June, 2020 Making a House Into a Home Inside this issue What did you make when you were a teenager? Some of our skills back then, not CTC House Sold .................................................1 saying who, may have topped out at recording a mixtape and writing really, REAL- CTC Top Student Profiles LY bad fiction. Other teens, from yesterday and today, have an entirely different Trinity Bouman .........................................2 skillset and mindset. While some of us might have struggled to put together a Julia Raybold .............................................3 bookshelf, students at the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center (LCCTC) Emily Brown ..............................................3 have built a new, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, Craftsman-style house Congrats to our 2020 Students ...................4 from the ground up over the past two years. A young family purchased the house Willow Street .............................................4 this spring and officially made the house a home. Brownstown ...........................................11 Mount Joy ...............................................16 “We walked through the door and we stopped and said, “Wow!’” Scott Niehaus said. Niehaus, the house’s new owner, explained that the realtor had told them before the visit that the house had been constructed by the LCCTC students. “We weren’t sure what to expect but we walked in and were absolutely amazed by the quality and the craftsmanship,” he said. Part of the curricula of several LCCTC Construction Center programs, include hands-on, on-site planning, preparation, installation, construction, and evaluation of work on houses that will eventually be put on the market. There are several of these houses surrounding the Mount Joy campus. Each one is an impressive and enduring testament to the scope of career and technology education. LCCTC Heavy Equipment Operation students started the work about two excavat- ing the site and digging the out the area for the basement. Third-party compa- nies constructed the basement and CTC Residential Carpentry students continued The Niehaus Family and their new home! the work framing the walls, window and door openings. Plumbing students roughed in the supply and sewer pipes while Electrical Construction students ran conduit for electricity. HVAC students installed ductwork and heating and air conditioning equipment. CTC Cabinetmaking students built and installed custom cabinetry in the kitchen and bathrooms. Painting and Interior Finishes students painted, installed tile, and more. From the excavated basement to the molding on the highest window, there is not a square inch of these houses that LCCTC students were not involved in constructing. It might take a construction company several months to complete a home, start to finish. The LCCTC takes an average of two years to build a custom, modern house and, all the while, our students learn to be contributing members of the workforce and economy. “If I had to put a number on it, I’d say that about 85 percent of the house was built by students. The framing, the electrical work, the plumbing, the wallboard, the cabinetry, the trim, the painting, all of it was performed by the construction and manufacturing students at the CTC,” said Richard Martin, LCCTC Construction Coordinator. “Pretty much the only thing that isn’t handled by the students is the LCCTC students cutting sheet rock at the adjacent masonry and that’s only because we don’t have a masonry program at the LCCTC. house still under construction. LCCTC students have been building houses for sale for decades. Generally, the houses take about two to two and a half years to complete. Many of the LCCTC’s Construction and Manufacturing programs contribute to and work on the house directly. “Working on these houses is a valuable part of learning. These students have experience working on a job site long before they go into the work force,” said Richard Burley, the LCCTC Residential Carpentry Program Instructor. Homeowner Janine Niehaus said that it was clear that the students and instructors had paid a lot of attention to detail in the house. “They obviously put a lot of hard work into this house,” she said. “In addition, knowing that the house was built by students as part of their education was really cool to me.” Program instructors like Burley oversee the students’ work and are as exact- ing and as thorough as any job boss on any construction site. LCCTC Heavy Equipment Operations Students preparing for a morning on site the current house under construction. Martin said that the instructors have no problem having the students rip out work and do it again, if they find any fault. He continued saying that just adds to the real job experience. “If you learn to do shoddy work, then you’re not going to be employed for very long.” Martin said. The practical experience that students get from working on a real-world job site is invaluable. Living room and kitchen of the house staged for sale. “I like seeing the students succeed.” Martin explained. “They get a vast amount of training in the classes and labs, but to come out here on site and apply that knowledge and those skills to a real, going-on-the- market house…that really makes an impression. “We love the house!” Scott Niehaus said. “The kids love the house. We are proud to have supported education…given back to the schools in some way by buying this house. We look forward to raising our kids here. We hope that the LCCTC students who come along in the future and work on the house in the neighboring lot will see us, a real family, living in and enjoying a house just like the one they are working on.” Meet the Top Performing LCCTC Students We are proud of every one of our students - of the work that they put into their studies and of the tenacity and flexibility that they demonstrated in the face of a challenging end of year. Each year, each campus selects a student as a top performer. One that exemplifies the dedication to their program and excels academically. The following young women are the selections for Willow Street, Mount Joy, and Brownstown campuses for 2020. Please help us congratulate them! Trinity Bouman – Willow Street Campus Trinity Bouman knew that she wanted to work with animals, throughout her life. From one of her ear- liest pets, a Ball Python named Dora, to her current feline family – Enzo, Eleven, Blizzard, and Shadow, Trinity loved animals. “Ever since I was little, if someone was sick or hurt, I would want to be the one to take care of them. Pretty soon, I merged my love of animals with my love of taking care of people and decided that I want- ed to take care of animals,” she said. So it was clear that Trinity wanted to become a Veterinarian. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see a path to her goal with her home school district. Conestoga Valley did not offer any animal science programs. Her Advanced Placement Biology course provided some instruction but she wanted to study animals in greater depth. When she was a junior, she began investigating other educational options. Her school counselors immediately suggested looking into the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center. Addi- tionally, Trinity’s mom was a Lancaster County CTC alumna. Trinity Bouman “I love the Veterinary Assistant Program at the CTC,” she exclaimed. “I really put an extra effort into the classes. I would study nearly every night. I would ask the instructors challenging questions. I really enjoyed my time in the program.” Trinity will major in Animal Behavior at Millersville University in the fall. She is considering the University of Pennsylvania for Veterinary school, but she acknowledges that is a long way off and may change over time. “It takes a long time to become a Veterinarian,” Trinity said. “But I’ll get there one day!” Julia Raybold – Mount Joy Campus Julia Raybold might never have considered going to the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center if not for her counselor at Elizabethtown School District. Julia explained that her guidance counsel- or knew that she wanted to be a nurse and she suggested that Julia investigate the LCCTC’s half-day senior program, Advanced Health Careers, as an option. “E-town is really open to students exploring alternate options for their education. They really un- derstand that the standard model of public education isn’t necessarily for everyone,” Julia said. She attended an orientation and met the instructors and was immediately convinced to attend. “I knew exactly right then that I had to do this!” Julia said. She explained, saying that the work in the CTC is so hands-on and more geared directly toward her intended career as an RN in Pediatrics or on a Trauma Unit than the classes at her school district. “Everyone in the faculty and staff are so welcoming and so committed to helping you succeed,” Julia said. She continued saying that there were many opportunities to connect with people in healthcare outside of the school. She said her clinicals – class hours spent learning hands-on at local healthcare providers – really helped her narrow the field that she wanted to explore. Julia Raybold Julia will attend West Chester University in the fall to pursue her RN. She is also taking advantage of the Lancaster County CTC’s college credit transfer where credits for some of the CTC’s high school courses can count toward a higher education degree. “I’m so looking forward to being a nurse,” Julia said, “because I know how important and how vital that job is to people’s lives. Even if they don’t remember your name, years later, they will definitely remember how you made them feel during a stressful and scary part of their life.” Emily Brown - Brownstown Campus Emily Brown wants to create beauty.