Vantage offers students job experience

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer

Dylan Williams always knew he wanted to build things. At Vantage Career Center, he is receiving the skills and training he will need to realize that dream.

“I’ve been around carpentry all of my life,” Williams said. “My uncles have a company, and their friends have carpentry and drywall companies, and I’ve always been really interested in it. And my brother and my oldest sister came to Vantage, so I had a pretty good idea what Vantage was all about.”

Aside from the “Three Rs,” Vantage Career Center offers students 16 different trade and technical programs. Currently in the midst of a major construction and renovation project, Vantage will soon unveil larger classrooms, expanded workrooms and a state-of-the-art cafeteria that will serve as the hub of Vantage’s Culinary Arts program.

It’s an exciting time for the local career center, and it’s a busy time for students in the carpentry program who are currently building a home from the ground up.

The house, located in Van Wert, will serve as the local Habitat for Humanity chapter’s latest project, and it’s one the students take great pride in, said Vantage carpentry instructor Jerry Robinson.

“They’re excited any time they get to work on the house, and they like that they’re giving back to the community by helping out Habitat for Humanity,” he said.

Vantage students receive core curriculum education, but also receive hands-on training and experience in their field of choice: for example, electricity, interactive media, health technology or early childhood education.

On this particular day in the carpentry workroom, students were busy constructing cabinets for the Habitat home, and they are working on cabinet-making machinery typically found at any construction project.

“Every piece of machinery I bring in here is what they would see out in the field,” Robinson said, adding that students learn how to use computer software that will “talk” to the cabinet-cutter, which then precisely cuts the cabinet pieces. From there, students assemble the cabinets, and install them into the Habitat home.  “This is what the industry is right here, and this is what they’re learning every day.”

The skills Vantage students learn will be put to the test in a few months with SkillsUSA, a competition that pits local students against technical students from all over the state.

“I had a student last year win the state competition in Columbus, and went on to place fifth in the nation,” Robinson said. “That’s pretty impressive, and it shows you the skills students are gaining at Vantage.”

By the time they graduate, Vantage carpentry students have a number of options available to them.

“The kids can graduate right out of our program and enter the workforce, if that’s what they want to do,” Robinson said. “But we also have students who do go into college to further their training.

“Right now, we have some students looking at construction management in college,” he added. “It just really depends on students, and what they want to do.”

On any given school day at Vantage, carpentry students typically spend a couple hours working on the Habitat home, in addition to their core curriculum classes and time spent in the carpentry workroom. Senior carpentry students also work on their Capstone projects throughout the school year. The Capstone project combines skills and data students have acquired throughout the school year into one independent project seniors are required to complete.

The project includes a written research portion that features three article summaries, a final synthesis and a reflection piece, as well as a major project or product that extends that research. Students also give a 10-minute oral presentation on their projects.

Despite the rigorous demands of the Capstone project, students often enjoy the time spent on independent research and constructing the project.

“I like having the opportunity to work on my project,” said Williams, who is busy constructing a tool chest. “It’s amazing how much you can learn by doing these projects.”

Even with weather delays, the Habitat home is progressing and should be complete, or nearly completed, by the end of the school year — just in time for a Habitat family to move into its new home.

“It’s a great thing when you get students involved in giving back to the community, and I know the students are extremely proud of the house, and the work they’ve put into it,” Robinson said.