Real-World Experience

Earning job certifications, Raft River students are eager to join the workforce

Story and photos by Dianna Troyer

Instead of being irritated by life’s challenges, Raft River High School students became motivated to enroll in vocational-technical classes to learn to solve them.

An athlete suffered a sports injury. Others needed to help repair ag equipment or vehicles at home. Another wanted to learn woodworking and residential construction skills.

Their reasons for studying at the Cassia Regional Technical Center in Burley are as varied as they are, yet they all share one trait: They don’t mind starting their day an hour earlier than most of their peers.

At 7 a.m., they arrive at the high school to take a 45-minute bus ride to the center, where they take classes for three hours. Students at nearby Declo High School also ride the bus.

“They’re willing to travel the longest distance to be here, so they’re highly motivated to make the best use of their time,” says Alan Lloyd, the center’s industrial welding instructor who lives in Albion.

His colleague Chad Evans agrees.

“They ask questions and put in a lot of effort to understand the material,” says Chad, a heavy equipment/diesel mechanics instructor and Elba resident.

This year, 32 juniors and seniors from Raft River are enrolled at the Tech Center. “That’s just under 50% of the junior and senior classes who are choosing to come here,” Chad says.

Students know they will graduate with certifications for marketable job skills.

With the motto “learn by doing,” the center offers seven vocational programs: automotive technology, computer-aided design and drafting, diesel mechanics, game/app programming, health professions, industrial welding and residential construction.

Several Tech Center graduates have even started their own businesses, Alan says.

Instructors, who are required to have 8,000 hours or eight years in an industry, tell students why the skills they learn will be relevant at a jobsite.

“Our students tell us they like hearing about our real-world experiences,” says Alan, who has been teaching at the center since 2019.

Alan previously welded and ran a well drilling company. He also worked on geological exploration projects throughout the West.

Chad started at the Tech Center in 2015 after working as a mechanic at Kenworth Sales in Heyburn.

“The instructors here all took pay cuts to be in education instead of industry,” Alan says. “Teaching here is a way to help create a qualified workforce. For many of us, it’s also a way to pay it forward—we all have those who helped us along the way.”

When he worked at Kenworth, Chad noticed some new employees struggled.

“I want to help prepare teens for their first job after high school,” he says. “We tell them the types of problems and repairs we had, so they’ll know what to expect.”

After graduating from a program at the center, students are often hired as apprentices. Many employers pay their tuition for evening classes, enabling them to earn more certifications.

Raft River students share why they enrolled at the center.

Mechanics
“Knowing diesel mechanics is a good life skill and a way to get a good job out of high school,” Mark Baker says. “We’re glad that we can bring in our own vehicle to fix if it’s a one-day project. Being a mechanic is a job in high demand.”

Jesus Martinez says he’d like to have his own business one day, fixing tractors or trucks.

“Mechanics is a vital skill in an ag area like this,” he says. “Our food supply depends on it.”

Eric Felthauser says the class is a way “to learn more and spend less.”

“We can save money fixing our own vehicles,” he says.

Dusty Booth, whose family raises cattle and wheat, says he and his siblings often help their dad fix their farm equipment and vehicles.

Welders
Students who complete the welding program earn a certification for structural and pipe welding.

“Welding is an important skill to keep our equipment running,” says Ross Campbell, who helps his family raise safflower and wheat.

His cousin, Tyler Campbell, says he plans to farm after high school, and welding is a practical skill to have.

Levi Whitaker says welding offers diverse career paths ranging from ag to industry.

Ruger Ward says welding skills enable him to repair ag equipment and vehicles.

Besides traditional textbook learning, students take on classroom projects. They built the metal tops of the welding booths, tables for the certified nurse assistant classroom and countless service projects.

“Students may also work on personal projects, provided they get the idea approved and work up a bill of materials so they have a clear plan and know what the costs will be for materials,” Alan says.

Health Care Professionals
When health issues surfaced in her family, Ellissa Felthauser recalled a nurse who provided quality care.

“She inspired me to focus on a health care career, so I enrolled in the health professions program and plan to become a CNA,” she says. “Eventually, I’d like to become a pediatric nurse.”

Her classmate, Melanie Durfee, says she plans to become a physical therapist. A year ago while on the volleyball team, she injured her knee.

“I tore my meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament, so I did a lot of physical therapy,” she says. “It made me want to have a career in physical therapy.”

Woodworkers
Chet Jackson, the residential construction technology instructor, requires students to make projects so they will understand 10 different types of woodworking joints.

“One of our fall assignments was to make a mallet and connect the handle with the head,” Tyler Harper says. “Knowing carpentry will help me throughout my life.”

As a fundraiser, students build customized playhouses. One is round like a grain silo with a climbing wall and fireman’s pole inside.

“Whatever program students at the center pick, by the time they graduate, they’re the kind of employees we would want to work with on a jobsite,” Chet says.