HAVERHILL — Students at Whittier Tech are no strangers to hard work or to applying their trade skills to area community projects that can benefit from their talents.
And so it was that a group of 14 seniors helped build an accessible ramp for the Georgetown Water Department.
Superintendent Maureen Lynch and Georgetown Utility Director Marlene Ladderbush noted that throughout the fall, Whittier Tech carpentry students took on the project of replacing the Water Department’s old ramp, which a survey of all town buildings revealed the ramp was in need of replacement.
Ladderbush reached out to Whittier Tech Vocational Coordinator Paul Moskevitz, who is a Georgetown resident, for help with the project. Moskevitz then coordinated students to rebuild the ramp with the help of Carpentry Instructor Mike Sandlin.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) students and their instructor Scott Robertson designed and drew the blueprints for the project.
Carpentry students then demolished the old ramp and installed a completely new, code-compliant one. They also redid the stairs and installed a box for Georgetown residents to drop off their water bill payments so they would not have to enter the building while construction was being completed.
“The Whittier Tech students who completed this project did an outstanding job,” Ladderbush said. “The kids were great, hard-working, well-mannered, and extremely polite. I cannot thank them enough for their work, which will benefit our community for years to come.”
Students completed the project during their shop week. All students met at Whittier Tech before heading over to the job site, and they returned to Whittier near the end of each school day.
The seniors who worked on the project included Jeffrey Avila, Christopher Bognanno, Aidan Collins, Shannon DeJesus, Aiden Dupre, Noah Gayner, William Monroy, Zachary Sieminski, Benificent Silva and Connor Swales, all of Haverhill; Stephanie Darmody and Craig Kielbania, both of Ipswich; William King of Merrimac and Jordan Salthouse of Georgetown.
“Each of these students exemplifies the ideals of Whittier Tech with their work and continued devotion to the surrounding communities,” Lynch said. “These community projects allow our students to connect with community organizations and their members and provide them with valuable experience along the way.”