Marley Frantz, a former Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) student, found her calling in a School District of Lancaster (SDOL) classroom not far from where she first started her professional journey.
Frantz was enrolled at LCCTC as a student in our Brownstown campus’ Introduction to Health Careers program, and later in the Advanced Health Careers program. She pictured a full-time career for herself in the healthcare industry, and she committed herself wholly to it. “I went to nursing school during [the pandemic], and that was really difficult,” she admitted. At the same time, she worked a night shift at a local emergency department too. “I was just super drained, and then it took me failing my nursing class by 0.7 [percent] my first semester for me to… reevaluate.” After her second semester, she decided she no longer wanted to work in the ER.
She recalls a conversation with SDOL’s Special Education director, a familiar face from her time as a cheerleading coach. She explains that the director encouraged her to apply to a position in a multiple-disabilities classroom with students with medical needs. “I didn’t know the specifics of anything, but the knowledge that I learned, skills that I learned in CTC, definitely helped me in the classroom,” she says. In her new role, she monitored vital signs, managed personal care, and watched for signs of seizures. “It’s not initially what I wanted,” she allows, but she emphasizes that now, “I don’t see myself doing anything else.”
Frantz is currently long-term subbing in an SDOL learning support classroom. She teaches reading, writing, and other academic skills to students in grades six through eight, but more than that, she says, “We make such an impact on these kids. We’re starting to talk about what the future looks like. We’re starting to deal with different problems that they didn’t have before, and [I’m] able to mentor the kids and be there for them.”
She credits Mr. David Ecenrode, our Architectural CAD and Design instructor, as one teacher who she models her mentoring after. “Mr. Ecenrode was that person for me at Brownstown. He really pushed me, [saying], ‘If this is position you want, you’re doing this with 110 percent,” she says, recalling her role as president of her SkillsUSA chapter. Frantz would eventually go on to become the Pennsylvania state delegate at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. She explains many of her professional skills, including her leadership, public speaking, and networking abilities, were developed at Brownstown. She noted she recently led a professional development session on managing behaviors for the entire district, but she argued she wouldn’t have been able to accomplish that without the firm belief of CTC instructors.
Frantz encourages students to be comfortable outside of their comfort zones. “Be brave enough to try new things even when you’re unsure,” she says. She has nearly finished her Special Education degree from Millersville University, and her current job placement has solidified that she is now where she is supposed to be.
