THOMASVILLE- Thomasville High School students in Charlie Gammel’s construction class have been hard at work this semester building a parade float for Willow Head M.B. Church, which is set to debut at the local Christmas parade.
Gammel’s shop class began constructing a float in the 2022 school year for Habitat for Humanity which was then showcased in the Christmas parade, leading to Willow Head M.B. Church reaching out.
The previous float was labor intensive as the shop class attempted to build the framework of a house. However, this float called for furniture building as the students recreated an “old school, country church,” complete with a pulpit and pews.
“The last one was much rougher work, but this one needed to look really good, so we really tried to do that,” Gammel said.
While none of the students who were in Gammel’s shop class last year took part in this year’s float building, several students played integral roles in making the project come together.
Freshman Christopher Chase, who would eventually like to pursue a career in construction, helped with the building of the pulpit and the frame.
“I would love to go into construction,” he said. “That’s why I picked this class because going into construction would be my dream.”
After completing his first construction project, Chase said he still feels construction is his calling.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s not like a regular job, where I have to sit down and it’s definitely tiring but it’s fun for me.”
Throughout the process, Chase said he learned a lot more about measuring and how to not make his projects turn out crooked. He also learned how to utilize all the tools at his disposal that he previously did not have much experience with.
Most of all, Chase learned how to work with a different style of team.
“I’ve been working with teams my whole life,” he said. “Working with a team you’ve never worked with before though was cool. It wasn’t like sports where you have a leader, it’s just you and a bunch of people, who you have to get along with in order to make an idea and project come together.”
Senior Nicholas Evans agreed.
Evans was in charge of replacing the wooden planks on the trailer with Gammel, as well as constructing the pews with his partner.
“Working with a team is really situational,” he said. “Sometimes you get people who are cooperative and sometimes you don’t. It taught me how to talk to people and get them on the same page.”
The time spent working together and creating a work of art for a real customer provides various types of life experiences for students of all ages, regardless of what career path they choose to pursue.