Future Craftsmen already pursuing construction careers
From learning the multi-disciplinary aspects of HVAC to designing a tiny house to leveraging a passion for masonry to grow a landscaping/hardscaping business, the winners of the 2024 BC&E Foundation Future Craftsman & Design Awards are already clearly showing the passion, the skills, the discipline and the drive to pursue careers in the construction industry.
Aidan Johnson
HVAC
Francis Scott Key High School
An HVAC student at CCCTC and the son of an HVAC company owner, Aidan Johnson has come to truly love the trade.
“I am in this program because it is kind of an all-encompassing trade,” Johnson said. “It includes a lot of different aspects – some plumbing, some electrician work. Most of the time when you see these contractors at your house, it looks like menial work, but it is actually very involved.”
In the HVAC program, “Aidan has achieved high academic grades and has also demonstrated to be an outstanding leader in his abilities and his accomplishments. I have seen Aidan demonstrate a great work ethic, proving himself responsible, showing initiative,” said HVAC Instructor Kent Shamer.
Johnson – who is a varsity wrestler and an active volunteer in church activities – including community cleanups, elderly home visits, missionary work, junior counselling and Vacation Bible School – has already started performing some work in his father’s HVAC company. He is excitedly looking forward to one day taking over the company and immersing himself in the service aspect of HVAC.
Kali Oltman
Drafting
Francis Scott Key High School
An A student in drafting at CCCTC, Kali Oltman has always had a passion for drawing and designing houses.
In her junior year in the program, she learned the fundamentals of AutoCAD by completing technical, mechanical and architectural CAD activities and projects, including designing her first house – a single story, three-bedroom rancher.
This fall, she started acquiring more advanced skills in AutoCAD and the basics of Revit in order to create complete sets of house plans along with a site/grading plan and a 3D model.
To date, Oltman’s work in the program “truly shows her passion and commitment to building the skills needed in the industry,” said Cathy Lee Frock, Drafting Instructor. “In addition, Kali has created a tiny house model to be used in the future manufacturing of tiny houses in collaboration with the carpentry class here at CCCTC.”
She is also part of a team that will create plans for the African American History Museum in Carroll County.
Oltman, who plans to study drafting at community college and then continue those studies at a four-year university, also loves the hands-on aspects of construction.
“I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and I helped build the townhouses on East Baltimore Street” in Taneytown, she said. “I got to learn how to do siding and framework and it was fun.”
Kristopher Miller
Masonry
Francis Scott Key High School
A masonry student at Carroll County Career and Technology Center (CCCTC), Kristopher Miller has already launched his career in the construction industry.
“For me, masonry is rewarding,” Miller said. “I really just love taking nothing and making it into something amazing. Working with my hands has always been a better way of learning for me.”
Miller has completed a variety of class and extracurricular projects, including the class block foundation project, concrete reef balls for oyster revitalization in the Chesapeake Bay, a backyard pool at his house and a concrete-and-paver patio at his grandmother’s house. He was also put in charge of the demolition and remodeling of CCCTC’s courtyard.
Even though Miller works nearly every afternoon and weekend and serves as a volunteer firefighter in Taneytown, Masonry Instructor Michael Campanile describes Miller as “the hardest working student in my class with a drive to learn that is unmatched.”
A landscaper and foreman with a local landscaping company since 2021, Miller has also formed his own landscaping company and plans to leverage his masonry training to provide a full range of landscaping and hardscaping services to his customers.
“My father once told me something that will always stick with me,” Miller said. “You don’t get anywhere in life without trying. You need to work harder than everyone else in the room and you will go places.”