The ringing of hammers paused as Olympic High School students enrolled in their school’s construction program removed their hardhats and safety glasses, donned their backpacks and slowly moved back toward the main campus building for their next class. At the same time, students from the upcoming period dropped their belongings on the corner of the concrete slab, put on their safety equipment, and huddled around as the Habitat construction lead reviewed construction tasks for the new group.

Since 2007, Habitat Charlotte Region has partnered with Olympic High to build affordable Habitat houses on campus as part of their construction curriculum. Each home is built on cinder block supports, and then transported to its final location once Olympic students finish building the home’s major structure.

This year marks the 10^th home being built from this unique educational partnership. As a Charlotte high school focused on trades education, the construction program is just one of many ways that Olympic students can gain access to in demand job skills, which often translates into careers in trades such as construction, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, machine work and more.

The build also marks the second Olympic student-built Habitat house sponsored by Lowe’s, a long time Habitat Charlotte Region supporter. Lowe’s Generation T movement aims to educate and inspire the next generation of skilled trades women and men. Supporting the Olympic High build seemed a perfect fit.