Collier County Public Schools has been fortunate to have the support of many community partners throughout our area. Whether it be time, talent, or treasure, their contributions have added greatly to the experiences that we are able to offer our students. One such partner is Arthrex. For years, they have provided much-needed support to our high school athletic and arts programs. Annually, they have sponsored our CCPS 5K Walk-Run, which was just held last Saturday, December 1. And right here in Immokalee, the Machining Program at iTECH has flourished thanks to all that Arthrex and others have contributed. If that weren’t enough, our friends at Arthrex have now opened their doors to our students. Last week, the Research and Development team at Arthrex was excited to welcome Immokalee Middle School SSTRIDE (Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity and Excellence) students. The students’ eyes lit up at the sight of all the innovative products they were able to see and experience. They were even able to try their hands at tying surgical knots! The ability to connect real-world jobs to what our students are learning in the classroom can inspire our young people to reach for something bigger. They see the importance of their education and know that with hard work, the job of their dreams could be waiting for them at the other end. So to our community partners that provide these opportunities for our students, we say thank you. Thank you for inspiring our students and motivating them to always dream big!