Heavy Equipment Day a Success

Students participate in heavy equipment day by riding in the aeriel boom lift.  This day helps prepare students for possible future careers.

Students participate in heavy equipment day by riding in the aeriel boom lift. This day helps prepare students for possible future careers.

by Kyle Krueger and Brandon McKonkey

On Thursday, Nov. 6, our very own Atlantic High School held Heavy Equipment Day in the back parking lot of the school. Students in agriculture and industrial technology classes got to drive and operate multiple vehicles and tractors such as an excavator, skid loader, aerial boom lift, and scissor aerial lift.

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AHS had 7 volunteers from Ziegler CAT. “Many of the volunteers commended our students on their behavior, they truly appreciated the amount of respect our students had for the equipment and toward the volunteers,” said industrial technology teacher Derek Bair.

More than 200 AHS students from 10 classes participated in this day. There were many students that even signed out of their study hall to attend heavy equipment day. “The fact that the students actually were able to operate the equipment is what made this day so enjoyable,” said junior Nate Tanner.

“It is not every day that educators can provide students with real world acrivities and have students flourish with enthusiasm,” said Bair. “Many students came out and never had operated one of the machines and were very overwhelmed nervous that they were gonna break something, but once a student tried one machine they were attached to it and then the next machine and so on.”

Sophomore Nathan Gifford said his favorite machine was the boom lift because “it was fun.” Gifford said the biggest machine he had ever driven was “a tractor that is much bigger than anything Garrett Schwanke has ever driven.”

“I had to tell students to stop and go to class and that it’s over, and they are disappointed,” said Bair. This day helps prepare the students involved int it for possible future careers.