Bearden senior to perform at CTE Goes Live on Market Square

Lydia Battey, Staff Writer

Knox County’s Career Technical Education classes will showcase this year’s CTE Goes Live production on Friday at Market Square.

CTE students all over Knox County have been working behind the scenes to put together the production, such as creating the website and managing their social media.

The competition itself will consist of a student representative from each Knox County high school who will perform in CTE Goes Live. Bearden’s representative this year is senior Wren Gibbons.

Gibbons also participated in the production last year when she was part of one of the Byington Solway programs. This year, Gibbons will perform “Somebody To Love” by Queen.

“I already deeply appreciated the vocational students and what they could do,” Gibbons said. “I’m glad that they can really use those skills with this competition to show everyone else who doesn’t appreciate their talents, that even if they’re only in high school, they can put together a higher grade performance and pull it off.”

Singers participating in CTE Goes Live compete for the opportunity to record a song in Nashville.

This year will also be the first cook-off competition for schools that have a culinary program. The cooking challenge will have a Cinco de Mayo theme and will be held before the live production.

CTE Goes Live allows for students with all types of career interests to collaborate and organize a major event using their specific set of skills.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to utilize and showcase the skills they learn in a CTE class in a real-world setting,” Bearden CTE teacher Mrs. Glenda Inman said. “The singers get the chance to compete in front of a large audience, gain exposure, and possibly a recording contract.”