CAREER DEVELOPMENT
60
Trends In Education
BRIGHT FUTURE
The future of these programs can only get brighter as
former Career Academy graduates return to Martin County
with phenomenal success stories — eager to mentor the next
generation.
The landscape operations program at South Fork High
School is legendary in the golf course maintenance community
of South Florida. No other high school in the nation
has three working golf holes on its campus maintained by
students. And no one seems to know just how many people
have left South Fork to work in the Florida golf industry.
Keith Krueger, a former Teacher of the Year, is retiring after
24 years of building the landscaping program at South Fork.
His replacement is Wendy Walsh, who graduated from the
program and the University of Florida.
“Keith Krueger is responsible for the duration and success of
the program as well as helping former students into the industry,”
says Ryan McKuhen, 29, the superintendent at the Jupiter
Island Golf Club. “He helped me get my first job at Jupiter
Island Club. This program gave me my initial jump-start into
the world of turf grass and horticulture at a young age. It offers
you four years of experience and it is just like an internship.”
“I am very grateful to the program,” he says. “And now I
can give something back to where I went to school by teaching
classes at IRSC Indian River State College and serving
on the advisory committee at South Fork.”
Stacey Welch-Andrade, 26, is executive sous chef at Willoughby
Golf Club in Stuart and a graduate of the Culinary
Arts program at Martin County High School. “It was hard to
get into,” says Welch-Andrade. “I had to interview. I knew I
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Kuisman Mazaregos cuts out a wooden horse for decoration at an upcoming
Kentucky Derby-themed charity event. Mazaregos will graduate from South
Fork with his diploma and level one carpentry certification from the signature
program that costs the district nothing due to its business partnerships.
/www.sungrovemontessori.com
