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Photos by Tosha Gaines.
Spain Park High School senior Ja’Skylar Simpkins is all smiles as a culinary student at Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, known as RC3.
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Photos by Tosha Gaines.
Hoover senior Sarah Kathryn Picardy is studying under the Health Science Academy at RC3.
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Photos by Tosha Gaines.
Hoover junior Henry Wright works on a tire at RC3’s new Automotive Academy.
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Photo courtesy of Hoover City Schools.
Lead instructor Ricky Newton talks to students at the grand opening for the RC3 Automotive Academy in August. Under the guidance of instructors with decades of experience, enrolled students get hands-on experience while learning diagnostics, electrical systems and engine repair in the $2.5 million facility.
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Photo by Tosha Gaines.
Below: Spain Park senior Elena Steed practices her craft at RC3’s Cosmetology and Barbering Academy, which opened in 2023 with a $577,000 lab.
When Ja’Skylar Simpkins starts her school day, instead of cracking a textbook, she might be cracking an egg for a dish she’s developing — a new recipe she hopes others will try and enjoy.
Standing in a state-of-the-art test kitchen alongside classmates, Simpkins, a Spain Park High School senior, has become comfortable tossing in a little dash of flavor to achieve her desired cuisine. This is no ordinary classroom — it’s a space filled with aromas wafting through the ceiling as high school students use their hands to create dishes that could be served in fine restaurants.
“Experimenting with flavors and coming up with new ideas for a dish is something that really has always excited me,” the 17-year-old Simpkins said. “I think I am motivated by coming up with ideas for recipes because I love food and spending time in the kitchen is something I enjoy.”
Simpkins, like most high school students, has visions for what she might become one day — in her case, a chef at a restaurant she hopes to one day own.
Simpkins uses her visions and passion for cooking as a culinary student at Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, also known as RC3.
She’s gaining real-world skills as a culinary student during her senior year — helping cement her goal of one day being a chef.
“I think my experience at RC3 has only helped me realize how much I love cooking and spending time in the kitchen,” Simpkins said. “My average school day is somewhat unique because I get to spend time in a kitchen testing out new flavors and recipes, which has been a really cool experience. It has only grown my desire to go to college and culinary school so that I can have my own restaurant one day and serve people delicious food.”
Photos by Tosha Gaines.
Hoover senior Sarah Kathryn Picardy is studying under the Health Science Academy at RC3.
This isn’t your grandfather’s shop class or grandmother’s home economics course. Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, or RC3, is part of a nationwide shift — and in many ways, it’s ahead of the curve. Built inside a renovated middle school with more than $18 million in district and state investment, RC3 is where high schoolers split their day between core academics and real-world career prep. Think: fire trucks in the classroom, hospital simulators in the lab and students wiring computers or working on cars before they’re old enough to drive them.
At a time when college costs are rising and employers are desperate for skilled workers, RC3 is building a new kind of pipeline — one credential, internship and paycheck at a time.
RC3 is located on the former campuses of Riverchase and Pelham middle schools and is open to 10th through 12th graders from Hoover and Spain Park High School.
Hoover City Schools renovated the 92,000-square-foot campus in 2019, investing more than $18 million to transform it into one of Alabama’s most advanced career prep facilities.
When the facility first opened in August 2019, the idea was to create a place where students could come and learn skills that would help prepare them for college, but also the workforce.
RC3 now offers seven career pathways including automotive, IT, cosmetology and barbering, fire science, health science, culinary and skilled trades.
The facility has more than 750 students this year — an increase of about 100 students from 2024.
Students spend about half their day at RC3, taking English and math along with courses that equip them in their particular academy focus. The idea is that taking these courses allows them to gain real-world experience in fields they may one day pursue as a career.
“The simulated workplace model here at RC3 provides our students with practical, hands-on experience,” said Cedric McCarroll, coordinator for RC3 and district career and technical education director. “This allows our students to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application.”
Across Alabama, state leaders are pushing for more credentialed graduates to fill workforce shortages. Gov. Kay Ivey’s Success Plus initiative set a statewide goal of adding 500,000 skilled workers by 2025.
“Our ability to grow our economy depends on our ability to develop a skilled workforce,” Ivey said when launching the plan.
Hoover has answered that call with RC3.
McCarroll was named the new coordinator for RC3 and district career and technical education director in July.
Photos by Tosha Gaines.
Hoover junior Henry Wright works on a tire at RC3’s new Automotive Academy.
Hoover High School junior Henry Wright found an interest in Formula 1 racing in 2022, catapulting him into not only wanting to find out more about the automotive industry, but allowing him to be a student in the first automotive class offered at RC3.
“I had no prior experience working in the automotive industry other than helping change brakes or swapping out air filters,” the 16-year-old Wright said. “On my first day of class here, we started tearing apart a 4-cylinder engine, and I’m like ‘OK, this is pretty awesome.’ I think when I look around and see that I get to come to school and work in a space where I can get under the hood of a car is really cool.”
With the Automotive Academy, students are given a foundation in automotive electrical components and other skills identified by local industry partners — with the goal of internships and potential employment after some of the students graduate from high school.
“I know that I want to go to college and focus on mechanical engineering,” Wright said. “I like to envision working for some motor sports team or something in the future and know that these experiences I am getting in high school only kind of amplify the interest I have in the automotive industry.”
Wright said he envisions the automotive industry may evolve over the next 10 years to have more electrical components to cars — something more challenging for mechanics.
“I see the automotive industry becoming more technology-driven, which I think is really exciting,” Wright said. “It depends on how electric cars get developed.”
It’s also a field in high demand — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show Alabama technicians earn about $45,560 annually, with nearly a million new jobs projected nationwide over the next five years.
