The UFT and industry partners honored more than 35 educators, chosen by their students and colleagues, at this year’s Career and Technical Education Awards Recognition Ceremony on Feb. 4.

Aaron Singh, the waterfront director at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School, was among the educators who received Outstanding CTE Educator Awards at the event at union headquarters. Singh’s students are required to meet the same academic challenges as other high school students while gaining early experience in the maritime industry by working on a 40-foot ferryboat.

This year, Singh said, students at the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School participated in the Billion Oyster Project, a large-scale plan to restore 1 billion live oysters to New York Harbor. For these students, the work doesn’t seem like work at all. They say it’s a labor of love.

“I feel that one thing the New York Harbor School focuses on is team building,” said Angelina Lopez, an 11th-grader at the school. “We are also taught to act professionally in order to get things done.”

Another honoree, David Blake, a social studies teacher at Food and Finance HS, took home the Municipal Credit Union Teacher of the Year Award. “It’s nice to be honored for helping students achieve in life,” said Blake, who also serves as the dean at the high school.

Students at the school take on a number of culinary responsibilities both inside and outside of the classroom. In January, they catered Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s State of the Borough address under the direction of the school’s chef Geoffrey Tulloch, another honoree.

Kerri DeJean, a teacher at Bayside HS who took home an Adobe Award, said it was rewarding to teach the graphic design skills she honed while working in the industry for 17 years.

“It’s been an honor to help students get internships and get into art programs,” said DeJean.

Chelsea Career and Technical Education HS Chapter Leader Jan Scott said the once-struggling school has made great strides thanks to the hard work of CTE teachers such as Scott Fowler and Raymond Ruiz, who received awards.

“It’s been uplifting to see our students’ progress,” said Scott. “Our students need something else, and there’s always something new to learn with CTE.”

“This is an exciting time for CTE,” UFT Vice President for Career and Technical Education Sterling Roberson told the nearly 400 teachers, administrators, students and friends who filled the UFT’s Shanker Hall. “Every day our educators are on the front lines, preparing students to meet workforce demands and solve real-world problems. It’s an innovative approach to education that should always be celebrated.”

Roberson commended the night’s awardees for their ability to prepare students for the workforce and the challenges of higher education.

“Our CTE educators are geniuses,” said Jeff Bernstein, a UFT chapter advocate and longtime teacher at Maxwell HS. “They could be anywhere, but they choose to be here.”