Michael, GLTS Senior in Carpentry

When I started high school I tried out a bunch of careers. I like building stuff, it’s fun, so carpentry is what I chose.

I have learned so much about carpentry in just 2 years. Our teacher, Mr McGee, teaches us to do it right the first time. I know what kind of wood to use, what kind of nails, what are all the materials we need. We need to think about organizing our materials because you don’t want the materials you need next at the bottom of the pile. So you need to plan ahead. You use everything you learn. Once you finished building you can see what you’ve accomplished. 

Right now we are building the walls. Standing up a wall took about 20 of us—it’s pretty big and pretty heavy. Our teacher taught us how it’s really important to lay the 2x6’s for the wall right the first time so you don’t have to do it over. Doing it over is a waste of time and as our teacher says, time is money.

My favorite tool is the nail gun. The first time I used it, it was scary. But you get used to it. Same with the circular saw—that was really scary. Now we know how to use it and it’s not scary at all. 

After high school, I plan to work in carpentry part time and earn money to attend college part time. There’s lots more to learn first though!

— Michael, Junior at GLTS, member of the carpentry team working on the Lupine Road ACT duplex