Students at Ross Collins learn
the benefits of hands-on work

By By Georgia E. Frye / staff writer
Feb. 12, 2003
Students at Ross Collins Career and Technical Center participated in National Vocational Technical Week by showcasing three of their programs.
Ross Collins offers 15 two-year programs to students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
Students in Eastman Moses' carpentry class say they are being well prepared for the outside world.
According to Moses, carpenters can make as much as $25 to $30 an hour. He said that everyone cannot go to college and the world is begging for skilled professionals.
In Moses' carpentry class, students learn how to bring a house up from the ground level.
Carpentry students also learn to do electrical work, carpet, sheet rock, wiring, flooring and window casings.
Another class at the career center teaches students to repair small internal-combustion engines used in portable power equipment, such as lawn mowers, chain saws, rotary tillers and motorcycles.
Jimmie Evans, small engine repair teacher, said eight students will complete the course this year. He said that in his 23 years of teaching he has had "several hundred" students complete the course.
According to the school brochure, an engine service technician can make anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 a year.
Meridian High School junior Derick Jackson will complete the small engine repair class this year. He said the program is good because "grass always needs to be cut and it's something you can use for the rest of your life." Jackson hopes to one day own his own business.
Programs at Ross Collins are also helping young students explore other potential career fields, such as occupational child care  a two-year program.
Students get hands-on experience in the day care center. The students are in charge of 11 children of faculty and staff at Meridian High School.