The student-built house is a revision of a program the school used to offer with Iowa Western. The program is led by Noah Widrowicz and Aiden Wendt. At the start of this school year, they started with the exterior of the house. So far this school year, they have put up siding, added a deck, installed windows, and started electrical and plumbing. They plan to finish the house by the end of the school year and start a new project immediately afterward, without a gap. They want to continue working with students, “We want boots on the ground at all times,” says Widrowicz.
Many students have been talking to Widrowicz and Wendt about participating when they can join the class. There are a lot of “hungry kids who are eager to take the class when they are able,” states Widrowicz. This program teaches students lifelong skills, and it ties together other industrial technology classes. But most of all, it gives these students real-world experience. It shows them that when they have a job, it’s more strict than school. It teaches them responsibility and accountability.
The students need to use their critical thinking skills on the job site, as they don’t have an instructor with them at all times. They must communicate with each other to ensure they are working together as a team. It teaches them to be dependable, and some students even earn careers for themselves from this program. Oftentimes, they have 4 different teams working on different tasks. They choose their task or team based on their different skill sets. They know their strengths and weaknesses, so by choosing their tasks, they ensure efficiency and help avoid mistakes, as they don’t have time to fix them. There have been many challenges so far, but the biggest challenge has been the loss of Dodson.
They experience other challenges like the temperature, only being able to work for 2 periods, and the timeline. Students can’t work outdoors on the house when the temperatures drop during the wintertime, so they work on what they can in the achievement center. Only being able to work for 2 class periods a day and having to wait after certain steps are taken can drag out the process.
Community support has been a tremendous help throughout this project. Camblin Mechanical and Plumbing, Alan and Randy Watts, PCI for concrete, Berg Electric, and Akin Buildings for giving us many supplies needed to complete the house at a discounted price. This program is very fun and educational, not only for the students, but to the teachers.
Widrowicz enjoys hearing all the phases happening from the students and hearing them talk about the work that they are proud of. He loves going out to the house every once in a while and seeing all the new things the students have done. Wendt enjoys going out to the house and helping the students with different tasks. They are both blown away by the progress the students have made and are very proud of these kids for all their hard work. They both enjoy learning from experiences with this program and applying it to their other classes to improve them.
A few of the students working on this project were kind enough to share their experiences and thoughts on this program, and this project specifically. Many of the students enjoy working with their classmates to build this. They enjoy the special bonds formed through this program. They also like working and learning from guys like Alan and Randy Watts. They like that they get to do hands-on projects and not do the same thing every day. They were inspired to take this class by many different things. Some were interested in the trades, some just wanted to see if they enjoyed doing something in this field in their future, and others were inspired to continue in their family’s footsteps. They might all be there for different reasons, but they all share the same passion and dedication towards this project.
Widrowicz and Wendt would recommend this program to anyone who has spent time in industrial technology classes. This program helps students who enjoy challenges, are open to new things, are interested in the construction industry, and want to gain real-world experience in the industry. Anyone who has spent time in an industrial technology class would be a good fit for this program. Widrowicz and Wendt would recommend this program because it builds trade skills and skills to use throughout their life in the industry. You get to experience construction to know if you would like to continue to work in the construction industry or if you aren’t going to enjoy this field of work before you enter to workforce. They encourage lots of students to join this program because “it’s a great program and would hate to see it go.” They want to express their pride in their students who are in this program currently. It brings them joy seeing their students bloom and blossom, and they love the community aspect behind it.
This program wouldn’t be possible if we didn’t have the community support we do. It is also helping build the students’ community participation and community service. The students helped rebuild a ramp for a student in our district who is becoming more dependent on their wheelchair. The students were very willing to help the student and even spent their personal time working on this project to finish it quickly. For Widrowicz, Wendt, and their students, this project is more than just a house — it’s a foundation for their futures.
