Our 2024 Torch of Knowledge honoree was Susan Day! Susan is a strong advocate for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and SkillsUSA, recognizing the vast opportunities these programs offer to motivated and engaged high school students. Growing up on a potato farm in Germansville, she learned the value of hard work by watching her parents manage and maintain Geiger Farm. Early on, she realized she was a hands-on learner. In high school, she completed the Cosmetology Program at Lehigh County Vo-Tech, and her belief in the power of CTE was so strong that she chose to pursue post-secondary education at Penn State University. There, she majored in Vocational Industrial Education with the goal of becoming a CTE educator. Susan considers herself a living product of CTE. Fast forward 33 years, she is now the Cooperative Education Coordinator and SkillsUSA Lead Advisor at the Career Institute of Technology. Her role allows her to experience the ultimate goal of a CTE educator: witnessing students’ successes both in the workplace and at SkillsUSA events, where they apply the soft skills, professionalism, and technical expertise they have worked hard to develop. One of her greatest joys as an educator is when former CTE students return years after graduation. While they may not remember their history, science, or math classes, they vividly recall their SkillsUSA experiences and the profound impact it had on their lives. Hearing them reflect on competitions, conferences, community service projects, and special events is heartwarming. Many students have even maintained friendships formed through SkillsUSA to this day. Susan attributes her success to the guidance, support, and friendship of mentors throughout her professional career, including Priscilla Riskin, Connie Muschko, Marsha Rivas, and Denise McGaughran. She is also deeply grateful for the love and support of her parents, Ruth and Robert Geiger, her husband, Gary, and her children, Erynn, Samuel, and Claudia. (fb)

Our 2024 "David Howard Volunteer Of The Year" honoree was Joyce Thompson. Joyce has been a dedicated educator in Computer Science and Networking at Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) since 2002. Before joining LCCC, she taught at the Career Institute of Technology (CIT), Northampton Community College, and the Northampton County Government Center. In 2019, she transitioned into semi-retirement but continues to share her expertise as a part-time instructor at LCCC. Joyce’s career journey began with the Display Writer machine, advancing through Display Write software, WordPerfect, and eventually Microsoft Word—along with several other technologies along the way. While teaching Saturday computer classes at CIT, Joyce met Andrea Groller, who introduced her to SkillsUSA, sparking a long-standing commitment to the organization. For over 20 years, Joyce served as the Event Manager for the Technical Computer Applications competition. As her role at LCCC expanded, she began teaching A+, Network+, and Cisco courses, leading her to become the Event Manager for the Internetworking competition. With the support of her colleagues, Joyce successfully ran both competitions, playing a pivotal role in their success. “In earlier years, Joyce created a comprehensive spreadsheet and PowerPoint presentation of all the District 11 winners for the Awards Ceremony. The PowerPoint allowed us to project the names on a screen, adding a visual element to the announcements instead of simply reading the names aloud. Beyond her teaching roles, Joyce also supervises NOCTI testing at Lehigh Career & Technical Institute (LCTI). Her expertise and dedication have led to co-authoring computer workbooks and contributing to the editing of several published works, further demonstrating her lasting impact on the field. (fb)