Lee County students commit to skilled trades on International Signing Day

LEESBURG, Ga. (WALB) -Some Lee County students are getting closer to their future as International Signing Day happened Thursday at the high school.

On the day of the celebration, 14 students from the Home Builder’s Student Chapter signed and committed to internships in the community related to a skilled trade such as plumbing, electrician work, or carpenter work.

The event was sponsored by Klein Tools, Home Depot, and The Home Builders Institute.

“It’s the first time that we’ve ever participated in it, and it has been quite exciting to watch the momentum and just the sheer excitement that’s been built up behind it,” John Wanner, Construction teacher at Lee County High School, said.

Most of the students chose internships in the wielding field while two graduating seniors are headed straight into an electrical apprenticeship.

Wanner said that speaks volumes of how much this day is essential to his students’ lives after graduation.

“It is a reward as a teacher to watch a student learn. Most of them are young teenage boys and they don’t have a clue where they’re going or what they’re going to do,” he said, “And then when you see the light turn on and they get it and have their ‘aha’ moment, they have a realization of what they want to do. They come back to me and say ‘Wanner, this is what I want to do’ and man, it’s just exciting to watch them. They will move mountains once they have a purpose.”

Hunter Wilkes signed on with SafeAire Heating and Cooling where he’ll be doing an internship with the sheet metal department.

He said he’s still weighing his options of skilled trade he wants to focus on but is hopeful this opportunity will help him decide.

“It’s a hard decision to make. This internship is going to help me see if that’s what I want to do one day. If I want to go into wielding or just look at something else but that’s the main reason, why I’m taking this course in general. And also, that way when I get a resume one day, I’ll have experience,” he said.

Wanner mentioned that this is just the start of these types of opportunities coming to the high school, with more coming in the future.

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