Brewster Student Awarded for Excellence in Nontraditional Career Path
Taylor Turnure finds working in a car paint booth “calming.” As she prepared to enter the booth in her class this week at The Tech Center at Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES, donning full paint-proof suit and goggles, she methodically checked to see that everything was perfect.
“I love the paint booth,” she said, “because I can be in my own little world.” It’s that type of focus on her work that helped her score the Vanguard Award this year, which recognizes outstanding secondary and postsecondary level students who are enrolled in Career and Technical programs that are not traditional for their gender.
The senior from Brewster may be female, but “she is just as good if not better than any of the boys in my class,” said her Tech Auto Body teacher Steve Zavodsky. “She’s the first one here every day, and she has an amazing work ethic.”
Zavodsky has seen the number of females enrolling in his program steadily grow over the past several years, and he’s particularly pleased with Turnure’s work. “She’s really meticulous, and she puts a lot of thought into her work.”
Turnure, who was accepted to Ohio Technical Institute for the fall, credits her success to The Tech Center program. “I love the program here,” she said. “It’s so much better than learning from a book. It’s all hands-on.”
Turnure’s determination brought her to the attention of Cara Long, deputy director of the Center for Women in Government and Civil Society at the University of Albany, which gives out the Vanguard award.
“Taylor was selected as a winner because her entry essay conveyed maturity and insight,” Long said. “Taylor understands what it takes to be successful in her field. Her nominators praised her hard work and dedication, but she also knows that pursuing a nontraditional career can be challenging at times. With hard work and help from her family and teachers, she has been able to overcome those challenges.”
“The nominations have been outstanding, as is evidenced by the fact that Tech had winners two years in a row,” said Long who also praised The Tech Center for submitting stellar nominations.
“Taylor is truly an inspiring young woman, and we believe that she will enjoy a lot of success in her future career,” said Long.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.