ByMATTHEW EHLER Grand Haven Tribune(Printed by written permission from the Grand Haven Tribune)
Mar 15, 2022
Two Ottawa County high school students have received some distinctive hardware for their technological collaboration with the city of Ferrysburg.
Jenison senior Aidan Palmbos and Hamilton senior Ethan Doxey both were bestowed State of Michigan Tributes by State Rep. Jim Lilly, R-Macatawa, for their stamps made on the Smith Bayou historical marker, which sits at the northeast side of Smith’s Bridge. They were presented the tributes Monday afternoon at the Career line Tech Center (CTC).
Rebecca Hopp, who served as Ferrysburg’s mayor up until late last year, worked with the two CTC students to install a QR code that, when scanned with a smartphone, provides a link to specific information. In this case, the QR code provides an audio recording of historical information, along with a link to the city’s website for further information.
Hopp was determined to recognize the accomplishments of Hezekiah Smith, a free Black man who was a landowner and civil rights activist in Ottawa and Muskegon counties in the late 1840s. The marker, dedicated on Aug. 13,2021, was the first for Ferrysburg and the first-ever marker with a link for a QR code.
Palmbos, who also studies in the software and game development program at CTC, created the QR code.
“I’m going to use this as a sign that I need to continue to push myself and continue to help the community,” he said.
The Career line Tech Center says it prepares students for tomorrow’s workforce by providing career and technical education for employment, currently with more than 1,400 students enrolled in 28 career and technical education programs. That includes Palmbos, who says CTC allows him to connect with like-minded students.
“The skills I could have learned by myself, but with the help of the teachers and other students, it’s just nice to connect with people outside of my high school,” he said. “Coming to tech center with students who want to be here is very nice.”
Doxey, a student in the tech center’s ENT/global business class, created an audio recording of the historical marker. He said the real-life experience working with Hopp not only gave him valuable skills, but also solidity toward a future career.
“This is really cool because not a lot of people get this award,” Doxey said. “Not a lot of people have the opportunity to do something like this and work on a historical marker for a city. It’s cool to be recognized by the state and people that are high up in the state. It makes me proud to be a student here and proud to be a student of Hamilton.”