Cosmetology student Elena Steed, who attends Spain Park High School, said she believes her industry will continue to grow and change with advanced technology for things such as hair extensions.
“I think things will only become more advanced in terms of services we will be able to offer to our clients,” the 18-year-old Steed said. “The one thing we know for certain is there should always be a need for stylists.”
The Cosmetology and Barbering Academy opened in 2023 with a $577,000 lab designed to prepare students for state licensure as cosmetologists.
Photo courtesy of Hoover City Schools.
Lead instructor Ricky Newton talks to students at the grand opening for the RC3 Automotive Academy in August. Under the guidance of instructors with decades of experience, enrolled students get hands-on experience while learning diagnostics, electrical systems and engine repair in the $2.5 million facility.
Hoover Fire Chief Clay Bentley said the Hoover Fire Department has hired roughly eight people who received previous fire training at RC3.
“We see the program as a tremendous opportunity for students who have an interest in public safety,” Bentley said. “The first year we started the fire science program, we had complete success with it, and it has only grown over the years.”
Bentley clarified that students who graduate from RC3 with a concentration in fire science still have to complete additional training before being considered to work for the department, but the time at RC3 allows for the fire instructors to see first-hand who might be potential for a future job.
“We currently have four full-time employees with the Hoover Fire Department who work part-time at RC3 as instructors,” Bentley said. “They are able to see these students and have an insight on potential employees. You get to see who has a good work ethic and who really commits to learning. Every person who graduates from RC3 will not work for the Hoover Fire Department, but those that complete the fire science portion have plenty of opportunities to seek out a career if they choose to do so. I definitely think those students who complete the program have a leg up in the industry because they have seen what it takes, they have spent time learning tools of the trade, and they have been given the time to decide if this is what they may want to do as a career.”
This concrete outcome shows the program’s payoff: Hoover FD instructors now train students who may one day serve alongside them.
RC3 fire science student Tyler Sach, who attends Spain Park High School, said he initially decided to pursue the Fire Science Academy because he comes from a family who loves to help people.
“I want to be able to help people after high school,” Sach said. “I love how I get the opportunity now to spend time learning things that really push me to keep going and make me that much stronger.”
While Sach, 16, said he is still deciding what field of study he would like to pursue after high school, he knows he would like to attend college and pursue a criminal justice degree.
Hoover High School senior John Parker Ware is enrolled in the Building Science Academy at RC3.
Ware, 17, said he decided to pursue this field of study because of the influence from his dad seeing a booth at a career fair at HHS.
“My dad works at Alabama Power and noticed RC3 had a building science portion,” Ware said. “He thought it would be good for me to try out.”
Photo by Tosha Gaines.
Below: Spain Park senior Elena Steed practices her craft at RC3’s Cosmetology and Barbering Academy, which opened in 2023 with a $577,000 lab.
Since his time at RC3, Ware has had the opportunity to help the operations department with Hoover City Schools help with light fixtures and setting up walls.
“That was when it all really clicked for me because it was very fulfilling work,” Ware said. “I am really drawn to the electrical field and enjoying commercial electrical. I think through my time at RC3 I have been really able to hone what it is I am drawn to and what I enjoy.”
Ware said he plans to attend a four-year college and pursue an electrical engineering degree with the hope of one day working in the electrical field.
“I have really enjoyed my time working with it so far and I only see that growing over time,” Ware said.
Skilled trades remain one of Alabama’s most in-demand sectors, with electricians earning a median of $54,460 per year according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Andrew Colson, director of undergraduate admissions at UAB, said UAB loves working with students from RC3.
“Students at RC3 and in other trade-focused programs are typically interested in our engineering programs and medical-related programs, primarily nursing,” Colson said. “While these programs don’t necessarily provide an automatic boost to a student’s application at UAB, they do provide a student with a better understanding of the career path they are eyeing and this can help a student better retain in their program once they move on to a four-year school.”
Colson said RC3 students often arrive with clearer career goals, which helps them persist once they reach college.
Hoover High School senior Sarah Kathryn Picardy is studying under the Health Science Academy at RC3.
She said she was drawn to health science because of her love of helping others.
“It brings me joy to see people happy and thriving,” Picardy, 17, said. “I have ended up loving this part of my high school experience. This is the fun part of my day, and I would not get to do this at my base school.”
Picardy said she has future plans of graduating high school and attending Samford University where she hopes to major in nursing or psychology.
“I think what is amazing about the time we get at RC3 is it really solidifies if we want to pursue that field as a potential career,” Picardy said. “For me, I know it has helped me determine that I hope to one day work in the medical field.”
Health care is one of Alabama’s largest employment clusters, with more than 99,000 people working in hospitals and another 42,000 in residential care according to Alabama Department of Labor statistics.
Spain Park High School sophomore Tanishq Mittal is interested in cybersecurity and attends the IT portion of RC3.
“I have always been interested in technology, and when I first learned about cybersecurity, I was hooked,” the 15-year-old said. “The idea of protecting other people online is something that I am drawn to, and when I found out RC3 offered a hands-on course, I knew I had to try it.”
A typical school day for Mittal involves lots of hands-on experience working on computer parts including taking an entire computer apart and wiring the motherboard.
“The hands-on experience we get to have in the classroom is really cool,” Mittal said. “I am really getting to learn from the ground up and have enjoyed all of the things I have been learning so far.”
Mittal envisions his plans after high school to continue studying cybersecurity at a university. Alabama already has more than 15,000 cybersecurity jobs — a number CyberSeek Alabama workforce data projects to keep rising as businesses expand protections.
“The fact that on a random school day I am getting to spend time in a classroom and take apart a computer and see up close what each part does is a really cool opportunity,” Mittal said. “I don’t take that hands-on learning for granted.”
