Only two students from every district in Macomb County were recognized, and senior Tyler Newton was one.

The Macomb County Career Technical Education Administrators Association invited Newton to receive his award at a breakfast celebration held on Feb. 3. The event recognized the best CTE students in the county, and was held at the “MISD Educational Service Center” in Clinton Township.

“I think I was nominated for this,” Newton said, “because of my involvement in CTE in and out of the classroom.”

CTE classes provide students with the academic and technical skills, knowledge and training necessary to succeed in future careers and become lifelong learners.

Classes offered at Utica include accounting, MS Office, marketing, and web design, to name a few.

Students take CTE classes in high school so they can excel in the certain subjects they want to continue on with in their college careers, as well as future professional careers.

“My specific classes in CTE were Marketing I and II, Independent Business Studies, and school store,” Newton said. “My biggest accomplishment would have to be being in the top 20 in nationals for DECA.”

DECA is an extracurricular activity that prepares students that are going into marketing, finance, hospitality, and management in their collegiate and professional futures.

“I feel like DECA was a huge help,” Newton said. “It really taught me a lot throughout high school.”

CTE teachers from Macomb County were invited to nominate their top students. MCTEAA then chose the top two students from each district. Tyler Perkins from Stevenson High School was the other district award winner.

CTE teachers Craig Smale and Dana Boice collaborated on Newton’s nomination.

“I picked Tyler for a million reasons,” Boice said. “I have so much respect for Tyler not only as a student, but as a person. We got so close from when I taught him in DECA.”

Although Newton is not one of Smale’s current students, he nominated Newton for personal reasons.

“Tyler demonstrates amazing leadership skills,” Smale said. “He was one of the captains on my son’s cross country team, and I really got to know him and respect him because of how he led the team, as well as how he interacted with the younger guys on the team.”