It’s just 1,188 square feet, but it holds a lot of education and, eventually, hope for a deserving family.
After about two years of hard work, Manitou Springs High School’s first homebuilding project was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Nov. 30. The house still needs a few finishing touches, but the major work is done.
It took around 80 students total, supported by MSHS faculty and staff, community volunteers and industry partners — including some MSHS graduates — to get to this point.
Kolleen Johnson, School District 14’s director of student success, spoke first to the crowd that included Mayor John Graham, State Rep. Marc Snyder and some of the students who worked on the house.
“We are here because of partnership and courage. Our partnership with CICC is the reason we stand here today,” she said, referring to Careers in Construction Colorado.
In 2015, the Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs teamed up with the Associated General Contractors of Colorado to support vocational education in this region’s high schools. It started with about 20 students in one high school. In 2019, CICC split off as a separate nonprofit organization.
Today, according to Executive Director Glenn Hard (former MSHS principal), CICC serves 18 schools and almost 1,000 students in the Pikes Peak region alone. It’s spread across the state to 62 high schools and around 3,000 students.
“None of this is possible without the incredible amount of support we receive not only from the decision-makers in our schools and the construction industry, but also by local and statewide elected officials. They are tremendous champions and spokespeople for careers in construction,” Hard said.
Brad Borkowski, the high school’s industrial technology teacher, played a huge role in the project. Johnson lauded him for the courage it took to build a house in a parking lot with 14- to 17-year-olds.
We are here because of partnership and courage
“This community owes you a debt of gratitude for taking on what will become a lasting legacy for Mustangs to come,” Johnson said.
Borkowski said he’d had students building things in the classroom that they just had to take apart later. Building an actual house has been a much greater learning experience.
“These students now have a first-hand experience of what it is like to work in the cold and heat and know what it is like to work with their hands and get blisters. It is a great experience everyone should have and, hopefully, it will inspire some of these students to get into the construction industry or, at the very least, not take people in that industry for granted,” he said.
He and Hard both spoke about how the skills, such as teamwork and discipline, the students learned will serve them later, no matter what careers they pursue.
George Whitt, one of the stalwart community volunteers and a fourth-generation carpenter, agrees with them. His family moved to Manitou in 1954 and he graduated from MSHS in 1966.
“I started carrying nails and water for my father’s framing company in 1956 at the age of 8. I worked with him every summer until I graduated college in 1970,” he said, adding that his mother wouldn’t let him use power tools until he was 12.
After college, Whitt returned to Manitou and worked with his father as vice president of Manitou Builders; after his father retired, he took over operations. He also spent about 25 years working as a general contractor, then taught construction at Pikes Peak Community College.
“When I heard about CICC at Manitou High I was compelled to offer what assistance I could,” Whitt said. “It was a no-brainer.”
In a typical week, Whitt spent three to four and a half hours per week at the job site, consulting on installing cabinets and setting doors.
The house, which can be split into two sections for transporting, will be moved from campus, probably during the holiday break. A foundation will be built on a Habitat for Humanity lot, Borkowski said, the finishing work will be done and Habitat for Humanity will buy the house.
And then the process will start over with new students.
“Careers in Construction Colorado is dedicated to showing students the depth and breadth of the construction industry. Students develop a true understanding of the home-build process and, of equal importance, a sense of pride in their work,” Hard said.
“We’re helping students see more relevance in their high school experience and we’re helping them prepare for successful lives past graduation.”
Information: CICColorado.org.