Wearing hardhats and safety goggles, a group of students is hard at work on the grounds of Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) in Mount Joy. They're building a home as part of the school's House Project, and they're also honing the skills they need for their future careers.

Since 1989, students have constructed homes through the program. Initially, the construction sites were located throughout Lancaster County, but getting students to the sites was a challenge. In 2005, the school streamlined the process by subdividing sections of the Mount Joy campus into lots for future house projects.

Building the homes takes place over two years and involves students in multiple areas of study, said Rick Martin, construction manager. Students in the carpentry program in Mount Joy are joined by LCCTC students in other fields of construction, including electrical work and plumbing, who come from the Brownstown campus. Instructors Mitchell Hinton and James Smith supervise the students.

Once the home is complete, it's sold on the open market. The most recent home completed by LCCTC students was a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath house that sold in July of 2022 for $415,900. The proceeds from the sale are used to fund future house projects at the school.

Martin noted that the program offers students an opportunity to learn a trade while also engaging kids who might not thrive in a typical academic classroom.

"These kids are hands-on. They're not book learners," he stated. "They get frustrated sitting at a desk. They want to be out working with their hands, and they will potentially have a great career after this."

The 40-some students working on two houses currently will go on to schools like Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology after graduation or will enter the workforce directly.

Martin said that he's impressed not just with the students' skills, but with their work ethic as well. "I've been a boss and a business owner, and what I always wanted was kids who were willing to work, who wanted to work and wanted to learn," he stated, "and these are those kids."

Senior Vivienne Nolt of Elizabethtown has enjoyed everything she's learned from the House Project, including the challenge of installing drywall. She's been interested in carpentry since she was very young.

"The first thing I built when I was 4 was a little shelf," she recalled. "I've always liked to build things. Seeing what you create at the end is the best part."

As a freshman at Pequea Valley High School, Katrina Kilby built a shed in a carpentry class and discovered a love for the work. Now a senior at LCCTC, she has had a hands-on part in much of the House Project. "I love seeing this go from nothing to a whole building or a whole house," she said. "And I really like that it's hands-on."

For senior Chase Travitz of Manheim, the House Project is providing real-world carpentry experience that he plans to take with him after graduation. He already has a job lined up with eciConstruction.

"I've always wanted to do something hands-on with my life, and carpentry is something I love," he said. "I love getting to work with my hands every day. It's problem solving and learning something new every day."