When you mix the creative with the innovative, good things happen. Whether in business, education, or a mix of both, the meeting of minds with the latest technology creates a whirlpool of innovation.
Shoshoni High School has a place just like that for students of all ages and abilities. The class is titled Wrangler Wears Business & Entrepreneurship CTE (Career and Technical Education). Yes, it’s a mouthful of a description for a course that models the Maker Space concept.
“We saw a Maker Space at the University of Wyoming and the one in Riverton,” teacher Teresa Dewitt said. “The kids enjoy this class.”
Dewitt has been at Shoshoni for 17 years, first as a para-professional, then a special education teacher for the last four years.
When you walk into the classroom, the first thing you notice is the steam pouring out of a humidifier on the far end of the room.
“Our air is so dry that we have to run a humidifier for the Direct to File (DTF) printer,” Dewitt said.
The DTF printer gets a workout throughout the school year. The t-shirts at the recent Clash at the Crossroads Wrestling Tournament were all made by students in the class. They design and print custom t-shirts for themselves and for activities at school.
At present, there are five students in the class.
“It’s new,” Dewitt said. “Getting the word out there is the hard part.”
The class offers much more than printing t-shirts. The room is filled with equipment. They have a computerized embroidery machine, a laser CNC, and an embossing press that glues emblems to caps.
Students design and manufacture custom cups, hats, key chains, wooden signs, and t-shirts.
The Spartan-style shields presented to the boys and girls champions at the Clash at the Crossroads were all made by students in the class.
Cassidy Eastman is the primary teacher, along with Special Education aide and head football and wrestling coach Tony Truempler.
Treyson Thompson was working at the embroidery machine.
“Treyson is our embroidery pro,” Dewitt said.
Thompson takes full advantage of the many vocational offerings at Shoshoni. He was part of the home construction course last summer, building a house near the high school.
Senior Brueklyn Truempler may have discovered a career path after working in the Maker Space-style classroom.
“I really enjoy this class, it’s been a lot of fun,” Brueklyn said. “Designing is my favorite.”
Brueklyn will attend Dickinson State University in North Dakota next fall on a wrestling scholarship, where she will join her older brother Pehton.
“I’m looking at business and graphic design,” Brueklyn said. “Maybe something like this Maker Space.”
Treyson also enjoys the business aspect of the class.
“Being able to learn the business side of it, setting up the pieces and determining the costs,” Treyson said.
Cassidy Eastman is a Wyoming native, a graduate of Pine Bluffs High School. She has a degree in Business and Career and Technical Education from the American College of Education.
“This class is a good combination of business, art, and design,” Eastman said. “Teresa is a big part of the class. It was her vision. I like the numbers. It’s a cool class.”
Students learn more than how to operate equipment in this course. Learning the tools is part of the process, but implementing new ideas alongside existing equipment is the basis for most businesses that they might venture into as adults. That process is one of the main features of the class.
“There are so many new things we can do,” Eastman said. “We just ran with the t-shirts to start. Once we get more knowledge ourselves, we can expand.”
Tony Truempler came into the classroom and sat at the laser engraving unit. The jovial coach will soon have a degree in special education, and he has worked with special needs students since he arrived in Shoshoni.
“I do more of the transitional thing with the special education kids,“ Truempler said. “They enjoy the laser work; it gives them an outlet.”
Trumpler placed a round leather blank at the base of the laser engraver and began loading a design into the software on the adjacent computer. After a few adjustments, he hit the start button, and the red targeting light changed to a brilliant blue as the laser began systematically carving words into the leather patch. Smoke rose briefly as the light danced, and in a couple of minutes, the process was complete.
He took the patch, pulled a cap off the supply shelf, and stretched it over the embossing machine. In a few minutes, the patch was securely attached to the cap.
The entire process took just a few minutes, but training students in the safe operation of the device takes time.
The Laser in Action
It is time well spent for the students at Shoshoni High School.
The room is crowded, and this is the third location for the equipment, but each iteration creates a better class for the students.
Career and Technical Education is a connection between the academic world and the world beyond waiting for the students just a few years in the future as adults.
Technology is ever-changing, but the human interface with even the most advanced technology remains nearly the same. Once students learn how to interact with equipment to make their ideas a reality, true learning is accomplished.
The teachers and staff, and especially the students at Shoshoni High School, are all part of that process.