New York State Education Commissioner Dr. Betty A. Rosa visited the TST BOCES New Visions Engineering program on Wednesday, Sept. 9, getting a firsthand look at a program that is giving high school students real-world engineering experience before they graduate.
New Visions Engineering is housed on the Cornell University campus and taught by TST BOCES teacher David Syracuse. One of the program's unique opportunities is ATLAS, or Accelerated Training for Labor Advancement in Semiconductors, a partnership with the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) that gives TST BOCES seniors hands-on experience in micro- and nanofabrication.
Through ATLAS, Syracuse works alongside Tom Pennell, CNF Workforce Development Program Manager and ATLAS lead instructor, and the CNF team to bring students directly into Cornell's cleanroom, where they learn the processes and equipment used in semiconductor fabrication.
Joining Commissioner Rosa and her Chief of Staff, David M. Frank, were New York State Senator Lea Webb and Assemblymember Dr. Anna R. Kelles, along with TST BOCES District Superintendent Lily Talcott, Assistant Superintendent Cindy Walter, CTE Director Sarah Vakkas and Board of Education President Linda Competillo, as well as representatives from Cornell and CNF.
The visit brought the group together to see the program in action and talk about something much bigger: what education can look like when schools, higher education and industry work together to prepare students for what comes next.
Throughout the school year, New Visions Engineering students spend weeks at a time inside CNF learning skills used in micro- and nanofabrication. They learn cleanroom procedures, work with highly specialized multimillion-dollar equipment and experience a professional research environment while they are still in high school. As part of ATLAS, students even put those skills into practice by working through the fabrication process on silicon wafers inside the cleanroom.
It is the kind of authentic learning experience at the center of conversations happening across New York State as the State Education Department moves forward with NY Inspires and the New York State Portrait of a Graduate.
The Portrait of a Graduate looks beyond what students know when they leave high school and considers the skills and experiences they need to be successful in college, careers and civic life. For those gathered around the table, New Visions Engineering and ATLAS offered a chance to see what that can look like in practice.
Students are not only learning about engineering in a classroom. They are walking into a Cornell research facility, working alongside professionals, learning to use specialized equipment, solving problems and applying what they have learned in an environment where that work is happening every day.
Two former New Visions Engineering students were also in attendance to describe where those experiences can lead.
Hajo Wise, a 2023 New Visions Engineering graduate, and Gavin Simoneau, a 2025 graduate, returned to share their experiences with Commissioner Rosa. Both are now students at Rochester Institute of Technology, with Wise studying Mechanical Engineering and Simoneau studying Mechatronics Engineering Technology.
Simoneau told the commissioner that having real cleanroom experience on his resume caught people's attention when he arrived at RIT. Being able to say that he had already worked inside Cornell's NanoScale Science and Technology Facility and had hands-on experience in a cleanroom made people "wide-eyed."
For Wise, who is two years from graduating from RIT, his time in the cleanroom continues to be a highlight. He expects the experience he gained as a high school student to be a standout on his resume when it comes time to apply for jobs.
Following the discussion, the group got to see the cleanroom environment for themselves. After suiting up in the proper attire, Pennell led Commissioner Rosa and the group through CNF for a closer look at the equipment and spaces New Visions Engineering students use during their time in the ATLAS Program. The tour also offered a glimpse at the other research happening around the students as they learn.
The visit naturally opened a larger conversation about preparing for the growing workforce needs of the semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries in Central New York.
TST BOCES highlighted how that preparation is already taking place across its programs. In addition to New Visions Engineering, the group discussed the TST BOCES Career and Technical Education Welding program and its work with orbital welding and training on ultra-high-purity gas systems, specialized skills expected to be in high demand as Micron establishes its semiconductor manufacturing operations in Central New York.
The discussion focused on how K-12 education, higher education and industry can work together to build pathways that give students the skills and experiences they will need to take advantage of these emerging career opportunities.
For New Visions Engineering teacher David Syracuse, what TST BOCES has built through the program and its partnership with Cornell could serve as a model well beyond the region.
“There are 37 BOCES across New York State,” Syracuse said. “TST BOCES has one model that is working. And in my opinion, there are 36 more to go!”
That idea led to conversation about what it would take to bring opportunities like this to more students, including the partnerships, resources and funding needed to make that possible.
For TST BOCES, the visit was an opportunity to showcase a program that is already putting many of the ideas behind NY Inspires and the Portrait of a Graduate into practice. New Visions Engineering offers one example of what that can look like: students taking their learning beyond the classroom, working alongside professionals and leaving high school with skills and experiences that can continue opening doors in college, careers and beyond.