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Students Celebrate Completion of High School Houses

By Charlie Keegan

Story Created: May 19, 2011 at 10:47 PM MDT

Story Updated: May 20, 2011 at 8:31 AM MDT

High school students are wrapping up the school year with finals and senior projects. Groups from Great Falls High and CMR are ending the year with a bang, celebrating the completion of their high school homes.

The homes are a result of a partnership between NeighborWorks and the school district. The mission of NeighborWorks is to create home ownership opportunities for low income families. The Executive Director says the building process also teaches students the skills to owning a home.

From the front porch to the kitchen appliances these high school students do it all. Now, they're celebrating the completion of a hard years work. “That's what I love about working with my hands is when you're done with it, you get to step back and just look at what you did and you feel accomplished and proud of what you did,” CMR Builder of the Year Austin Webb says.

“My favorite part is watching a student show his parents or his grandmother and say 'I built this house, I framed that door, I put that countertop on,'” Sheila Rice says.

Students had the chance to apply for scholarships from AmeriCorps for their community service. Something Great Falls High Builder of the Year, Pete Schultz, says he's happy he pursued. Adding it will come in handy next year as a student at Montana State University. “You did have to keep up on your time sheet and stuff, but definitely, in the end, it was totally worth it. I got to meet some really cool people too,” he says.

CMR teacher Tom Maurer helped start the high school home project 14 years ago. He visited his last home Thursday. “It's been fun, it's been great,” he says.

Maurer is retiring this year. He didn't hide how hard it is for him to walk away, with tears filling his eyes as he talked about all his memories. “I'm going to miss working with the kids. A lot of great kids, I've gotten to know and had the opportunity to teach for the past 35 years, so I'll miss that,” Maurer says.

There's no doubt his students will miss him too. “He keeps me going, he's the best teacher I've had so far,” Webb explains.

Schultz says the best feeling is knowing a family will one day call the house he built a home.
NeighborWorks isn't sure who will move into the homes yet. Qualified families have to apply and then a committee makes the selection.

These are the 26th and 27th homes built in Great Falls through the program.

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