As the 2019-2020 school year started, the Career and Technical Education department received a change– Patrick Fardy took over the position of department chair. 

Fardy has been working for his entire 18 year teaching career at DGS. When he heard about the open department chair position due to Valerie Moses retiring at the end of the 2018-2019 school year, he applied right away. Principal Edward Schwartz explains the application process that Fardy went through. 

“We obviously posted the position, advertised for it not just in the building but also outside of the building. There were quite a few applicants, I want to say between 12-15. We [then] narrowed it down, I want to say that we interviewed five or six people in person,” Schwartz said.

After interviewing the smaller pool of candidates, Fardy came out on top, ultimately receiving the position. With this new position comes new responsibilities that Fardy will now have to manage. Fardy shared some of his new responsibilities as the department chair.

“As department chair, I will be in charge of the grants that we have to write for our department, the scheduling for the department and kind of your day to day making sure that the department is running as smoothly as possible,” Fardy said. 

In the CTE department, there are three sub-departments that Fardy is in charge of: the family and consumer science department, the engineering department and the business department. Culinary teacher Brooke Emmens shares how Fardy becoming the department chair affects the department as a whole.

“I think that there is a closeness going from someone being your colleague to being your boss. I  think that there is a comfortableness with him for me at least, and it kind of makes me feel that I can be open and vulnerable and honest with them,” Emmens said.

Teachers within the department aren’t the only ones who feel comfortable with Fardy. Senior Connor Cigrand feels a similar closeness with Fardy in his introduction to business class and describes Fardy’s skills in the classroom. 

“I think he challenges and motivates me and every other student to perform at their best, try their hardest and achieve the best possible,” Cigrand said.

Receiving a new department chair wasn’t the only change that the CTE department has experienced during this school year. The new culinary labs which were a part of the Master Facility Plan were built this summer. While this was a large change for the culinary labs, Fardy hopes to have a smaller change when he proposes a new course for the 2020-2021 school year.

“We are looking forward to introducing hopefully this year an internship class, which would allow students to go out within a specific career pathway of their choosing and hopefully be able to go into different businesses in the community and really find out what it is like to be a part of that specific career field. It would be a volunteer-based class but that is something that we’re looking forward to presenting for next year,” Fardy said. 

A new course isn’t the only change that the CTE department could be receiving. Right now, most of the CTE classes are held on the first floor while Fardy’s office is on the third floor, resulting in teachers having to walk up two flights of stairs just to get to his office. Schwartz hopes to put an end to this situation.

“We have a plan to eventually move his office back downstairs, since pretty much his whole department is on the first floor, and it would make it a little more cohesive and easier for them to work together,” Schwartz said.  

Schwartz isn’t the only one who wants to put an end to this situation. Business teacher Paul Krick has a specific hope for the department now that Fardy is in charge. 

“I’d like to have all of our department in one area instead of being on the first and the third floor,” Krick said.

Being the department chair isn’t the only responsibility that Fardy has at DGS. He is also a volleyball coach and a DECA advisor. DECA, the business and marketing club, is filled with students that show an interest in business, marketing and accounting. Freshman Mary Ghawaly explains how Fardy has helped her in the DECA club.

“If I do something wrong he can usually take charge and help fix the problem,” Ghawaly said. 

While Fardy has some hopes for the department in the future, he currently feels that the department as a whole is in a good place. 

“I think I am very lucky that our department is in a very good place. We have a lot of great teachers who really know their subject matter very well, and we offer a lot of tremendous classes for students here at DGS and more than anything, I just want to continue the great work that has already been going on in the department,” Fardy said.