Although he plans to go into science rather than construction, Joey Collins signed up for Chesterton High School's Building Trades class to round out his practical skills.
Since September, he has been part of two classes there building a three-bedroom, 1,040-square-foot modular home near the school's tennis courts.
The experience has taught him the building blocks of home construction — how to read and follow a blueprint and how to work through complicated problems with others, he said.
With the interior enclosed, the class began to loop building wire inside the home on Monday.
Someday, he might use the experience for weekend projects, said Collins, 16, a junior.
This year, the construction class is building its first complete modular home under teacher Tom Garzella.
Since he was hired in August 2016, Garzella said his class has done numerous smaller projects around town.
The class last built a house about a decade ago, just before the recession, according to Principal Jeff Van Drie.
When the housing crash hit, they couldn't sell the house, he said.
Superintendent Ginger Bollinger was receptive to building a modular house at the high school when he pitched the idea, Garzella said. The project would give students a "controlled environment" to learn trade skills and see the construction process from start to finish, he said.
It's an ideal program for students interested to get a jump start on a trade, Garzella said. While some students have already started an outside apprenticeship, many others are a blank slate.
"A lot of them don't want to sit in class," Garzella said. Working with their hands outdoors allows them to build technical knowledge to "really have a grasp on the information and learn from it," he said.
The class has grown to 36 juniors and seniors from 11 last year, he said. He estimated about 20 percent of students go onto construction trades.
The cost to build the house is $26,000 to $27,000, Garzella said.
It has been sold at a small profit to Valparaiso-based Housing Opportunities, an organization that helps homeless and low-income clients secure affordable housing.
Director of Development Caren Furdeck was not available for comment Wednesday.
The house's construction also involves other classes at Chesterton — its floor plan was designed by a student in the school's architecture class. The school's interior design class will map out final touches inside the house, he said.
Garzella said they should near completion by the third week of February.
By then, they will ship the house to its final destination on the 900 block of Green Street in Michigan City where students will complete the flooring and interior design, he said.
