LAFAYETTE, La. — In this week's Cool Schools, we're speaking with students at David Thibodaux Stem Magnet Academy who are building more than just skills in the classroom.
KATC's photojournalist Blake Blanchard spoke with students there about the impact they're making. Under the guidance of engineer and teacher Todd Hansen, they're putting their knowledge of architecture and design to work by partnering with Habitat For Humanity.
"I reached out to Habitat for Humanity to see if we could maybe go and help, and you learn so much more when you do than when you're told, and I think that they learn more with their hands moving and building something, producing something and they're actually able to see what we're doing in class, in life and how it is," Hansen said.
The students are happy to take part in this project and some even voiced that they could see themselves pursuing a career in the field of engineering after graduation from David Thibodaux.
"It was good to see like what my future could look like in engineering. And it's a really good feeling to work on a house that you know someone's going to live in," said junior Karla Marquez.
This project and partnership with Habitat for Humanity also allows students to help a worthy cause in providing affordable housing.
"Not only does it provide jobs for people who normally wouldn't really have a job, those jobs help provide housing for those who normally wouldn't be able to afford housing, so overall just feels really good to work for them," said junior Terrell Lazard.
Hansen says that hands on learning gives the students a solid foundation to build their skills for the future.
"Our teacher here, he helps a lot and he makes sure we're learning the best we can and he makes sure it's very exciting and very fun," said junior Janathan Green.
Hansen tells KATC that this collaboration with Habitat for Humanity is a win-win. By inspiring his students to think about their future in STEM, and motivating them to give back to their community.
"What's really neat about it is that many of the students have expressed interest in continuing to do this when they graduate. They'll go back as college students and maybe even adults. I think it's just good for the community. It's good for the people and I like how they explain how the houses are purchased, how they're built and the purpose of them, so the kids can understand that they are going to good people," said Hansen.
