By Cassandra Martinez
Many students probably do not even know that we have a construction class here at PHS. Students get the skills and knowledge they need to find jobs in the construction industry. The Construction Classes just completed a project competition car race.
Henry Kaiser, famous for building ships during World War II in record time and then starting a car company in the 50’s said, “Taste the relish to be found in competition – in having put forth the best within you.”
Competition makes everyone better, so construction students built and raced cars that used the skills and techniques learned in class.
The idea for this competition was Mr. Lucas, who after returning from the Covid lockdowns found many interesting materials in his classroom. He found boxes of little CO2 gas tanks and also many blocks of wood. The idea came to him that he could have students demonstrate the skills they learned in class and also be able to compete in a fun way through a car race.
The idea was that students would get the opportunity to express themselves through the use of the tools and skills in class. Cindy Vaquero likes cheese and made a cheese car. While it is tempting to say that this is cheesy, it is a great car. The skill needed to complete this was great. Cindy admitted that she actually wanted to build a rat car, but decided to do the cheese instead (maybe more aerodynamic). Maybe next time the rat car could chase the cheese car.
Continuing the food-themed vehicles was an ice cream sandwich car made by Henesy Fiqueroa. There were many unique and skillfully executed cars that competed for bragging rights. Evey student competed in their class, after two losses they were out of the competition.
The winner of each class competition went on to compete against the winners of the other classes.
Of course everyone is wondering who won the competition. Well, there was some controversy surrounding the outcome of this event. The photo finish ending was so close that a definite winner would not be immediately established. However, after further research and expert analysis of the video finish, it was determined that Miguel Martinez won first place, followed by Elly Alvarez in second place and Henesy Figueroa came in third place.
If you are looking to learn valuable skills that could land you a career, then think about the building trades. Construction class with Mr. Lucas will definitely make you more competitive!
