TRAVERSE CITY — Pat Lamb and Karmin Olds, two staff members at Northwest Education Services Career Tech, have won statewide awards for their dedication to Career and Technical Education in Michigan.
Lamb and Olds are among a list of nine individuals recognized by the Michigan Association for Career and Technical Education (MI ACTE), with Lamb winning MI ACTE’s 2024 Administrator of the Year Award and Olds taking home the organization’s Counseling and Career Development Professional Award.
Lamb is North Ed’s assistant superintendent of Career and Technical Education and Olds serves as a counselor at Career Tech.
“To have even one individual earn this prestigious achievement would be an honor, but to have two of our employees being recognized for their work is simply incredible,” North Ed’s superintendent Dr. Nick Ceglarek said. “The entire team at Career Tech is made up of passionate individuals who truly value education and care about our students, and they demonstrate that by engaging students in rigorous hands-on learning that sets them on a trajectory for success. Congratulations to Pat and Karmin on this outstanding recognition.”
Before becoming the assistant superintendent of Career and Technical Education, Lamb served as principal of North Ed’s tech center from 2010-19. He started with North Ed in 2004 as the assistant principal of the center after working as an educator and administrator at Northport Public School and St. Mary’s Lake Leelanau.
Lamb has a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees from Central Michigan University, and a teaching certificate from Olivet College.
“I consider myself lucky to work in education and to witness the growth and potential of our students every day,” Lamb said. “This recognition is humbling, and I know that I would not be in this position if it weren’t for the people around me. The team and the culture that has been developed at Career Tech is exceptional, and I am fortunate to be a part of that.”
After earning her bachelor’s degree in 1997 from CMU, Olds taught Spanish at Kalkaska High School for several years. She later returned to CMU to earn her master’s degree in counseling and began her role as a school counselor in 2013 at Kalkaska High School.
Olds has worked in her current role at Career Tech since 2019.
“As counselors, our work centers around serving our students and supporting them as they learn new skills and prepare to take the next step after graduation,” Olds said. “Seeing students succeed and flourish has always been one of the most rewarding things for me, and I am inspired every day by their dreams, resilience and growth. It is an honor to receive this recognition and a privilege to be among a group of such outstanding educators and administrators.”
For more information about North Ed Career Tech, click here.