Symmes Valley schools were in need of a new ticket booth for their athletic field, with their existing one in a state of dilapidation.

Fortunately, there was a solution.

Superintendent Darrell Humphreys reached out to the Project Lead the Way STEM education program at Collins Career Technical Center, which teaches engineering classes in most of Lawrence County’s school districts, for help.

Matt Monteville, director of satellite operations for PLTW, approached two senior engineering students, Alison Franz and Savannah Stidham, at Ironton High School, who were working on their capstone project and informed them of Symmes Valley’s need.

The two came up with a few preliminary designs and approached Humphreys for his input, before settling on a final design.

Construction was then started, performed by carpentry and building maintenance students from CCTC, with chief carpentry instructor Matt Parnell and Danny French, from building maintenance, supervising. Landon Gallion, a Symmes Valley carpentry senior, served as project foreman.

Exterior metal, for the finish, was donated by Patriot Metals.

The booth, which is nearly finished, stands as a testament to the success of PLTW in Lawrence schools.

The project provided students with a real-world application for the skills they have learned and allowed all together as a team to accomplish a shared goal.

PLTW should be commended for the opportunities it brings to schools and the nontradional and innovative, approach to the classroom.