Workplace readiness is the core of many high school programs, with courses designed to intertwine academic learning with hands-on practice. Through the Gwinnett County schools’ Work-Based Learning approach, students get out in the world and explore fields where they might one day find a career.
For Maxwell High School of Technology WBL students Sophia Nguyen and Jean Francisco, the experience comes with a twist: The two are working on jobs that will directly impact students of the future.
Nguyen, a senior, is spending her final spring working on a redesign of Brookwood High, her home school, with the Lawrenceville architectural firm of Lindsay Pope Brayfield & Assoc.
“I spend at least 15 hours a week, three hours a day, working on Brookwood, as well as Shiloh and Mill Creek,” said the Lilburn resident. “We expanded rooms and created more rooms for students and teachers to work together. This semester, I started rendering and bringing 2D drawings to life on the computer so the architects and clients have a better view of what the buildings will look like.”
Nguyen also gets the chance to give a student’s perspective on the projects.
“My mentor has asked me what I would want the room to be like,” she said. “There’s a good back-and-forth happening.”
Nguyen signed up for Maxwell at the end of her sophomore year to explore science options.
“I took a random class in engineering and I liked using computer-based programs to draw and build things,” she said. “Then I started the architecture program and found I like seeing things come to life. I also was introduced to internships, and now I’ve been offered a paying summer job here before I start Kennesaw State in the fall.”
Francisco, a senior from Berkmar High, also hopes his internship with Carroll Daniel Construction will lead to permanent employment. He’s been working with the company since October on the site of the new Seckinger High School, due to open in Buford in fall 2022.
“I’m normally here after school, about 10 hours a week, but I’m often here more like 30,” he said. “This is my first time doing construction, and I’m really into it. I can’t drive equipment yet or touch electrical tools, but I can dig holes and pour concrete.”
Francisco grew up in a family with a construction business, and he got his first introduction to how it works when they remodeled their Lilburn home.
“I really enjoyed how you start something and then see the finished project,” he said. “I’ve told [Carroll Daniel] I want to pursue this as a career, and I’m hoping to come on fulltime.”
So far, Francisco has been a good fit, said Brian Daniel, the firm’s president and CEO, who noted the company has eight WBL students as well as college interns.
“He’s particularly bright and interested in learning the business,” said Daniel. “He’s made pages and pages of notes, and taken the time to document what he’s learned to go back over it later. He’s been very proactive in learning the trade and taking advantage of the opportunity.”
Finding that workplace fit is the goal, said Maxwell’s WBL coordinator Barbara Hoag.
“A lot of our students with certifications can go right into the work force,” she said. “And they often make $55,000 with benefits.”
Information about Maxwell High and the WBL program is online at gcpsk12.org/MaxwellHS.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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