"Go Green" Fashion Show

On Friday, Aug. 19, second-year Fashion Merchandising students took their creations to the runway. The assignment was simple: create a wearable garmet using something other than fabric without sewing. The result was anything but ordinary!

Balloons, paint swatches, party supplies, electrical tape, books and magazines were just a few of the items included in this "Go Green" collection. Fashion shows were held at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. with students, faculty and parents voting on their favorites.

First place for the morning show was awarded to Madison Culley (Red Mountain High School) for her "Blue Bombshell" dress made of tissue paper and paper plates.

In the afternoon, Hailee Heighton (Apache Junction) took top honors for her "Belle Princess" dress made of tissue paper and plastic liner.

Congratulations to all of the students on their extremely creative designs!

EVIT is Makin' Headlines!

EVIT's Interior Design and Welding programs were recently featured on ABC 15 during their morning show. Watch the clip!

Do you have friends wishing they were attending EVIT this year? It's not too late to register. Invite them to BAFT (Bring a Friend Tuesday) on Aug. 23 or stop by our registration office.

Culinary students impress celebrity judges

Today's the first day of school at EVIT, but that didn't stop second-year culinary students Brandy Rennic (Apache Junction) and Chelsea Hacker (Apache Junction) from showing off their skills!

On Saturday, Aug. 6, Rennick and Hacker were selected by instructor Chef Turcotte to compete in an "Iron chef" type event at the Sanctuary Resort as part of a "Lunch and Learn" event hosted by Tram Mai of Channel 12.

With a 15-minute time limit, the mystery ingredients were revealed and the students went to work creating their own salad for celebrity judges Eddie Matney and Michael DeMaria.

Meanwhile, event attendees enjoyed a four-course lunch that was prepared with the help of additional EVIT students in the Sanctuary kitchen.

When it was time to judge...the salads created were too delicious to pick a winner, so it was called a tie!

The excitement of a new school year

In just a few days, the EVIT grounds and classrooms will be buzzing with more than 3,000 students. But, before the bell rings on Monday morning marking the official start of school, teachers are back on campus a few days this week.

Yesterday, the entire EVIT staff (teachers, administrators, support staff, maintenance workers, etc) came together for a day of in-service training. It's really a special opportunity to have everyone together at the same place and same time. The morning kicked off with an inspiration speech from Superintendent Dr. Downey, followed by the introduction new staff members and teachers and a sharing of summer adventures and accomplishments.

It's amazing how many cool places EVIT staff traveled over the summer, from Italy to month-long road trips, and the number of amazing accomplishments by our students, such as taking 2nd place in EMT at Skills USA Nationals and 1st place in Fashion Design at FCCLA (see post below).

Following the morning session, the group was divided up by birthdays then matched with a fellow co-worker at random. We then loaded on to a school bus (or van) for a special field trip and lunch at the new East campus near Power and Warner Roads.

While there was still some construction activity and furniture being moved in, it was quite impressive. My favorite rooms were the aviation classrooms, with a spectacular view of ASU Polytechnic and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in the distance. From the outside of the building it looks like an aviation tower with windows streching from nearly floor to ceiling. Other cool features include a rooftop garden, courtyard water feature and 150-seat auditorium with stadium seating. In addition to aviation, there will also be some health classes offered on the East campus.

The afternoon wrapped up back on the main campus with short presentations from various departments, such as the business office and public relations. While everyone left a bit exhausted from the amount of information and hot day, it was fun and a great chance to meet new people. There is definitely a vibe of excitement in the air and I have a feeling it's going to be a fantastic year!