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MARIETTA - The Washington County Career Center has named its October Students of the Month, McKenzie DeLong and Blaze Efaw.
DeLong is a Marietta High School senior enrolled in the Graphic Design & Video Production program. She is the daughter of Brian DeLong of Marietta and the granddaughter of Richard and Karen DeLong of Marietta.
At the Career Center, DeLong is a member of the Business Professionals of America youth organization and National Technical Honor Society. She was on the Career Center's principal's list and honor roll all last school year. In March 2026, DeLong participated and placed sixth in the BPA state competition for visual design. She is working on receiving her honors diploma. At Marietta High School, McKenzie was active in the Dungeons & Dragons Club and is a member of the National Honor Society. Several of her art pieces were displayed in the Marietta Art Show. Outside of school, she likes to draw and paint both by hand and digitally. She is a youth member for the First Presbyterian Church in Marietta.
Through CCP, she has earned or will earn credits in American history 1865 to present, American national government, college algebra and English composition I. Through her technical program, she has or will earn college credit or industrial certifications for the Adobe Creative Cloud software in 2D Animation, Audio Production, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Digital Photography, Digital Storytelling, Fundamentals of Content Creation, Graphic Design, Live Streaming and Production, Video Capture, and Video Production & Editing. She is receiving technical focus and learning skills for creating & editing digital graphics, design techniques, information technology, multimedia & image management techniques, and video & sound.
"McKenzie is a great student whose artistic talent turns imagination into beauty, bringing a creative spark to everything she does," Graphic Design & Video Production instructor Chris Palmer, said.
DeLong is a volunteer worker at the Rinks Flea Market. Upon graduation, she plans to attend Marietta College to major in graphic design and minor in digital arts. She has applied and hopes to be accepted in both the Honors Program and the McDonough Leadership Program.
Efaw is a Waterford High School senior enrolled in the Medical College Prep program and the son of Nicole Pinkerton of Waterford.
At the Career Center, Efaw is a member of the SkillsUSA youth organization and held the office of chapter vice president last school year. He also was on the Career Center's honor roll all last school year. At Waterford High School, Efaw was active in the marching band playing percussion and a member of the Spanish Honor Society.
Through College Credit Plus, Efaw has earned or will earn credits in American national government, English composition I, and speech. Through his technical program, he has earned college credit or industrial certifications for introduction to nutrition, medical terminology, certified nursing assistant, stop the bleed, and CPR/first aid. He received technical focus and learned skills for health science and technology, medical terminology, patient centered care, and principles of allied health medicine. Efaw took summer CCP courses to complete his academic requirements for senior year. In doing so, he qualified to begin the Surgical Technology program at the Career Center's Adult Technical Training. This will allow him to train and become certified as a surgical technologist by the time he graduates in May 2027.
"Blaze is an exceptionally hardworking, dependable, and motivated student. He demonstrates maturity beyond his years and has successfully transitioned from a high school career-technical program into an intensive adult-level healthcare training program," Pre-Nursing instructor Amy Jarrell, said. "His strong attendance, academic performance, attention to detail, and willingness to challenge himself have contributed greatly to his success. Blaze takes pride in mastering difficult skills and consistently demonstrates the professionalism and work ethic expected in the healthcare field."
Efaw works at Arby's as a crew member. He plans to enter directly into the workforce as a certified surgical technologist and work towards becoming a first assist and then a traveling technician.