Imagine making a decision in
eighth grade that determines
your destiny.
It wasn’t a hard call for Cody
Blankenship or Cameron Robertson.
The moment they heard about
Pathways in Technology Early
College High School (P-TECH),
they wanted in.
Armed with a pamphlet and
youthful persuasiveness, they
each told their mothers that
this – something that had never
been tried before in Allegany
County – was their future. And
their moms agreed.
“I went to an afterschool meeting
about the program. When I came
home and told my mom about it,
she could tell that I was excited,”
said Blankenship, a Fort Hill High
School student and Cumberland
resident. For Robertson, who
calls Frostburg home and attends
Mountain Ridge High School, the
conversation with his mom was
similar. “I was always interested
in computers and technology.
This felt like it this program was
built for me.”
They chose to learn in-demand
IT skills while interacting with a
network of mentors and interning
with local employers. And they
chose to earn their college degree
before graduating from high school.
For free.
3 ACCESS ACM / Engaging Ideas
While the P-TECH Model
encompasses six years, students
are able to move at their own
pace, enabling some to accelerate
through the model in as little as
four years. This was the accelerated
route that Blankenship and
Robertson took. It meant sacrifice,
resulting in less time at their
respective high schools and a
grueling schedule that included four
semesters of early college courses.
“When we started, there were
twenty of us. While others
continued on five or six-year
pathways, we chose the four-year
model,” said Blankenship. “It’s a
challenging program.”
By his sophomore year, he found
himself missing time with his
friends. He debated leaving the
Cody and Cameron, in addition to being extremely
“in-demand,” embody a very positive and bright
vision of the talent Allegany County has to offer.”
program, but decided to make
it work. He even managed to
stay in band at Fort Hill until his
senior year. Blankenship has no
regrets. “It’s been an incredible
opportunity to get this type of
IT training and access.”
Blankenship and Robertson
-Jonathan Hutcherson
& P-TECH
Cameron
Robertson
Pomp and Circumstance
took part in tech community events
including the Western Maryland
IT Center for Excellence’s Tech at
the Gap Conference, the Maryland
Cyber Security Challenge at UMBC,
field trips to local companies like
UPMC Western Maryland, and
virtual tours of IBM at Rocket
Center. They both placed at
regional Future Business Leaders
of America competition and
qualified for the State competition
two years in a row. Blankenship
placed second in the Help Desk
competition while Robertson
placed first in Cyber Security.