King and Molnar continue work at the mechanical trade school in Hampton
Seniors Robert King Jr. and Noah Molnar are attending trade schools after graduation. Both students attended the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades through the exploring trades program.
ELO coordinator Amy Smith said the
program runs through 11 weeks with roughly 2.5 weeks dedicated to each of the four trades. Not to be confused with the Flared piece of copper- Courtesy Photo/Robert King Jr
Seacoast School of Technologies, she said the trades the program has to offer are electrical, plumbing, and gas and oil heat. She said the program also offers healing, ventilation, and air conditioning, more commonly known as HVAC.
Smith said that the mechanical trades school was recently built and opened only a few years ago, and that it is largely catered to adults looking to gain license in particular fields of trade. She said the program for highschool students is special to Winnacunnet, and that it was specifically designed to be student friendly, giving kids a basic understanding of what they might want to pursue after graduation.
“It was put in the school curriculum because it's a great way for students to have a hands-on experience outside of the school,” Smith said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to explore different careers in the trades.” Braised copper in the shape of a six-
Courtesy Photo/Robert King Jr
King said that he didn’t know what he wanted to do after high school, and that once joining the program, he started to become more interested in the plumbing section of the program.
“I never knew anything about plumbing but I wanted to do it just to have a job,” King said. “Now that I am in the program I realized how much I really love plumbing.”
Molnar said that he has decided to continue with trade school after graduation because he’s a hands-on learner, and becoming licensed doesn’t require more than a high school diploma. He said that he had an idea of what he wanted to do before joining the program, right around junior year when everyone began looking at colleges.
Square of propex- Courtesy Photo/Robert King Jr.
“College wasn’t going to be a thing for me, so I started finding different outlooks,” Molnar said. “I came up with trade because it would be better off on the money side for now, for the future, and just my best way of learning.”
Molnar said he will be going into either plumbing or electrical after graduation, but that his decision remains currently undecided. He said either way he plans on building up licenses and experience.
King said that in the program, they learned things such as how to wire a lightbulb, and how to use tools used in the electrical field and plumbing field.
“The most interesting thing is that a lot of the things you make or work on you get to keep,” King said. “If you were to put a pvc pipe together in a square in the program you get to take it home.”
King said that he thinks if a student is thinking about joining the program, that they should just do it.
“I think they should even if they aren't 100% sure because it offers a lot of good experience,” King said, “You learn a lot about business, laws, and life tips. It changed my perspective on the trades entirely.”
Molnar said he recommends students thinking about it also just join. “Don’t let other people affect your way of thinking about it, just get out there, get it done, and have fun with it.”
After graduating, both King and Molnar said they will be continuing at the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trade in Hampton.