, exemplifies dedication and leadership. A natural-born hustler, she balances organizing fundraisers for AoF, excelling in AP classes, working a job, and staying active in extracurriculars. AoF has ignited her entrepreneurial spirit, strengthened her leadership abilities, and fueled her ambition for success.
ESUHSD Career Technical Education
Email: nguyent@esuhsd.org
Website: https://eastsidecareerpathways.org/
Location: 830 N. Capitol Avenue San Jose, CA 95133
Phone: 408-347-5241