Did anyone see the students on the ladders on Tuesday, December 12? If you did, I'm sure your initial thoughts were something along the lines of, "I wonder what they're doing." The seniors, Evan Chapman and Charlie Clousten, are from Electrical Occupations (EO), and I had the opportunity to ask them a few questions about what they were up to that day and what they have been doing down in shop.
Their task for the day was to run 300 feet of phone line from the telephone interface to the handset. This means multiple times of climbing up and down on an 18 foot latter to the highest point of the ceiling -- a lot of tough work! It was a fun project for the boys; however, and they felt honored to be trusted with such a big responsibility.
This isn't the first, or last, time the EO students ran wiring throughout the school. The previous wiring project had been running miles and miles of security wire throughout the school building, and last year, they had a major project where they ran conduit underneath the entire cafeteria! This shop doesn't stick to our own hallowed halls. Last year, they completed a project in Pittsburgh at a movie theater, and this year's project involves wiring at the new UPMC facility in Westgate Plaza, Union Township. There is a lot that our students are able to do for their community and beyond!
I went on to ask them a few more questions: What is your favorite type of work? What personality traits you need to be successful in this shop? What can someone coming in to your shop expect to do? What academic courses might help someone considering this shop? These were their responses:
"I like when we get to work outside," Evan told us. "It gives a real-world feel and gives us an idea as to what it is going to be like when we leave school."
"It helps to be hardworking and persistent," explained Charlie, as he answered our question about needed personality traits. "You're never gonna' get anywhere if you don't work for what you do and stick to it -- even when it gets hard."
"There is a surprising amount of math that goes into all of it, as well as schematics," both of the boys told us. "You really need to be able to read blue prints to get anywhere."
Overall, it sounds like EO has been a busy bunch this year and last, and we're excited to see what they do next for the school and our community beyond.
This isn't the first, or last, time the EO students ran wiring throughout the school. The previous wiring project had been running miles and miles of security wire throughout the school building, and last year, they had a major project where they ran conduit underneath the entire cafeteria! This shop doesn't stick to our own hallowed halls. Last year, they completed a project in Pittsburgh at a movie theater, and this year's project involves wiring at the new UPMC facility in Westgate Plaza, Union Township. There is a lot that our students are able to do for their community and beyond!
I went on to ask them a few more questions: What is your favorite type of work? What personality traits you need to be successful in this shop? What can someone coming in to your shop expect to do? What academic courses might help someone considering this shop? These were their responses:
"I like when we get to work outside," Evan told us. "It gives a real-world feel and gives us an idea as to what it is going to be like when we leave school."
"It helps to be hardworking and persistent," explained Charlie, as he answered our question about needed personality traits. "You're never gonna' get anywhere if you don't work for what you do and stick to it -- even when it gets hard."
"There is a surprising amount of math that goes into all of it, as well as schematics," both of the boys told us. "You really need to be able to read blue prints to get anywhere."
Overall, it sounds like EO has been a busy bunch this year and last, and we're excited to see what they do next for the school and our community beyond.
