For the past five months, welding students have been building a functional replica monster truck after kicking the project off in September with a ground-breaking collaboration project with large companies like Monster Jam, Ingersoll-Rand, and Northern Tool. The teenagers have planned and designed the truck since the project was revealed at an unveiling at Northern Tool in September. Construction has ramped up significantly in the past few months since the materials for the truck came in.
“We’re progressing now,” welding teacher Christopher Lehde said. “The students have come up with the design for the truck that they want to go with. They got the right height and width now, so it’s really starting to move.”
Although they are only a quarter of the way through building the monster truck, Lehde believes that the students will be ready in time to show it off in a June showcase at the Moody Center in Austin because of an increased amount of time spent building the replica, which is a third of the size of a full-scale monster truck.
“Once the truck starts getting built, the process will go faster,” Lehde said. “The students coming in on the weekends is going to be like them actually working in a fabrication shop for ten hours, so they will catch up a lot during those days when they get to work for a full ten hours.”
Despite some delays in transporting the materials needed for the one-third scale monster truck, Lehde and his students are confident that they will be able to devote their time in and out of school to finish strong.
“Everybody will be working consistently on the project when we start working on the weekends,” senior Nate Surley said. “It will speed everything up a lot. It’s going to basically double the time spent working on the truck. We can get a lot done in consistent hours instead of two periods in the day.”
In addition to developing vital skills like time management and conflict resolution, the welding students have learned about attributes like teamwork and communication.
“I feel like being able to get with a group of kids and put our heads together and figure out what stuff works and what doesn’t work is really fun,” junior Finnian Curtis said. “People come in early and stay late, but for the actual project, we’re just trying to plan and talk to the whole team before we actually build.”
While Lehde is not assembling the monster truck alongside his students, he has been able to explain and instruct them on how to build the approximately 7’x5’ vehicle correctly.
“A lot of the construction is Mr. Lehde trying to explain to us how we can actually build together,” Finnian said. “He’s made it really clear that we have to put in the effort and makes sure that we’re the ones actually doing the project and not him.”
Throughout this collaboration, Lehde has seen his students grow and advance in not just the physical skills of welding, but patience and understanding as well.
“They’re maturing very well, taking on the role of actually having a project to complete on a deadline,” Lehde said. “They’re really progressing as young adults.”
Beyond the students who benefit from working on the project in this trailblazing partnership, the welding community has received increased acknowledgment from fellow students and faculty, as the program is the only one in the nation working on this project.
“I think that the project has brought a lot of recognition to our school,” Nate Surley’s mom Nikki said. “They’re doing some good things out there. I really hope some of our kids will want to join the CTE program because of our welding program, which is one of our most popular programs at Bryan High.”
The project has also helped open up opportunities for a career in welding, such as attending a welding school or working for a fabrication shop straight out of high school.
“I think it will give students a leg up in their careers,” Lehde said. “Learning how to build this monster truck, just fabrication-wise, is opening them up to be able to work in a fab shop. It paves the way for them to attend any trade school they want to attend. They’ll be way ahead of other kids that come out and don’t know how to do this kind of stuff.”
Some students are already planning ahead for careers related to welding that are interesting to them and hope that this partnership can advance them in the technical levels of welding.
“I would like to eventually get into the really high-end world of welding where it’s industrial and pipeline,” Finnian said. “I need to make sure I have that confidence to be able to put that level of work in.”
Other students are focused on making sure that they have a strong community outreach and are confident that this project can help develop their skill sets more.
“I love learning how to do everything and the experience of building with my hands,” Nate said. “There’s a fabrication shop in Granbury, Texas, where my grandfather lives that I’m in contact with right now to work for.”
With the project nearing its halfway point in the time allotted for the build, Lehde believes that everything is on track and that his students can handle what it takes to build something as substantial and exciting as a monster truck.
“We’re treating it as a working fab shop, and the companies are clients, so the students are excited to build this for an actual client,” Lehde said. “The students are ready to go to work.”