Northwest Junior High students build new desks for school

Eighth grade students at Coralville's Northwest Junior High School met with Home Depot staff on Friday, Feb. 16 to build desks and learn skills in construction.

The Home Depot Foundation, partnering with the Home Builders Institute (HBI), reached out to the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) with the idea for the desks in November of 2023, as part of its nationwide week of service honoring and celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. Through this project, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate hands-on skills learned through the Home Builders Institute pre-apprenticeship program they’re enrolled in, called Industrial Technology. Desks were chosen as the project because they are easily transported, said Dom Audia, CTE Curriculum Coordinator with ICCSD.

About nine volunteer employees from the Cedar Rapids and Des Moines Home Depots came to assist the class. Called Team Depot, they are the Home Depot’s associate volunteer force. Jeramie Stroud, store manager of the Des Moines Home Depot and Team Depot Captain, said it’s important to expose the new generations to the trades, which can turn into a career path or hobby. “Building something with your hands is a great skill to have,” he said. Across the United States, there are nearly 400,000 open jobs requiring skilled plumbers, carpenters, electricians, HVAC specialists and more. Through its Path to Pro program, which launched in 2018, The Home Depot Foundation is training the next generation of skilled tradespeople, diversifying the trades industry and addressing the growing labor shortage in the U.S. Mr. Audia said seventh and eighth grade is a crucial time for students, who begin thinking of career pathways, and the many career classes offered through ICCSD can get them engaged and thinking of what pathway they’d like to pursue. “There’s a high demand for employees in construction and architecture. The trades can produce lucrative careers,” he said.

The desks were pre cut and pre measured, meaning students only had to drill or glue pieces together. Six workstations in the Industrial Technology shop class, holding five students each, were equipped with drills, measuring tapes, hand sanders, shop cloths, wood glue and other assorted materials for assembling the desks. Students had the option of taking the desk home or donating it. Elijah Howe, an Industrial Tech student, said it’s “fun to create things” within the class, but wasn’t sure if it would turn into a career for him later. Amjad Ibrahim, another student, said a memorable class project was building a bridge based on designs they created on a computer. “It was cool to get to use my ideas,” he said. The Home Depot donated $5,000 worth of equipment and materials, which will stay with the school following the end of the project.