For Keegan Cantrelle, HHS’s skill-based courses opened the door to college credits, industry-based certifications and a jump-start on his career path.
Through HHS and the Satellite Center, Cantrelle earned certifications in coding, safety, geographic information system mapping, instrumentation and more.
“There was a lot of hands-on learning,” he said. “The most important thing that Hahnville has done for me is give me these career opportunities.”
When Cantrelle took an instrumentation course at the Satellite Center, it was a turning point. One project stands out – him and his partner had to install pipes and wires so that a light would turn on at certain points in the design.
“Over the course of two or three days, we got it to work,” he said. “And there was just something about having a plan, physically building it on the wall, and then hitting the switch and seeing the lights turn on.”
As part of a dual-enrollment program, Cantrelle has already earned 32 out of 64 credits needed for an instrumentation technology degree.
Cantrelle’s technical skills and credits also earned him a spot as a state finalist in the technical division of the Presidential Scholars program.
“That actually caught me by surprise,” he said of his selection for the program. “I didn’t know anything about it going in.”
In addition to the Presidential Scholars program, Cantrelle was also a regional champion in tennis and district MVP. His mom started teaching him tennis when he was eight years old.
He started on the varsity team as a freshman, and by his sophomore year he was number one on varsity.
“I put in a lot of work going into sophomore year,” he said. “I didn’t really know if I belonged at the top, you know. But then getting those achievements, all of that went away.”
Cantrelle also had an integral role in school pep rallies – he was the emcee. He was given the gig as a sophomore after his review of school lunches on TikTok gained a wide audience. One video earned over 80,000 views.
“I started it just to let other students know what was for lunch that day and if it was good, and if you should go get it, if you should wait in line for it,” he said. “And it grew very, very quickly.”
Cantrelle said he worked closely with the student council to plan the pep rallies. He had a few co-hosts over the year.
“As much as I have complained about it in the past, and probably will complain about it in the future, I definitely wouldn’t have done it any differently,” he joked.
