After 15 years designing and investigating buildings as a licensed architect, Carole Ceja discovered the biggest challenges on a construction site weren’t about blueprints or materials.
They were about people.
“Poor planning, weak communication, and lack of understanding caused endless rework,” she says. “I realized the problems weren’t technical … they were human.”
That led Ceja to leave private practice and step into education, bringing her real-world expertise to students in High School District 211. Now in her third year as a full-time teacher at Palatine High School, she’s helping students create projects while also building confidence, communication and critical thinking skills that prepare them for postsecondary success.
“I wanted to reach people earlier,” she says now of her career change. “I wanted to teach the skills that keep projects and people working smoothly.”
Ceja leads a range of introductory courses, from automotive technology and welding to manufacturing, CAD, and architectural design. When she was first assigned to teach welding, Ceja enrolled in the same community college course her students used for dual credit, helping her design a system that bridges the gaps and keeps everyone learning.
Today, her classroom is part lab, part workshop, and part job site simulation.
Students take on leadership roles and conduct mock performance reviews, using terms like “promotion,” “safety violation” and “team lead” instead of grades. She’s intentional about making labs inclusive and collaborative, in line with District 211 core values.
That can be especially powerful for students who might not have envisioned themselves succeeding in one of the ever-growing technical fields. One female automotive student noted she’s been waiting to take Ceja’s class because she wanted to see a woman thriving in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Watching her confidence grow is “exactly why I teach,” Ceja says.
Looking ahead, Ceja is inspired to expand opportunities for all students. She hopes to grow the welding and manufacturing programs into spaces where young women feel empowered and bilingual students can thrive. She continues to collaborate closely with local colleges and industry partners to connect high school learning to real-world careers.
“The next step for CTE is visibility,” she says. “Helping all students see trades not as a fallback, but as the foundation for every other career.”
District 211 offers a wide array of courses in Career and Technical Education; through the College and Career Readiness department, opportunities exist for workplace learning experiences, early college credit and college credentials before students leave high school.
