Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Monica Overman, a senior at Hurley K-12 School, uses water to wipe down a hexagonal table on Friday, with a little coaching from Roger Peterson, the technical education instructor in charge of the Northwoods Manufacturing woodworking program. Overman included an epoxy inlay using the industrial wood router table with computer numerical control (CNC) behind her in the shop.
By TOM LAVENTURE
Hurley - Students of the Northwoods Manufacturing wood and metal programs at Hurley K-12 School will have an opportunity to showcase their work to the public.
The open house is tentatively planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 20, and will be a chance to showcase the student work to the public. More details will be released closer to the event.
The open house is a way to show the creative talents of students who are training to use industrial equipment of the Northwoods Manufacturing program, said Roger Peterson, the technical education instructor in charge of the woodworking program. Much of the equipment was provided by donations through the Hurley Education Foundation and the generosity of many area residents and businesses.
The experienced students who serve as mentors are also in charge of organizing the open house events along with opportunities to showcase or sell items at school or at local venues, he said.
Monica Overman, a senior in the woodworking program, is an open house organizer, he said. She has a lot of say in how the program moves forward from designing shirts to organizing open events, he said.
"The last couple of years she has matured and just grown into a very strong mentor," Peterson said. "Right now she has a couple of freshmen and a few eighth graders that she is training to use the CNC (computer numerical control) equipment."
Overman is a good listener and keeps her students motivated and wanting to learn more, he said.
The mentors emphasize the whole program and especially with the goal of helping younger students maintain interest, he said. That is what keeps the cycle going, he said.
Overman said she is in the program workshops up to six hours a day. She is thinking about woodworking as a trade after high school and said she doesn't know what would have kept her so interested in school more than the woodshop.
"This woodshop means everything to me and to be able to have everything right here is just awesome," she said. "The opportunities that you can have with all of it."
One of her latest projects is a hexagonal table made of hardwood with an epoxy inlay that was poured cut using the CNC equipment for the inlays and resurfacing. The legs will also have unique carvings and attached shelving.
"I was just planning on using it throughout my lifetime," Overman said of the table. "I just wanted to make something I could always keep."
