Students experience building firsthand
Kaleb Ward, left, a senior at The Villages High School, and Bruce Haberle, construction management academy instructor, work on the roof trusses on a Habitat for Humanity home under construction Thursday at Winners Circle in Lady Lake. Bill Mitchell, Daily Sun
A local family soon will have a home with the help of 11 seniors from The Villages High School.
The students are building an 1,100-square-foot house in Lady Lake through the school’s Construction Management Academy’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a housing organization that works with communities across the nation.
On Thursday, the roof trusses were set on the house where the students have worn hard hats and climbed ladders four days a week since the beginning of the school year.
VHS Principal Bill Zwick stood at the construction site to observe and admire their hard work.
“This gives them the total experience of building a house from beginning to end,” Zwick said. “When they graduate, they’ll have this background knowledge. It’s a learning experience that will benefit them no matter where they go in life.”
The students started building the back wall Aug. 16, and their hands will be on the house until the project is complete at the end of the school year. So far, they are on schedule.
The two-year academy launched last year, and this is the first year it has been offered to both juniors and seniors.
The juniors learn the basics of construction and go through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10-hour training, and the seniors put their skills to the test.
“It gives us a good foundation to build a career,” said senior Colby Sharp, 17.