Students gravitate towards it because it is fun, pure and simple. It’s a very precise art form, and as you drive around town you can say ‘I helped build that church, and that school,’ and you know your work will be around for a long time.

“Columbus Career & College Academy provides an up to five-year program, for grades 9-13, where students can achieve a high school diploma and associates degree and a Construction Engineering Technology (CET) Certificate in a variety of trades and disciplines. My masonry program prepares students for well-paying brick laying and associated jobs out of the gate, and that can lead to becoming safety inspectors, foremen and superintendents.

Students gravitate towards it because it is fun, pure and simple. It’s a very precise art form, and as you drive around town you can say ‘I helped build that church, and that school,’ and you know your work will be around for a long time. There’s also the team aspect of designing, planning and building a project that is very satisfying.

We have contests at the school, including a parents’ night, where students demonstrate that they can build a project within specifications and that it is level, plumb, straight and square. That helps us prepare for regional and other competitions. Two years ago, we won all three divisions at state and went to nationals in Atlanta. It was a weeklong event, and we came in second place, two points behind first place in a 1,000-point scoring system.

Companies from all over go to these competitions looking for talent. Two recent graduates are working for the biggest residential masonry company in North Carolina, McGee Brothers, one of them making $150,000 because they watched him win at state. Another student working in South Carolina was just promoted to Assistant Superintendent. She came to my program, along with four other girls, because the culinary program was full. They all fell in love with it and became superstars.

Part of the program is a course I developed, and was adopted by the state, that includes 45 specific job-related tasks, things that you might normally learn on the job. Over the years, BEMC has helped by providing computers, professional-grade levels and a machine that helps us re-use practice mortar. Those grants, and donations from a wide variety of companies, make sure our students are ahead of the curve on the job site.”