February 2007 Ulster BOCES Students Wiring Kripplebush Firehouse
This winter, a dozen or so students in the Ulster BOCES Electrical Construction and Maintenance program are learning the skills necessary to their aspiring professions while lending a helping hand to their community. The 17- and 18-year-olds from Kingston, Saugerties, New Paltz, Rondout Valley, and Onteora High Schools are wiring the new addition to the Kripplebush Firehouse under the supervision of their instructor, Jim Countryman.
“We really appreciate their help and it’s a great learning experience for them,” says Eric Gray, president of the Kripplebush Fire Company. “That’s often the hardest part – having the opportunity to get the experience.”
Students in the Electrical Construction and Maintenance program at Ulster BOCES learn residential, commercial, and industrial electrical wiring skills. They graduate from the program with the knowledge and skills needed to enter the electrical field as apprentices or continue their education at a post-secondary school.
Countryman, Electrical Construction and Maintenance teacher at the Ulster BOCES Career & Technical Center in Port Ewen, as well as a volunteer firefighter at the Kripplebush Firehouse, is very proud of his students. “They are a great group, mostly seniors and a few juniors,” he says. “Ulster BOCES likes helping the community out wherever we can and it gives our students valuable on-the-job experience – a win-win situation for everyone.”
Countryman and his young apprentices were at the building site recently honing their skills – drilling through floor joists and wall studs, routing and bundling wire, and
installing switches, receptacles, and fixtures. Several students worked determinedly as they used a long lead wire to “fish” the electric cable through a finished porch ceiling and insulation packed walls. They all agreed the hands-on aspect of the program made a big difference in the learning process as well as helping to land that first job.
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