During a wood processing course last fall, Morrisville State College students Lena Hanes and Paige Biviano learned important lessons: Building furniture takes a long time, demands lots of patience and requires seemingly endless sanding.
In a masonry class, Calvin Desforges realized how much precision goes into leveling and squaring off blocks to build the foundation of a home.
The hands-on education they are receiving in the college’s wood technology and residential construction programs is giving them all of the tools they need for their future careers.
Both programs, housed in the college’s Wood Technology Building, are giving students knowledge beyond processing, designing and building, pairing hands-on learning with entrepreneurial skills to shape them as leaders in both industry and business.
Students in the wood technology program can choose one of two concentrations: finish carpentry and furniture production and business. In both, they take their project from concept to completion.
When students built dressers, they did it mass production-style. One student made all the drawers, one made the legs and another made doors.
“At the end, we put it all together,” Hanes said. “A lot of the measurements were a little off. We learned to fix things. It gives you appreciation for furniture because it takes a lot of time and effort.”
Students are developing their skills on some of the most advanced precision tools used by high-end carpenters and contractors. Their work is a reflection of that, too. The center houses a state-of-the-art sawmill and a kiln, a large chamber that dries wood.
“We cover the whole wood products industry,” said Jim Costello, chair of the wood tech program. “We take limbs and turn them into lumber. We dry it, then turn it into furniture.”
Costello said the program is near capacity at 15, since it’s designed to give each student individual attention and a workstation in the lab.
Students found building a piece of furniture very satisfying. “You made it, so there’s this feeling of accomplishment,” said Biviano, who is pursuing a four-year degree in journalism and communication for online media and an associate degree in wood products technology-finish carpentry.
“You can read how to make an end table, but you learn more when you do it with your hands,” she said. “There’s just one thing after another to learn.”
They’re also learning about the ins and outs of running a business firsthand from professors who, in addition to teaching, are entrepreneurs.
Costello came to MSC nine years ago after a career as a senior chemical engineer. He has his own sawmill and dry kiln, which gives him a firsthand understanding of the industry. He tries to pass on that knowledge to make students more marketable.
Mike Gridley owns a construction business and is an assistant professor in the residential construction program. Last semester, as a lab project, students poured the foundation and set some walls for the house he was building for his family.
“I don’t take it easy on them,” said Gridley, a 2004 MSC graduate. “They might make mistakes, but that’s how they learn. They’re not getting paid, but I treat the class like a business. Someday when they drive by, they’ll know they helped build it.”
Biviano, a Cazenovia resident, wants to combine her building skills with a photo business. “I like to take pictures and I like to make stuff,” she said. “I could write how-to books and take pictures of the project before and after.”
Hanes’ first woodworking experience came when she built stage sets. She considered a career flipping houses – buying, renovating and reselling buildings. But now the St. Marys, Pa., resident wants to run her own sawmill. She will complete the two-year wood products technology-finish carpentry program this spring before transferring into the college’s four-year entrepreneurship and small business management program in the fall.
Dennis Sherrer, of Washingtonville, NY, will graduate this year with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an associate degree in residential construction. Last summer, he interned at a commercial construction company, which offered him a full-time job after graduation.
“I grew up in a construction family,” he said. “When I was a kid, I liked these big machines and wanted to play with them. There’s something about being outside, doing something different every day, the dirt. It beats sitting at a desk all day.”
Students come to the programs with diverse backgrounds, skills and career goals. “Some people get in here and know nothing,” Costello said. “They can’t even read a tape measure. Others have vast experience.”
The programs teach basic skills and provide an overview of the industry. Students learn to use tools – “It’s the same equipment and tools they see on the outside,” Costello noted – and apply math and science concepts to realistic problems.
In one class, students turn wood chips into boards and test their strength. “They learn how thick the board needs to be when they build a bridge,” Costello said. Students also test the strength of glue under different conditions. “It makes a difference if the wood is too wet or the room is too cold,” he said.
Another class teaches students to use computer-aided design for building projects. The college community is invited to propose projects within 20 miles of MSC for students to complete. “There’s always someone who needs a garage or cabinets,” Costello said.
The construction program teaches concepts and values that will help students long after college.
“They’re learning skills they can use to build their own houses,” Gridley said. “Even if they go on to a banking career, the skills are useful. They’ll never have to rely on a contractor.”
Their broad range of expertise is preparing them for careers as qualified homebuilding professionals in a range of occupations like framing and carpentry, and estimating and sales.
“I have construction companies calling me and wanting students,” Costello said. “These kids have the potential to make good money, especially if we encourage that entrepreneurial spirit.”
Sherrer agrees. And his internship verified the value of MSC’s hands-on approach. “You ask anyone in the industry, they’ll say on-the-job training is the best,” he said. “It sets you up for real situations. Anyone can read a book. This is the real thing.”
