Colorado high school students build homes for Habitat for Humanity, brush up on math skills

High school students in Northern Colorado recently had a special opportunity to put their math skills to use building homes for those in need.

Thompson Valley High School's construction and geometry class gives first and second year students hands-on experience working with Berthoud Habitat for Humanity.

"We're building a house for people while using math that we learned in geometry," said first year student Abigail Tally. "When I first joined this class, I was like 'I don't know how to build a house.'"

It was a task that Abigail was, at first, not too sure about, but quickly grew excited to be a part of.  

"Both my brothers did this class, and I already did algebra in middle school, so this was the next level up, and I was like, 'I'm building a house, that sounds fun,'" Abigail said.

It's something unique to Thompson Valley that eight year instructor Kimberly Cronin says is leaving lasting impacts. Students spend three days in the classroom learning geometry and two days in the shop getting the hands-on experience of construction.

Cronin said, "I've seen multiple students from each household come into the program, which is very nice." She says she hopes students learn that they can do anything that's in front of them, "Especially for the ladies, I want them to know that they can do whatever they want to do."

"It was a really fun experience to be in this class, and I'm excited for the end result," Abigail shared.

The school says the house is expected to be finished in May, when the school year ends.