Work‑based learning and CTSO leadership: what strengthens a CTE scholarship application

Brecken Haywood explained distinctions between different kinds of work‑based experiences and why the committee values capstone internships and apprenticeships as evidence of pathway completion. Brecken said clinical hours and shorter experiences (job shadow, externship) should be listed, but ‘‘capstone level internship and apprenticeship’’ courses are treated as pathway completers and receive extra consideration in scoring.

Ashley encouraged applicants to clearly link duties and responsibilities to career goals, not simply list unrelated tasks. She recommended that students describe how their work‑based learning prepared them for their intended occupation and stressed that reviewers know nothing about applicants beyond what is written in the application: “So make sure that you're writing and you're telling us exactly, like, what your duties are,” she said, specifically urging applicants to include concrete descriptions that demonstrate alignment to their CTE pathway.