Whether it’s welding, woodworking, or small engine work, students at Papio South are testing out new trade skills in the school’s northeast wing.
Junior Matthew Spinks, who has enrolled in trades classes since middle school, said, “I think a trade is something everyone should learn.”
Along his five-year journey in trades, Spinks has participated in SkillsUSA, winning second place in technical
related math, and becoming an officer for younger students involved in SkillsUSA. He also started his own business called “Littel Hammer Woods” on facebook. He makes and sells custom furniture.
Spinks said his involvement in trades also got him into the fire science program at Metropolitan Community College Career Academy.
While there are many high-skilled activities for students already involved in trades, the first step for most is Intro to Trades, a class that gives students a look at what each trade offers.
Junior Johnny Temple, a first-year Intro to Trades student, advised students: “ Just do it, because it’s fun.”
Temple said he wasn’t interested in pursuing a career in trades, but he has enjoyed learning about them.
Even just walking the halls in that area of the school can be educational, as there are openings in the walls and ceiling to provide a visual guide for students to see how buildings are constructed and equipped.
Along the way, you’ll also find the STEM Academy and Robotics rooms, where students use their artistic abilities, imaginative minds and technical thinking to create such things as blueprints for houses and restaurants.
Kaleb Heseltine, a third-year STEM Academy student who plans to attend the University of Kansas in the fall to study architecture. He said in STEM Academy things started off pretty simple at first, with projects like designing an ornament that he eventually 3D printed; but over time, the projects escalated.
Last year, Heseltine said, students took a whole semester to design a house for a client. This year, they are stepping it up a notch. They’re not designing just any building, but they’re designing a full restaurant.
The students work with an app called Revit to design things in 3D on their computers, bringing their creative designs to life and mapping out the floorplan for their restaurant. When finished, they will present their ideas to the ACE Mentor Program in Omaha – which stands for Architecture, Construction, and Engineering-where they will see their creations laid out in front of them.
Third-year STEM Academy student Rourke Nebel, a junior, said students were able to go to the build site to take in all of the necessary factors and build off of that.
Nebel said she hadn’t decided what to do for college, but STEM Academy set her in the direction of architecture.
Like most higher-level trades classes, Nebel said the work is very hands-on and independent.
“It’s projects that get me thinking and I get to be a lot more creative in this class,” Nebel said.
