Student-Built Home Opens Up Career Opportunities

A year ago, Becky Carr knew little about the contents of a tool box. On Monday, the Hermiston High School junior spent a couple hours explaining the ins and outs of building a house – from laying the foundation, installing the flooring and putting up drywall.

Carr is part of the Hermiston School District’s Columbia Basin Student Homebuilder Program (CBSHBP) and on Monday, the public was given a tour of the home on W. Angus Court adjacent to Armand Larive Middle School. The home, which is nearly complete, was built by students in the program in partnership with local companies, including the Northeast Oregon Homebuilders Association and Energy Trust of Oregon.

For Carr – one of 12 students in the program – the experience has provided her with career options she had never considered prior to joining the CBSHBP.

“I never even knew how to use a tape measure before this,” she said. “I was never in a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) class, but I thought it would be fun to learn how to build a house.” Carr said she’s learned skills she never dreamed of having.

“It’s opened my eyes to all kinds of opportunities,” she said.

The house, which is just over 2,000 square feet, still needs drywall and flooring installed, along with painting and landscaping. It is expected to be put on the market in June or July. The proceeds from the sale will pay for the construction of the program’s next house.

“This is a self-sustaining program,” Carr said.

One of the key features to the house is its use of energy-efficient technology. Susan Badger-Jones, the Eastern Oregon Outreach manager for Energy Trust of Oregon, said a home’s energy costs is a key consideration when purchasing a house.

“When you buy a house, you’re signing up for two payments – the mortgage and the utility costs,” she said. The student-built home is certified as a high-performance home by Energy Trust of Oregon. Badger-Jones said the annual energy costs of the home is expected to be around $892.

Carr said she had been considering a career in nursing, but now she may pursue other options.

“I’m starting to think about a design-aspect career,” she said. “I still have another year to decide, so we’ll see, but this has been so much fun and I’ve learned more than I ever thought I would.”

For more information, visit the Columbia Basin Student Homebuilder Program website.