Finals week for college students means tests and papers, but for some, it means progress on a house. The building construction program at the Utah State University Blanding campus involves building a house every two years. Director of career and technical education at USU Blanding Justin Bergeman said it’s a program that progresses with the students.
“They'll start with classroom, book work, and learning the fundamentals, and then they get to go out in the field at that point, and try their skills,” Bergeman said.
After just a semester of working, students can move up in the program.
“The really cool part is that second semester, where now they can sign up as an intern, and get paid to work on the house,” Bergeman said. “And so now they start to learn more of the production aspects.”
Bergeman said students are gaining valuable experience all while completing certificates and earning degrees. It’s a program he said some don’t see the value in.
“I think that there's a mindset in construction, like, from the state's perspective, that construction workers are so needed, that they don't need an education,” Bergeman said.
But he said it doesn't have to be that way.
“You know, yes, there are some individuals that absolutely will not go that path,” Bergeman said. “But if they don't have an opportunity, they're never going to take that path.”
Ultimately, providing students with opportunities to achieve their own goals is what Bergeman said the program is all about.
“If our students are not successful, we're not successful,” he said.
Bergeman said they have been building houses and adjusting the program for decades. He said he feels that the program they have now really hits the nail on the head.
