COPES CORNERS – Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton High School’s 2006 Furniture Design course could just as easily be called “Real Lessons for the Real World.” Experiencing real set backs, real advances, and real success, the real-world-tested quality of work this year’s class produced is at worst outstanding.
“I’m looking for kids that are hard working and really dedicated,” said G-MU technology teacher Eric Sturtz, the class’ instructor. “If you’re going to do something this unique and special, you have to stack the deck.”
Tuesday night marked the culmination of the class, with their end of the year exhibit in the school’s cafeteria that brought out a host of family, friends, classmates, and community members.
The class officially began in middle of this school year, but the participants took pre-requisite courses and began interviewing last year, with designs starting in the Fall. Sturtz decided to stack the deck with sophomores Derek Frank and Peter Schmidt, juniors Drew Hartman, Pat Mosomillo, and Peter Simon, and senior Neil Parshall. The six students (with a little help from their parents) all incurred their own expenses for their materials, developed and designed their own furniture concepts, put in countless hours outside of school and the allotted class time, and with each other’s help, met the deadline together.
“You’ve got to plan ahead, or else you’re going to be in trouble,” said Simon, who, with seemingly professional hands, created an adjustable drawing table/computer desk, with an imbedded frosted glass top embossed with his sister’s name, for whom he made it. “The coolest part is seeing the finished project, and seeing what I’ve made.”
“The best part has been working with my hands, and doing something interesting in school,” said Frank who built a large computer desk and, like most of the others in the class, says he has a strong interest within the artisan framework. “We’re pretty crazy in here too. But it’s one of the proudest moments I have had so far.”
Sturtz emphasized that the key to this class is creating a family atmosphere, a step he believes is more crucial than any individual’s ability.
“It’s been a unique experience,” said Parshall, now a cabinet maker. “It’s been really hard, but you can depend on anybody in here.”
“There were some harder times,” said Hartman on building his bed/desk/storage closet. “I knew it was going to take a long time, but everybody was helping out.”
For sophomore Peter Schmidt, the creativity appreciation and sense of accomplishment he has achieved was born out of practicality. “I needed something that had a lot of space to store things,” he said, referring to his finished armoire, built from Walnut lumber. “It was nice when all the colors came out of the wood after it was stained, It looks twenty times better.”
More than the finished product, the instructor hopes the path these kids took is what they will hopefully use throughout the rest of their lives.
“It’s the quality of the journey that counts,” he said. “It’s what they learned along the way – problem solving, responsibility – that’s the journey.”
“I’ll always remember this class,” said Mosomillo, who plans to use his new drafting desk in college, where he wants to study architecture.
The class would like to thank their course manager and exhibit coordinator, senior Cheryl Mellot, their lab assistants Andy Grabo and Chez Hartman, and their photographer Caitlin Wiltsie, who the class says were instrumental in their success. Mr. Sturtz would also like to thank the parents, the community, and the Superintendent, Doug Exley, for their continued support of this course and the enrichment of all the students through the arts.