The Boy Scouts may have the motto “Be Prepared,” but it’s the students in the Construction Trades Technology program who are preparing Camp Tamarack for the upcoming camping season.

As part of the program, students are participating in a construction trades internship this semester.

The group is rehabbing numerous structures at the camp in Jones, which is owned by the LaSalle Council of the Boy Scouts of America in South Bend, Ind., and preparing the camp for the Scouts this summer.

Since January, 18 students have been braving the elements and working at the camp.

They are tearing down the old shower house, building two, 24-foot by 28-foot lodge expansions and adding new roofs and windows to the expanded lodges.

These dedicated students also worked at the camp throughout spring break to complete the projects by the end of the semester.

Construction Trades Technology, introduced during summer 2009, teaches students not only the hands-on skills necessary for work in the construction industry, but also the necessary theoretical and business skills to excel in the field.

Courses in administration and scheduling and workplace citizenship go hand in hand with course work in framing, interior and exterior finishes and construction tools and safety.
After completing the Construction Trades Technology program, SMC students are well-prepared for the state’s mandatory Builder’s Pre-licensure Review course and for the Michigan’s licensing exam – a requirement for all builders in the state.

The program came along at the perfect time for Don Smith.

A student in construction trades, Smith has always been interested in working in the field.
After graduation, he hopes to own his own construction business.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do, so my dream is coming true. Thanks to SMC for starting this program,” Smith said.

In addition, Eric Kovalak, SMC’s construction trades instructor, is an expert in green building techniques and incorporates these into the program curriculum.

As more people choose to stay in their existing homes, skills in weatherization, energy efficiency and green technologies are vital for today’s construction industry.

These are growing areas in the field, and new careers in green building are opening all the time.

Kovalak plans to provide the training necessary for SMC’s construction trades students to be well positioned to succeed in these areas as well as in traditional careers in construction.

Jeff Hupp is looking forward to one of these more traditional careers as he hopes to get into a roofing or framing company following graduation.

Hupp chose the construction trades technology program because he enjoys working with his hands and building both new structures and renovating older ones.

Hupp has found the internship experiences particularly rewarding as he feels he “learns better by doing than by reading.”

Fifteen students in the program are funded through Michigan Works!

Now in phase three, this “fast track” program not only funded their course work, but also provided a full set of individual tools for each student.

Students who began in phase one last summer also completed internships with several southwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity organizations, including Cass County, Benton Harbor and Niles.

This partnership was so mutually beneficial that several students continued volunteering with the groups throughout the school year.

This “giving back” to the community was one of the cornerstones in the development of the program.

Brian Leonard, dean of advanced technologies and one of the program developers, said “The construction trades fast-track program with Michigan Works! is a wonderful example of how multiple organizations can work together to effect positive change in the lives of individuals and also in the communities in which they live.”

By incorporating both traditional construction and new green building techniques, students in SMC’s construction trades technology program graduate with an exceptionally strong educational base.

Through both classroom instruction and internship experiences, the program prepares its students to meet the growing knowledge demands of the 21st century building industry.