Now in its 10th year, Construct Tomorrow continues to unite young people with futures in the building construction trades. With participation from the union trades members, students can get hands-on experience to a life in trades with tools not available in school like virtual welding and excavation in a simulator. They also get first-hand knowledge of the lifestyle benefits, the solid wages and well-earned pensions from members who have lived the career experience.
Two seniors from Ely, Minn., made the hour-long drive down to the Eveleth event and found it very practical. Luna Klingsporn got into an iron worker’s harness and walked across a beam suspended several feet above the floor. “I thought it was really fun, doing the beam thing and getting to walk across. But I’m kinda terrified of heights sometimes.” She discovered, however, bricklaying might be more to her liking. “That was cool… to see how you could do that.” Her friend Madelin Gruba, who’s headed to Hibbing Community College next year to study HVAC, said she “asked a lot about the apprenticeship process.”
With two events already completed (Moorhead and Ely), Construct Tomorrow forges ahead with another eight events during the 2022-23 school year. Three more are scheduled this calendar year (Rochester, Mankato and Brooklyn Center) with five more in 2023 (St. Cloud, Hinckley, Shakopee, Forest Lake and Duluth).
To check out future Construct Tomorrow events, please check out their web site, www.constructtomorrow.org.
