Building Futures, a home building program for high schoolers, celebrated its fifth annual site dedication last week. It’s the second time Gage Matkowski, Grade 11 student at Cochrane Community Learning Centre, participated in the Building Futures program, and because of that, he’ll end up graduating from high school a year earlier. The one-month long program teaches high school students the basics of home construction, including framing. It’s on an off-campus course where subjects such as math and science are rolled into one with hands-on learning. Matkowski said in his Grade 9 year he was new to Cochrane and he didn’t feel outgoing. But when he was accepted to the Building Futures program, he said it changed the course of his education. “Through my Grade 10 year, I just went all in,” he said, adding he grew up in a trades-oriented family. “I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do something like this,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy school. I came to school, I slept in my class,” Matkowski said. He was afraid he would repeat this pattern in the following school year. “I was just going to get trapped in this vicious cycle of not wanting to go to school but having to go, barely getting my work done.” Now, after completing a second year in the program, Matkowski will have enough credits to finish school a whole year early. Haylee McGonigel and Brielle Miller, both 15 each completed their first year in the program. “It was a lot more than I expected,” said McGonigel. “It gives you the experience to work ... and it gives you opportunities after school.” Miller said the house building skills she learned in the program will complement her future goal of becoming an interior designer. “The life skills you learn is incredible,” Miller said. “I helped put in the frame for the other house, and it was so cool just learning simple things that not most teenagers know.” The program is put on through Kingsmith Homes and Rocky View Schools (RVS). “Their continued commitment to the program has allowed us to carry on with the opportunity to help students grow in ways we didn’t think possible in a conventional teaching setting,” said instructor Matt Chomistek.
