WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A new home built by high school students is now on its foundation in West Palm Beach.
The Weitz Construction Academy at Seminole Ridge Community High School completed its tenth home, partnered with Habitat For Humanity.
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It's not every day you see pieces of a house hoisted up in the air, then placed gently on their foundation. But that's exactly what happened Tuesday on 17th Street in West Palm Beach.
The Habitat For Humanity home was built by the hands of teenagers like Robert Lebrun.
"This is the first one that I've had the privilege of starting and finishing," Lebrun said. "It's been really cool seeing my work put down and put into there."
Lebrun is part of the Seminole Ridge Community High School construction academy. Students spend their school year building each section of the home inside the classroom, then it's brought out to the neighborhood.
"Start from the ground up and going step-by-step through the process," Lebrun said.
Lebrun has been part of the construction academy since his freshman year of high school.
"It started off because it seemed like a fun idea. But as soon as I got more into it, I started learning more about the trades and what not. And having a career in construction is something that's very appealing to me," Lebrun said.
The 1,200 square foot, three bedroom, two bath home is a labor of love for all involved.
"This house is well done. It's square to the foundation," said David Porter, the project manager and co-founder of the high school program.
Porter co-founded the Weitz Construction Academy with Rich Terkovich, the academy's instructor at Seminole Ridge High School. Terkovich is retiring at the end of the school year, so this was his tenth and final home with the students.
"It's building the four components separately in the shop, separated by 6 feet of space of the floor, never coming together until now, and hoping and praying and crossing fingers that we line up with the foundation provided," Porter said. "And seeing that happen is a big smile day."
"It's been pretty rewarding," student Robert Schaefer said.
Its not just the hands-on experience in this high-demand field.
"I thought it could teach me a couple skills to help fix around the house, and it obviously did. I know how to put together a house now," Schaefer said.
Students earn thousands of dollars worth of industry certifications that make them ready for a job right after graduation.
"It feels like a really good accomplishment that I'm ahead of a lot of people, ahead of the game, getting these certifications early on in life," Schaefer said.
And their work is helping someone achieve the dream of owning a home.
"It's super cool," Schaefer said. "It's a great honor to have that ability and to feel like I've had that impact on someone."
There is still more work to do. Habitat For Humanity will spend the next few months working on the interior of the home and getting it ready for the homeowner to get the keys. She's a first-time homeowner in her family.
170 students in the Weitz Construction Academy provide the labor to build the home, and Habitat for Humanity provides the materials.
The program also has a partnership with the HVAC academy at Royal Palm Beach Community High School, so those students will do the air conditioning installation on the home.
The academy is a certified National Career Academy Coalition program. Throughout their four years in the academy, students are taught the construction skills necessary to pass construction trades certification examinations. They receive OSHA construction safety training and obtain their 30-hour OSHA certification card, which makes them immediately employable after graduation.
