Hunter Juarez-Palacios and staff member

Maximizing opportunities to become stronger inside the classroom. Recently, RCS Junior Hunter Juarez-Palacios was invited to create a graphic design for an Eagle Scout Ceremony through his participation in the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School, Albany Campus. 

As part of this work-based learning project, Mr. Juarez-Palacios created a graphic design utilizing the skill sets developed in the Digital Media Design program. The hands-on project called for some consultation prior to delivering the final design for Boy Scout Troop 37 in Niskayuna. Assisted by Mrs. Toy, a social worker for Capital Region BOCES whose son, Jack, is among the three scouts who were honored on May 13 for achieving Boy Scout’s highest rank – Mr. Juarez-Palacios delivered a quality product to recognize an important occasion.

Mrs. Toy had originally asked teacher Barb Gorbaty’s students to take on the graphic design project as part of their work-based learning and Juarez-Palacios said he appreciated the opportunity.

“I was once involved in Boy Scouts, so I know a little about this. It’s cool to work on an actual project and have some background on it,” he said.

Capital Region BOCES works extensively with more than 300 businesses and institutions to train students and prepare them for careers that exist now and those that will exist in the future. This training includes work-based learning opportunities that come from businesses, as well as private citizens who pay a nominal fee to have students perform work on projects that match their learning.

Juarez-Palacios and his fellow students in the two-year Digital Media Design program learn professional graphic design skills in industry-standard software while developing a working knowledge of design theory and practice. They also engage in the same project planning and execution processes that are consistent with industry practice and demonstrate their technical abilities through the Adobe Certified Expert program.