By Stephen Smoot
“The training and experiences that these kids can get here for free is amazing,” stated Aimee Cummings, an English teacher at South Branch Career and Technical Center. She added that the same training from higher education or other programs leading to good paying trades careers could be quite costly.
Last week a number of South Branch CTC students got the chance to discuss their time at the trades education facility, including what inspired them to choose their fields and where they hope to take those skills in adult life.
South Branch offers a broad range of fields of study that might surprise some in the skills they teach, as courses have adapted to changing technologies and industry needs.
For example, the broadcasting classes instructed by Travis Hansrote instill a number of skills that one might not expect.
Faith Sites, a Moorefield High School senior, shared that “I wanted to do radio.” She added that “the people here are really nice, too.” Sites shared that major benefits from taking courses in the field included that “I learned a lot of social skills, how to film, what to do with the cameras.”
From Pendleton County Middle/High School came senior Sam Cooper. She explained that “I really like filming and editing. I thought radio would be cool as well. I’d like to get into production in film.” Cooper plans to go on to college to further her skills growth and studies, taking with her mastery of “leadership skills, teamwork, editing, and communication.”
“Most of them (from the broadcasting classes) go into higher education,” said Hansrote. “This is a gateway to some sort of college, technical trade, or multimedia.” He stated that his graduates have gone on to earn honors in college. Two graduates, for example, are studying sports communications at Davis and Elkins University.
He added that one graduate found the class vital for his current job as a United Airlines flight attendant. Hansrote shared that the student said the class “helped me to look people in the eye.”
Broadcasting serves as an example of a set of courses that has adapted as technology and uses of it have changed. Television related classes have been scaled back to make room for new courses in drone operations. Although job opportunities are expanding in that field, Hansrote wants to encourage his students to establish their own businesses with the skills learned.
Cashton Kisamore, a PCMHS senior, and Dustin Fridley, a 12th grader at Petersburg High School, demonstrated some of the equipment used for electrical technology instruction on-site, starting with different control panels. Kisamore plans after high school to join the union and work.
Fridley explained that first year students must first pass a 10-hour OSHA course on “hazard identification, reduction, and reporting practices,” then master fundamentals in a booth constructed for technical instruction.
Second year students get to work “in the house.” Fridley explained that “you’re doing basic electrical work.” Kisamore explained that they are learning electrical work on “anything you can do in a house, we have to do all of that.” Instructor Mike Reel noted that “Cashton just took the journeyman’s exam” to be in the union and is currently awaiting results.
Reel said “the future for these guys is good. There’s always a need for electricians.”
While many students come in with a good idea of what they want to do, Shelly Crites, principal of South Branch CTC, expects that some will need to experiment with different fields until they find the right fit. Orrin Merrick, a PCM/HS senior, said “my first year I was in building maintenance and got into everything, block work, brick work, carpentry and plumbing.” Merrick started with electrical work later and is “thinking of doing basic residential work.”
Matt Alexander teaches welding, a field in which many can earn six figures fairly quickly in certain jobs. He shared that last year, five found apprenticeships, two with the pipefitters union. “All started at over $30 an hour,” he stated. “There’s a lot of local shops. One of my students went to Mineral Fabrication and got a job,” said Alexander, adding that another graduate is on a bridge welding crew working on Corridor H.
Another student went into welding to follow in her father’s footsteps. Alexander said that taking over the family business is a possible future option for her.
With carpentry, said instructor Leroy Shook, “the sky is the limit. As a builder myself, we are a year out on work. You can make a good living in this area if you want to put the work in.” Carpentry students sometimes serve as jacks of all trades at the school, fabricating a number of items to help other students and other classes.
Just as in the other courses, there is more than meets the eye. Shook explained that his courses included using the latest CNC machine technology as well as learning the tools of the trade millennia old. Students learn how to both program and operate the CNC machines.
An East Hardy High School student, Corbin Miller, serves as part of a team producing an art project for the Mon Forest Towns organization. MFT entered a partnership with Petersburg-based mural artist Kelson Thorne. Each participating town, located somewhere near the Monongahela National Forest, will receive a canoe shaped kiosk used to distribute tourism information materials.
The canoe backs will feature art from Thorne, while South Branch students will fabricate the front.
Said Shook, “Miller is actually taking the lead on the canoe project. He cut the canoes in half and designed all the doors and shelves” that will go in the interior.
