The passion that educators bring to Career and Technical Education programs and their ability to light their students’ pathways to success were lauded at this year’s Career and Technical Education Awards.

“The work that you do is impactful, the work that you do is passionate,” UFT Vice President for Career and Technical Education High Schools Leo Gordon told the more than 430 attendees who gathered on Feb. 9 at UFT headquarters in Manhattan for the celebration. “The reason that you do it is to ignite excellence in your students every day.”

The UFT and industry partners and organizations gave out more than 80 awards to educators from across New York City during the event, which had a theme of “Igniting Excellence in CTE.”

Among the honorees was Jose Santiago, who teaches construction technology at William E. Grady Career and Technical Education HS in Brooklyn. Santiago, one of five recipients of a G-Factor Films award for outstanding teachers, has taught for 25 years at Grady, where he was once a student before joining the Success Via Apprenticeship program.

He recounted how his own career pathway had been fueled by the educators in his life. “I know the value firsthand of being a student at Grady HS because it gave me my career and allowed me to flourish as a student through school and also as a teacher,” Santiago said.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew, himself a former CTE teacher at Grady, noted that New York City has the largest CTE division in the country. The programs have a graduation rate of 91% — 10 percentage points higher than the overall New York City public school graduation rate.

“To me, it’s the clearest example of ‘This is what we should be doing,’” he said. “Experiential learning is the way to go and then tying it to relevance, to a student, gives them the ability to engage in a meaningful way.”

The programs’ success shows in the division’s twofold growth in three years, said Gordon, who thanked his CTE colleagues for their exemplary work.

“It is that kind of work that changes our school system,” Gordon said. “We know it. That’s why we have record CTE programs opening.”

Honorees spoke of how their students motivated and inspired them.

“They give me more than I can give to them,” said Stacey Thomas from Chelsea CTE HS, who was honored with a CompTIA award (named for the Computing Technology Industry Association) as the Work-Based Learning Coordinator of the Year.

Thomas, a teacher for more than 30 years, said she maintains an open-door policy with her students, who “just bring life to me.”

Devante Dickerson, a third-year Success Via Apprenticeship teaching apprentice at Long Island City HS in Queens and honoree, said it was an honor to be able to teach culinary arts and transform young lives.

“No one would have thought I’d be a teacher,” said Dickerson, who graduated from the Brooklyn STEAM Center in culinary arts and hospitality management as well as the Success Via Apprenticeship program. “I think when I was younger I didn’t have the patience to teach, to be a great teacher, but I’m falling in love with it. I’ve caught the bug.”

Joshua Rivera, who teaches advanced carpentry with a focus on historic preservation at the Stephen T. Mather Building Arts and Craftsmanship HS in Manhattan, said he used to laugh at the thought of becoming a teacher, but not anymore.

Rivera, who received the Edwin Espaillat Award and a Municipal Credit Union Award, is now a fifth-year Success Via Apprenticeship teaching apprentice at the school he attended. He said he loves going to work in the morning.

“I love every second of what I do,” he said. “I love the students. I love teaching what I teach.”