Bending conduit, wiring circuits and working with lime-based mortar, a group of local teenagers recently explored options in trade careers under the guidance of professionals from University of Virginia Facilities Management.
About 30 teens from the Orange County, Madison County and Cherry Avenue chapters of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia spent part of Thursday afternoon delving into historic masonry and electricity as part of Facilities Management’s outreach to local youth.
The teens divided into two groups. One watched Wayne Mays, assistant director for trades, and Matt Proffitt, masonry supervisor, make mortar from quicklime and sand and then apply it to a course of bricks. The other group worked with Henry Garrison, mechanical trades superintendent, who showed them how to wire a circuit, and electrical assistant Jimmy Belew helped the teens bend electrical conduit.
Jimmy Belew, left, an electrical assistant at Facilities Management, demonstrates for Mason, a student from Orange County, how to bend an electrical conduit. (Photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
The latter group cheered loudly when a light bulb lit up, showing the circuit they had wired worked.
Mays gave a short history of masonry at the University and talked to students about the importance of preserving the original bricks, since they were part of the historic fabric of the buildings. He detailed how to carefully repair mortar without damaging the bricks surrounding it. And invited the youths to try, handing them a hammer and a chisel.
The teens troweled lime-based mortar on a course of bricks, following Proffitt’s directions on tapping them in place and scooping away the excess.
Anayaison, who was visiting family from Atlanta, said she enjoyed the session because it gave her exposure to the skilled trades, which may help her later in choosing a career. She said she preferred the masonry class because of the tactile qualities of the mortar.