Shook added that the carpentry classes will travel to work and learn, sharing that “we go to Moorefield High School, do stuff for them.”
Another high demand field with lucrative job opportunities featured at South Branch is nursing. With WVU Medicine committed to paying salaries that compete with nearby facilities in Virginia and Maryland and also determined to hire local when possible, nursing students need not leave the area.
Adyson Ault and Emily George from Moorefield High School, Bryn Reel from PCM/HS, and McKenna White from Petersburg High School, shared their experiences.
“I’ve practiced skills for a nursing home two times a week,” said Ault, who must perform for 55 ½ hours to meet requirements. Students can practice typical nursing tasks either on mannequins or each other. George shared that her love of the field comes from the fact that “we get to take care of people and brighten their day.” The work and exposure to patients helps one to “gain confidence in yourself.”
For White, learning to work as a team served as an important skill. She described how “we all have to work together to learn more skills. We all work together to understand. We help and encourage each other as much as possible.”
Reel, who passed her certified nursing assistant (CNA) exams last month said that those coming into the program must “practice, practice, practice” and “study a whole lot.” Ault chimed in and added “don’t get behind.” Reel shared that she wants to work as a nurse in labor and delivery.
One of the most popular fields at South Branch is cosmetology, a field with a great deal of opportunity, but requires significant knowledge and training. Keira Reel a junior from PCM/HS, explained that first year students learn the basics of the field, much of it in classroom work. That includes detailed studies in anatomy and chemistry, as well as clinical terminology, to ensure that practitioners have sufficient safety knowledge to guide them in their career.
“In the second year,” she said, “we’ll take clients. She added that besides styling and cutting hair, students can also learn to do nails and also waxing. “People can practice on each other,” she said, indicating the room in which that takes place.
The third year of the course takes place in adulthood. Reel explained that adult third year students have their own booths in which to keep their equipment and products. She also said “I really like doing beauty stuff, helping people feel ‘prettied up.’” Additionally, she enjoys helping do hair for girls going to prom, pageants, or other important events.
Alana Kosner, a PCM/HS junior, said “I always wanted to do something in cosmetology. You have to learn a lot about anatomy, such as where the nape is. We also deal with chemicals and hair coloring.” She shared that “I hope to complete my third year and go to college” to study business, preparing her for potential entrepreneurship.
The middle school program has earned significant accolades. Heather White instructs in career exploration. All students in this program come from Petersburg and instruction is just as hands-on as with high school courses.
Cody Miller, a shy and also bright seventh grader, talked about his love of robotics. White shared that he loves to talk about how he designs and builds them from components in the shop. Miller has an adult career in mind behind his dedication to learning robotics. “I want to work on cars, build things,” he stated.
White shared that “we have plans in the works to have a . . . class in VEX robotics for seventh and eighth grade.” They have been inspired both by South Branch plans to implement robotics instruction as well as the tremendous success of the robotics teams in all grades of the Moorefield schools.
Miller’s classmates Annabel Haggerty and Faith Funk demonstrated how to get a needle into a vein to perform blood work or hook up an IV. “It really is an art form,” noted White. Funk filled the IV bag while Haggerty fetched supplies. Both took turns carefully working with the realistic arm model to find the proper point and then insert the needle properly, which they both did in turn.
Law and public safety, taught by Monica Bennett, instructs in the fundamentals of the different fields under it. Dakota Kimble, a junior at PCM/HS, shared that “I really want to be a game warden and protect wildlife.” He stated that two of the most interesting skills he learned so far have included arresting and fingerprinting.
“I want to go into policing,” said PCM/HS student Malcolm Smith, “this could help me to achieve it.” Bennett shared that Smith went to the Skills USA state competition at Fairmont State University. “He did very well there for his first year.”
He shared that he wants to first join the United States Army and expects to choose infantry as his field there. After four years of active duty and two years in the reserves, he plans to move on to law enforcement. “When I get out, I don’t know what I want to do in the police field” he said, but added that he wants to be “just helping people. I just want to help.”
And, in essence, every field of endeavor taught at South Branch has something of that aspect as part of it. Students not only better themselves, but also prepare for careers and work that, at the end of the day, whether it be law, construction, cosmetology, or any of the other myriad options, they will likely have a secure career, a prosperous life, and fulfillment in “just helping people.”
