FIT Media: What piqued your interest in the Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) program?
Laurel J: Well, my brother was in this class, and he always expressed to me how different it was compared to a normal classroom setting. We don’t do anything in here that we would do in a regular high school class. We do hands-on activities and design things; it’s really cool.
FM: Have you benefited from this program? In what ways?
LJ: Yes, I have. It has given me a better view of what exactly I want to do. Before the class, I wanted to go into architecture. I didn’t know the difference between engineering and architecture, and now I know the different branches of architecture and the specifics of what I want to do.
FM: What are some skills that you have gained from this class?
LJ: I’ve learned to be more open. During the first two weeks of this class, no one talked. People from Midland Trail High only talked to other students from Midland Trail. Now, I have friends from Fayetteville High and Oak Hill High.
FM: Can you tell me some positive things about your instructor?
LJ: Mr. Chapman doesn’t let us goof-off and keeps our work ethic at a positive level. We are always working, as soon as we finish one thing, we go on to the next. We don’t have much of a break, unless we finish our work early, and then we build furniture.
FM : What are some of the projects you do in this class and do you compete in the Skills Competition?
LJ: Yes, we compete in Skills every year for architectural drafting and technical drafting.
The first year we got familiar with Inventor and Autocad, which is just like building or designing models of tools and gadgets. Now, we are working on architecture, and we built all of these model houses. We’re not on the computers as much, but I know after we finish this, we will be designing the actual layout of a house on Autocad.
FM: Are you guys the ones that design the tiny homes?
LJ: Yeah, I think they either did it last year or the year before. We do all of the designing on the computer, and then we give it to other classes to complete the house.
FM: Are you looking forward to anything in this class?
LJ: I was looking forward to building the model houses, which we just finished doing. I am also looking forward to learning more about architecture and our portfolios.
FM: Besides architecture, why did you want to go into CAD?
LJ: I think CAD’s reputation was attractive to me. I liked that it was laid back and that you did good work, and it was a nice classroom with a cool environment. I knew that even if I ended up not liking it, at least I would be in an atmosphere that was different than a normal classroom setting.
FM: Why were you chosen as class representative and how do you represent it?
LJ: I have good leadership skills; I voice my opinion, and I volunteer to tell visitors what the class is. I don’t mind being the leader.
My job is to make sure everyone is on task and doing their work, especially if Mr. Chapman isn’t here or if he has to leave the room. All of the class representatives suggest community service ideas- like the coat drive, the food drive, and things like that.
FM: How does Fayette Institute of Technology (FIT) compare to your high school?
LJ: Everyone treats you like an adult; you don’t have to raise your hand to go to the bathroom, and you get more responsibility. You’re expected to behave like this is a job, which helps us prepare for more after high school.
FM: Since you are also the representative of FIT, can you give me information about it?
LJ: Nathan and I are the representatives. Mrs. Black said we were good students and positive people whenever she taught us and recommended us to Mr. Keaton.
It is an economical development program. All of the CTE students in the state had two senior representatives sent to Charleston. We stayed there and started proposing ideas to help boost our economic growth. We had six separate ideas and then picked what we wanted to do. Basically, we just prepared for our big presentation at the end, which was supposed to be in front of Governor Justice.
[Nathan and I] created tiny homes for recreation and lodging. Since we live near the New River Gorge, we made a design where people can stay for the summer to rent or buy.