ACC’s Lesniak, Reyes, Rice & Yeung honored at Colorado Apprenticeship Awards

Arapahoe Community College alumni Joseph Lesniak and Melina Reyes have received 2019 Outstanding Apprentice recognition from the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC), as announced at the Colorado Apprenticeship Awards on Tuesday evening, Nov. 5, at the Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion in Denver.
 
Lesniak attended ACC in the fall of 2018 as a member of the first cohort of the ACC / Centura Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship program. Lesniak was featured by Denver7 in the fall of 2018. Reyes was a member of the second cohort in the spring of 2019.
 
Additionally, Kristin Rice and Shao Yeung both received Outstanding Mentor recognition at the Colorado Apprenticeship Awards. Rice has taught the classroom-based medical assistant training course for the ACC / Centura Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship program since its inception last year. Yeung is the Work-Based Learning Program Manager in ACC’s Workforce & Community Programs office.
 
The ACC / Centura Health Medical Assistant Apprenticeship is a year-long registered apprenticeship program where students are hired into a paid role from day one by Centura Health as Medical Assistant apprentices while completing their medical assistant training through ACC. Apprentices are prepared to take and pass the national CCMA exam within six months and finish their apprenticeship as full-time medical assistants.
 
ACC recently opened the Sturm Collaboration Campus in Castle Rock, using work-based learning partnerships with industry to guide its programming and direction. ACC recently launched a medical assistant apprenticeship with HealthONE, as well as a water operator apprenticeship with the Town of Castle Rock. ACC is also planning to launch the first property management apprenticeship program in Colorado this spring.
 
Governor Polis has declared November as Colorado Apprenticeship Month. Colorado has become a national leader in work-based learning by identifying high-demand jobs and the skills they require. “Earn while you learn” apprenticeships are becoming a foundation for Colorado’s continuously growing and developing economy, guiding a skilled and educated workforce towards credentials and career pathways. Additional details available on the Apprenticeship Evolution website.
 
For more information about apprenticeship programs and workforce partnerships at ACC, please contact ACC Associate Vice President and Dean of Business, Technology and Workforce Partnerships Dr. Eric Dunker at eric [dot] dunker [at] arapahoe [dot] edu (eric[dot]dunker[at]arapahoe[dot]edu) or visit ACC's Workforce & Community Programs webpage.