Following in the footsteps of her dad and his brothers, East Ridge High School senior Alexa Rodriguez wants to pursue a career in construction — potentially as a general contractor.
Rodriguez started taking classes last year at the new Construction Career Center, where she started out learning basic safety precautions and how to use different tools. She also made a chair that’s still sitting in her house — a project her teacher let her tackle on her own. Rodriguez said her craftsmanship received the seal of approval from her dad.
“He tested it,” Rodriguez said in a phone interview. “He was like, ‘This is good.'”
Now in her second year, Rodriguez is hopeful the connections she develops at the center will open doors as she looks to a future in the construction industry. Opened in 2022 on the site of the former Mary Ann Garber School, the facility acts as a training ground for high schoolers and adults interested in receiving practical lessons in the construction trades.
Leslie Gower, CEO of the Association of General Contractors in East Tennessee, said commercial construction companies have been in desperate need of skilled employees, and at the time, there weren’t plentiful training opportunities preparing people for the workforce. Gower said officials decided to keep the center’s student body small for the first couple of years — hovering around 25-30 — as they figured out how to best use the new facility.