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| Members of LCCTC's SkillsUSA organization: Devin, Stormy, Calvin, Trevor, Wyatt, and Trenton |
Sometimes, we pass by the same thing, every day, glancing and never really looking, but one day we make a double-take and realize, “There’s something not quite right about it.”
It was this way for a few SkillsUSA kiddos, and they decided to do something.
The school’s sign has good bones, but recently, it had become a little weathered. Located at the corner of West Washington Street and Cascade park, LCCTC shares a directional sign with the New Castle Community YMCA’s Dek Hockey Rink and the New Castle Armory. It is a three-tier structure, built of Versa-loc and constructed by our very own Masonry shop. The signboard was designed by our Commercial Art department. It’s purpose, to direct our visitors toward our facilities.
For years, our custodians have done their best to keep it weed-free, but the kids felt that needed a little more -- especially considering that we have Open House next week and our LCCTC 50th Anniversary Celebration a few days later. Wyatt Butler, Welding junior, and Trenton Yale, and Calvin Lample, masonry juniors, agreed that the sign and the tiers around could use a little extra TLC. They wanted to help with the upkeep of a structure that was built by graduates from their shop. “If we have something nice,” states Wyatt Butler, “we should do what we can to keep it that way. I'm proud to be able to come to this school and learn about my passion and to show that I care -- even though I may roll my eyes at times.”
All members of SkillsUSA, they decided to make a plan to do a bit of cleaning and landscaping as a service project to help beautify the school, the Y, and the Armory. An eager volunteer, Calvin Lample was one of the first to step-up. "I like to work to better the community and honor those who have served. Why not?"
Stormy Fiello, Electrical Occupations junior commented that she wanted to “clean up at the sign to make our school look like we care; and we DO care. We want to make a good impression to anyone who might see it. I think of the sign is a symbol of our school and the pride we take in what goes on within our building.”
“I volunteered because I want anyone to know that we take care of what we have,” comments Devin Dilling, Welding junior. “We want people to know that we respect our school, and if a little soap and a scrub brush can help the outward appearance of keeping our sign looking sharp, then it’s worth it!”
Trevor Cunningham, Machine Tool Technican junior states, “I helped because I wanted to help the school that helped me learn about what I wanted to do with my future. I also have great respect for what the YMCA does for the community and for what the National Guard does for our country.”
With a little bit of sweat-equity and a few soapy scrub brushes, the sign looks pretty great. These kids should be proud of what they were able to do -- and we’re proud of them.
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| Trevor and Calvin try to pry apart the buckets to gather trash and pulled weeds |
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| Scrubbing away weather and grime to make our sign shine |
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| ...and the hard work paid off; it looks great! |
