Construction classes help kids set career goals

In the summer of 2000, teenager Marvin Dorsey joined a minority construction program with an idea of becoming a union electrician. Two years later, he's got his eye on a 4-year degree in electrical engineering.

Seventeen-year-old Dorsey is now a junior at Kirkwood High School. In 2000, just out of 8th grade, he was one of 33 kids in the first class of the Minority Youth in Construction Program. Now in the third year, the program has 95 students enrolled.

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Local construction companies and unions are sponsoring the program run by Washington University. The goal is to boost the number of minority youth in the construction industry.

The program recruits 8th-graders and then follows them through high school. They continue to learn about the construction industry. But, they also get help in "life skills" that prepare them significant careers.

Dorsey said, "At first, I thought construction was just hammering nails. But, I've got a better view of the whole construction industry now."

That broader view also caused him to widen his career goals.

Initially, after high school, he planned to go to Ranken Technical College to earn a 2-year associate degree and become an electrician. Now, he's got his eye on a 4-year degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Maya Washington

Dorsey was one of the kids who knew something about construction before joining. His grandmother had owned a construction company and he helped his dad with home repairs.

But, 16-year-old Maya Washington wasn't even thinking about a career in construction when she was recruited. "I was thinking about a law career; I like to debate," she said.

Now, she's thinking about combining careers. She wants to earn an engineering degree as well as one in law. "I like the hands-on experience you get in construction," she said. She said she, her grandfather, mother and younger brother now are remodeling her home.

The kids have six-week sessions each summer. They also meet once a month during the school year. For this first class, the kids are getting a little "real world" experience; their sessions start at 7 a.m. on Saturdays.

Last summer, these first-class members actually built a model kitchen at McCarthy Construction's yard in St. Louis. McCarthy Construction is one of the program sponsors.

Lakita Brown

Sixteen-year-old Lakita Brown was on that construction crew. "We did everything. We laid the cement, framed the walls and shingled the roof," she said. Lakita is a junior at Sumner High School this year.

She said one adult teachers told her a good carpenter should be able to drive a nail with just five strikes of a hammer. Before her summer work was over, she said, "I could do it."

She's hoping to do an apprenticeship as either an electrician or carpenter while getting a college degree. She wants to combine her career in construction with one as a medical doctor. She said she'd like to work construction while attending medical school.

Seventeen-year-old Gary Williams Jr. said he first learned about the Washington U program through his church. "Someone talked to my mother at church and she then told me about it," he said.

The McCluer High School junior said, "I'd thought about construction but didn't know anything about it."

He's another of the students who hopes to earn an apprenticeship in construction and then go to college for a four-year degree. "I'd work during the day and then go to college at night," he said.

Williams said he also enjoyed last summer's kitchen construction project. "I like to work with my hands and we built the kitchen from scratch," he said.

Gary Williams, Jr.

One way the program has broadened the young people is in their attitude toward where they'll live in the future. Many are thinking of going to college out of town.

For instance, Maya Washington wants to attend Spelman College in Atlanta for engineering and then Harvard University for both engineering and law.

Also, after college, the kids say they'll consider relocating to other areas. Williams and Dorsey said they'd go where the best job opportunities are.

Interested in this minority program? Why not ask today Arnold Porter of Washington University is executive director of the Minority Youth in Construction Program. He's looking for 8th-graders who'd like to be considered for the next class. Interviews to select 35 kids for the fourth year of the program will be held March, 2003. The program is open for boys and girls from all minority groups. If interested, Porter said he welcomes contact at (314) 935-5661. Each year's class starts in the summer between 8th and 9th grade. There are 6-week classes every summer and then regular monthly meetings through high school. Porter said, "The program works to develop the whole person. We broaden their horizons concerning the construction industry." However, he said there is emphasis on "life skills" such as speaking and writing. The class members also get help in mastering their regular school subjects, he said. The program administered by Washington University is supported by construction companies and trade unions. Additional support comes from companies and organizations that use facilities built by construction companies, Porter said. (Young Saint Louis.com first wrote about the program in September, 2000. To read that earlier story, just click here.)