Vernonia High School Construction

This marketing video was created by Vernonia High School students Josh Liman, Marina Mekidiche, and Vaclav Michalec for PCC's Social Media Outreach Project. Their goal was to recruit more students into their class and inform the community about the positive impact of the VHS construction program. Their finished product is hilarious and effective--take a look for yourself here or check it out on YouTube.

No Boyz Allowed Class Flourishing in Sherwood

Sherwood high school teachers John Neibergall and Jon Dickover share more than a first name: in adjoining classrooms they teach engineering and construction, respectively, two subjects which traditionally attract a much higher percentage of male students than females.

Unsatisfied with the low numbers of young women enrolled in their engineering classes, John and Jon put their heads together to come up with a solution. They looked at the research behind recruiting female students into nontraditional subjects. They examined the population they were serving: a vibrant and social school of over a thousand students in a tight-knit community. They talked to the young women already in enrolled in their classes.

They decided the best way to introduce female students to a potentially intimidating subject was to create a new class just for them. They gave it a catchy name: No Boyz Allowed. They set up a recruitment table during lunch periods and asked current female engineering students to show off cool projects and answer questions from curious passersby. Engaging prospective students one-on-one is proved to be a simple but powerful strategy: suddenly Sherwood High School students were seeing enthusiastic proof that girls could thrive in high tech classes.

Their hard work paid off: the first NBA class filled up. And then a second one.

Word of mouth from current students will likely popularize the program even more. Many of the students from this introductory class will move into more advanced engineering classes. From there they can pursue college educations and high wage jobs in a high tech field in desperate need of more women.

All thanks to two amazing teachers at Sherwood High School.

Extra Credit: Be sure to check out this great video, created by an NBA student, documenting some of the adventures the class has had so far!

Gaston High School Gives Back

Last school year the woods classes at Gaston High School illustrated the amazing positive impact a CTE program can have on its community.

One of the school district's bus drivers had recently fallen on hard financial times. Her kitchen cabinets were falling apart, but as anyone who has renovated a kitchen knows, replacing them was not exactly an affordable endeavor. That's when Gaston High School woods teacher Wade Sims proposed an idea: if she could pay for the raw materials, his class would construct her a full set of beautiful custom cabinets at no extra charge.

Take a look at the jaw-dropping results:

Advanced woods students did most of the actual construction, but students at every level were able to pitch in and help. In the end, a deserving member of the community got a beautiful new kitchen for a fraction of the price, while a group of dedicated students learned a valuable construction trade--not to mention the value of giving back.

Photojournal: The Astroturf Is Always Greener...

This year Banks High School horticulture teacher Tim Eggleston wanted to give his students a special hands-on project to put their skills and knowledge to use. A couple months later his class was putting the finishing touches on three fully functional putting greens.

To get started, everyone in the class submitted a putting green design. The class voted to choose the top 3. The students with the winning designs became the project bosses, guiding small groups of their classmates through the process of bringing their designs to life using wood, astroturf, and trigonometry. Mr. Eggleston wanted the process to mimic a real life construction project as closely as possible--from submitting designs to delegating tasks and negotiating leadership roles.

"It's fun to actually do the hands-on work," says student Garritt Schmidlkofer. "You're not sitting in a chair for an hour and a half and then switching classes and sitting in another chair for an hour and a half. You get to see the results of your work."

"If you're lazy, you're not going to like this class," says 8th grader Alina Boding. "I love using the tools."

Adds Bryton McKinnon: "It's cool to actually be able to build stuff. And also mini golf is my third favorite sport."

Check out Banks High School's budding golf course designers hard at work:

Role Models: Fire Fighter/EMT

One of the best ways to encourage young women to pursue nontraditional careers such as construction, technology, manufacturing, and law enforcement is to introduce them to strong women already succeeding in these fields. With that in mind, we'd like to unveil a new feature here at Do It, Learn It, Live It: Role Models.

Role Models will feature interviews with women and men working in nontraditional fields and a look at the steps they took to get there. First up, Teri Apodaca-Stonebarger, a Yamhill County fire fighter, EMT, and mother of three. She started training at age 42 and is on her way to accomplishing her ultimate goal of working full time as a paramedic (preferably in Hawaii). This is her story.

Name: Teri Apodaca-Stonebarger (pictured above, left)

Age: 47
Job: EMT/Firefighter, Carlton Fire District; EMT Volunteer, McMinnville.

Why were you drawn to this kind of work?
It is fun and exciting and every call and situation is different. I love the medical side of it the most and I knew by joining the fire department as a volunteer I would get my foot in the door and have more access. Fire fighting isn't something I will be able to do for a long time, given my age, but the medical part of it I can do much longer: it is physically demanding but not as much as fire fighting. I am getting my Fire Prevention degree as well as my Paramedic degree so I have something "fire" related to fall back on and a chance for a different career in the same atmosphere.

What does a normal work day look like for you?
General house duties, house cleaning, ambulance/fire engine check, run calls, run calls, run calls, eat, run calls, run calls, run calls, eat, nap, run calls, run calls, rest? McMinnville is very busy--we run anywhere from 15 to 25 emergency medical calls and fire calls in a 24-hour period. We get over 6000 emergency medical calls alone in a year which doesn’t count the fire alarms, wild land fires, and structure fires.

What steps did you take to make your career goals a reality?
I joined as a volunteer fire fighter in Yamhill and stayed there for a year, then I moved to Carlton where I am an EMS/Fire fighter volunteer. I was a student at McMinnville for fire and EMS for 2 1/2 years and am now an EMS volunteer there. While volunteering I have been going to school full-time. Within the next year I'll have my Associate's Degree in Fire Prevention and a certificate in Management in Fire Prevention. I have taken fire classes to become a fire fighter (structure) an engine boss (wild land), so I can go to the big wild land fires and be the "boss" of my crew. I was a First Responder, then an EMT Basic, then an EMT Intermediate, and now I am trying to get into a paramedic program.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?
I love working the wild land fires--the fires in trees, grass, etc.--they are fun and exciting. I like structure fires but not the loss of people’s belongings and homes. I also really like the patient care aspect of the job. I am really excited about getting my EMT Intermediate because I can start IV's and give drugs, and this is one step down from my ultimate goal of becoming a paramedic. I got to start a 16 gauge IV on a trauma patient the other day, it was the first 16 gauge I did (they are huge needles). I knew if they needed to push fluids or give drugs right away while transporting him by helicopter that IV could help save his life...so it is little things like that I love. And the rush of it all!

Least favorite?
Loss of a life, for the family and friends that are left behind to grieve. I have seen some pretty sad people and it is very hard to watch a mother be devastated because she lost her son.

Have you run into any challenges as a woman in this field?
At first, especially at my age, I was "challenged" at the fire department in subtle ways. I was left to do everything, all the grunt work, and some of the guys wouldn't talk to me at all. I would ask them a question and get nothing, no reply. After a while they figured out I could actually do the job and pull my own weight, and then I was treated just like the guys. Even with the challenges, it was a great experience for me and taught me a lot about being out on an ambulance and fire engine.

What skills are important for success as a firefighter/EMT?
Compassion, quick thinking, thinking things through, trying to quickly diagnose what is wrong with the patient and taking action without panicking. Laughing and not internalizing what you had to do or what you had to see, and trying not to be judgmental.

What advice would you give to people, especially young women, who are considering a career as a paramedic?
Study, study, study, become the best you can be, and know your stuff! Be confident but not cocky... it is a very fine line. You have to prove yourself--to your colleagues and to yourself.