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We often talk about the skills our students are gaining in school, and the real-world advantages they provide. But it is not often we get a chance to see those skills put to good use for the rest of us while students are still in school.
For a group of Belpre High School students, that is exactly what has happened. A "culvert buggy" made by senior Christopher Boso, sophomore Jayden Haynes, senior Adrick McLaughlin and junior Keegan Marsh, will be put to service to help inspect some of Washington County's more than 13,000 culverts.
All that because of engagement made possible through a Washington County Ohio Department of Transportation student job fair that gave the agency a chance to show students what it actually does.
Belpre High School 3-D Printing and Robotics Teacher Jamey Erb learned about the buggies used by inspectors and spotted an opportunity.
"It was a real-world connection and would be a great opportunity for our kids to work with them," Erb said. "This is actually going to be used somewhere in the state of Ohio for the next district who asks for one of these."
Chad Folmer, ODOT District 10 Equipment Manager/Procurement Officer, worked with the students as well to implement some changes.
"That way they just don't copy, paste and print," Folmer said. "It was something where they had to learn to change some things, modify parts, how to prototype a piece and make a production piece that actually goes on the buggy."
These students learned how to produce the buggy, sure. But they also learned how to solve problems, overcome challenges and work as part of a team -- all toward the goal of building something that will make public work easier.
"It is fun to see groups working with high schoolers and to see our creations going out into the workforce," McLaughlin said.
Fun for them now, perhaps; incredibly beneficial to the rest of us -- and these students' future employers.
Well done, to both the class and the folks at ODOT who decided to partner on the project. We can't wait to see what comes next.