Jumpstarting their futures

High school students are putting their skills and knowledge to use in a new course at Walla Walla Community College.

Clarkston High School students are taking Energy Systems 131: Principles of Electrical Theory at Walla Walla Community College in Clarkston. Students in the course are eligible for dual credit, and classes started in January.

The program began as a partnership between the college and the high school after conversations with WWCC Clarkston campus dean Chad Miltenberger, CHS principal Doug LaMunyan and Clarkston School District Superintendent Thaynan Knowlton.

“Anything that creates more opportunities for Clarkston High School students, I’m going to explore and partner with,” LaMunyan said.

Miltenberger said they are using the course as a pilot program to explore other opportunities to partner with local school districts. He said it’s critical for higher education to create opportunities with K-12 students. LaMunyan said it’s also an opportunity for students to make an easy transition from high school and college with a focus on career and technical education.

LaMunyan said he was on a tour of the new WWCC Workforce Development and Business Center, which was built in Clarkston in 2017, when he ran into a former student. The student was taking courses at the college and wished there was a way to take the electrical classes sooner.

Isaiah Cash, a CHS senior, was part of a tour last year with LaMunyan and others interested in the course. This semester, the morning course worked with his schedule and he was able to enroll.

Cash wants to become a general electrician and is hoping to do an apprenticeship after high school. Other students also are taking the course to help with future careers in the industry. Carson Patterson, a senior, wants to be an electrician; and Landon Taylor, a junior, wants to study electrical engineering in college. Both took the class to jump-start their careers. Junior Justin Cook is interested in welding, but took the course because electricity “plays a part in that, too.”

Another junior, Jeff Olerich, said the book knowledge students learn in the classroom is then applied hands-on in the lab. Olerich likes the transition of learning because it helps with understanding the concept and skill when it comes to the lab work. “You already know what you’re doing,” he said.

Junior Zach Leachman said for the Friday lab they were measuring and calculating power such as volts, amps and ohms, which is what would be used to wire a house or building.

Students like Braeden McCabe, a junior, appreciate the real-world applications to what they’re learning.

“Once you get out of high school this is a useful thing to know,” he said.

McCabe also likes the hands-on approach to learning. “Being in class is too much thinking,” he said.

Other students like Taylor, Leachman and junior Jake Caldwell also enjoyed the hands-on learning as well as being able to work at their own pace and take a more in-depth look at what they’re studying.

Students had high praise for Allen Sonnen, who teaches the course. Dustin Beck, a junior, said Sonnen is always ready to assist students when they have questions and help them understand the concepts for the course.

Sonnen has 14 students in the class, who also benefit from learning from each other, he said. One student will help others understand a concept and the process that led to the answer.

“That’s what we do in the workplace,” he said. “That’s team building 101 right here.”

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.