Ms. Kimberly Petronella joined the OHM BOCES Career and Technical Education Center as a Health Occupations teacher in 1997 and now serves as a New Visions: Health Professions coordinator/teacher and a work-based learning coordinator. She is happy to get to work at the school where she began her professional career pursuits of becoming a healthcare provider.

Prior to joining BOCES, Ms. Petronella was employed as a charge nurse, nurse manager, nursing supervisor and floor nurse. During her nursing tenure, she worked in numerous specialty areas including medical-surgical nursing, long-term care, acute care, rehabilitation, critical care, urgent care and home-based health services.

Ms. Petronella attended OHM BOCES for her LPN while in high school, earned her RN from SUNY Morrisville, studied at SUNY Poly, SUNY Oswego and Empire State College, and completed course work at SUNY Buffalo State University. She is a member of ACTE, NYSHOA and SkillsUSA, and was previously recognized as the Rotary Club Teacher of the Year, the 2020-2021 SkillsUSA Area II Advisor of the Year and the recipient of the 2021 SkillsUSA Outstanding Career and Technical Educator Award.

Ms. Petronella knows a great teacher is one who is compassionate, focused and organized. As an educator, she believes the top priority is to always strive to bring out the best in her students -- modeling what a professional should look like, and helping students discover that in themselves. Her favorite part of her job is working with a variety of people and being able to see the growth and development in the students she is working with.

In her free time, Ms. Petronella volunteers as a church lector and Sunday school teacher, and enjoys spending time with family, camping, reading and anything Disney.

“Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney