A select group of Carrigan students competed in a state wide competition on Friday, Feb. 26. Of the students who competed, the three-man welding team of Bailey Tressler, Kyle Cain, and Trent Shoffit earned 1st place. Kenton Bosworth earned 1st place in individual welding, Alex Hammett placed 1st in precision machining, and cosmetology students Leslie Trejo and Ariel Watkins placed 2nd in their areas of prepared speech and customer service.
All of these students will compete in the state competition at Corpus Christi on March 26-27. If they win state, they will compete on the National Level this summer.
All of these Carrigan students are under the direction of Ms. Leah Tunnell.
Leah Tunnell, principal of Carrigan Career Center, has been working in the WFISD for 20 years.
“This is my fourth year as principal at Carrigan,” Tunnell said. “[I’ve been] a teacher at Hirschi, a counselor at Rider, an assistant principal at Jefferson [Elementary School] and an assistant principal at Rider.”
Although Ms. Tunnell is happy at Carrigan, there is a change she would like to make to the program.
“If we have room in our classes, then there aren’t enough students attending,” Tunnell said. “Right now, we are at about 70 percent capacity.”
Carrigan isn’t exactly a huge place, but there are plenty of spaces available for hopeful attendees.
“We have six labs that can house up to 15-17 students per class, except Cosmetology, which can allow 25 students.”
Most Carrigan classes are two years long, and once the students complete the classes they are considered ready for an entry-level position in the field of their training.
“I think it is important to remember that not all students attend a two or four year university after high school,” Tunnell said. “Our programs provide students with training and skills necessary to leave high school with a great skill that can land them in a high wage or high demand job immediately upon graduation.”
Cosmetology is the largest offered class, and is made up of mostly girls. Cosmetology I class is open to juniors for its first year and seniors for Cosmetology II.
“I love that these students have the ability to leave our program after two years and be a fully licensed cosmetologist in Texas,” Tunnell said. “They can begin their career right after high school graduation making a great salary with opportunity for advancement.”
“Cosmetology is so much fun,” junior Leslie Trejo said. “And it’s a great way to work through law school.”
Although a class about doing hair sounds like fun and games, there is a lot of hard work behind it.
“We’re here Monday through Friday,” Trejo said. “Mondays until 6, and Tuesdays through Fridays until 4.”
The cosmetology students are learning many aspects of the business.
“We learn to cut, color, and style hair,” Trejo said. “We also learn to do natural and acrylic nails and make up, so pretty much everything you would do in a salon.”
The cosmetology program takes participants two years and three periods a day to earn their licenses.
“Once I finally get my license, I’m going to be so happy!” Trejo said. “I’ll have a steady source of income for college, and then I will be able to achieve my real dream: law school.”
Welding is a class is open to students grade 10-12, and once a student completes Welding II the are considered ready to start in an entry-level welding job.
“This course combines art, science, math and visual skills to create a format the students really love,” Tunnell said. “The most rewarding part of this class is watching the students come to us as ‘wannabe welders’ and leave with the skills, ability and maturity to earn a great wage in a high demand occupation.”
Electronics is a two year class that gives students the opportunity to excel in the robotics or engineering industry. Electronics students learn soldering, care of tools, and hardware components.
“It is exciting that most of our students in this class have the ability to leave Carrigan with at least half the college hours necessary towards an associates degree,” Tunnell said. “We had some students graduate high school and obtain an associates degree before Christmas of the next year!”
Machining technology students are heavily trained in the safe use of hand tools and in making precision measurements.
“This class is very closely related with the workforce opportunity market in Wichita Falls, and our teacher knows virtually every machinist in town,” Tunnell said. “If a student is serious about a career in machining, he can come to this class, learn the techniques and skills necessary, and the instructor can find him or her a job in the field before graduation!”
Auto collision is much like working in an actual body shop. Students learn glass work, body and metal repairs, how to calculate an estimate, and painting techniques.
“My favorite thing about this class is that students learn the basics and the complexities of refurbishing an automobile,” Tunnell said. “Most students don’t realize how much math, science, and manual dexterity is involved in this course, I really like that they get such a good experience working with math and science in this class.”
Construction students work with Habitat for Humanity in their training. They learn carpentry and basic trade skills, including instruction on how to use power tools.
“Students in this class learn how to build a house over the course of a year because we partner with Habitat for Humanity and build a house for that entity from start to finish,” Tunnell said. “I love it that this group of students learn th importance of giving back to the community through a high school course.”