The December meeting of the Delaware Area Career Center Board of Education was the last for longtime member Julie Wagner Feasel, who announced during the meeting she’s stepping back from serving on the DACC board.
Wagner Feasel, who has been the Olentangy Local Schools representative on the DACC board since 2010, said she got involved with the school to learn more about the programs.
“What I learned just blew me away the first year,” Wagner Feasel said. “I just really enjoyed getting involved in and promoting the career center. I tell people the Delaware Area Career Center is the gem of our county. People don’t realize how many different programs are offered there from cyber security to welding to culinary arts to auto tech to engineering — it’s just amazing.”
Wagner Feasel said many people have the incorrect assumption that the DACC is a school for students who don’t want to go to college, which she added “isn’t the case at all.”
“Graduates from the career center can go right into a career or into a two-year advanced program or a four-year university,” Wagner Feasel said. “I highly suggest that every high school freshmen look at what the career center has to offer. Plus, DACC has adult programs, too — from welding to fire tech — our evening programs for adults can change lives.”
In her decade at the career center, Wagner Feasel has overseen many changes at the school, including the center’s consolidated campus.
“I’m most proud of getting the new facility built,” she said. “It is just an amazing facility. When you see the labs that our students have access to, they are just incredible. And even though the building isn’t as accessible as it usually is for tours due to COVID, potential students can take a virtual tour and get a good feel for how unique the building really is.”
Wagner Feasel said she is stepping out of her role as Olentangy’s representative on the DACC board to focus more on the Olentangy Local Schools Board of Education and her career.
“The reason I’m stepping away is I have a lot of things on my plate with my real job as vice president of communications of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and continuing to serve on the Olentangy school board,” Wagner Feasel said. I thought it was best to have someone in the position who has the time to devote to selecting a new superintendent while keeping the current programming growing. Believe me, I’m going to continue to promote that students attend DACC, so that won’t stop.”
At its Dec. 10 board meeting, the Olentangy Local Schools Board of Education selected Board President Mindy Patrick to replace Wagner Feasel as the district’s representative on the DACC board.
As for what she will miss most about serving on the DACC board, Wagner Feasel said it’s her friendships with fellow board members and staff.
“They are all such wonderful people,” she said.
As a final message on behalf of the career center, Wagner Feasel urged central Ohio businesses to partner with the DACC.
“If I could just leave one message, it would be for the employers in central Ohio and especially Delaware County — I highly encourage them to take a look at what the DACC has to offer in the way of future employees,” Wagner Feasel said. “Partnering with the DACC through student mentorships or internships or even using the resources at the DACC for employee training can be really beneficial for the employers in our area.”
