Fairfield Career Center students team with Habitat for Humanity
CARROLL − Bloom-Carroll senior Wyatt Houston's school day is a little different than most students. Instead of sitting in a classroom all day, he is helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house at the Fairfield Career Center.
He's one of about 150 students involved in the house, which will be moved to Lancaster next year as the new home of a Habitat client family. The students include those from several Fairfield County high schools.
Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio has partnered with the career center and its students will build one house per year. The current house is expected to be completed in September 2023. Habitat is not yet releasing the exact address or the family's name.
"This could be what I'm doing everyday for the rest of my life," Houston said of the construction trade. "It's hard work, but it's good work."
He said he loves helping people and that the family who will get the house will get a good one.
"I hope they really enjoy it, Houston said.
The house will cost about $160,000 to $180,000 to complete.
Teays Valley High School senior Jonathan Jakubik is on the same framing crew as Houston.
"I think it's a great learning experience for all of us, juniors and seniors, to get into framing," Jakubik said. "We're doing everything on this house. We're doing the plumbing, heating, cooling, the roof. All of it. I think it's just a great learning experience."
Jakubik said he wants to get into the construction field after graduation.
"It's definitely a good job," he said. "And pretty decent money doing it."
The work is not just a learning experience for the students. The house must pass inspection and people will actually live in it.
Troy Dennison is an FCC construction lab instructor and was overseeing the framing work. He said the school has been talking with Habitat for a couple years to get the relationship started.
"It's something we were really looking forward to," Dennison said. "We would like to try to give back to the community that we live in and help people out. It gives the students something to look forward to. And also, they get to meet a family that they're giving a house to.
"They're building a real house. And not just a real one. It's one that's got to be able to be picked up, set on a semi and be driven down the road 60 mph. So it's built even stronger and better than most houses."
Eastland-Fairfield Career Center Superintendent/CEO Kimberly Pietsch Miller said in a statement the project is providing a work-based experience for the students.
“We are very grateful for the opportunity to partner with Habitat for Humanity,” she said. “More importantly, our students are serving others in our communities along the way.”
jbarron@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Fairfield Career Center students team with Habitat for Humanity
