The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
JVS students paint snow plow for ODOT
JVS students in the Collision Repair program and students in the Career Explorations program got creative.
Lorain County JVS students in the Collision Repair program and 10thgrade students in the Career Explorations program recently got creative and painted a snow plow that will be seen and used all over Lorain County.
For the fifth consecutive year, Lonnie Higey, Collision Repair instructor, signed up to participate in the Ohio Department of Transportation District 3’s Paint A Plow Program.
The designs are always the ideas of the students. This year is a Happy Holiday saying with a Charlie Brown theme.
“I don’t tell the students what to do with the snow plows,” said Higey. “I let them come up with their own ideas, figure out what they want to do and how to make it happen.”
Madisyn Contreras, junior collision repair student from Wellington, shared that her favorite part of the project was the freehand drawing.
“I really liked drawing and painting the trees onto the plow. That was fun,” she said.
Whereas sophomore Hannah Gunnoe from Amherst, enjoyed applying the decals that were printed on the equipment in her 10th grade lab.
Higey can see the impact it has on his students, when two grades work together.
“It is great seeing students from around the school that you wouldn’t normally see, come together and work on a project. It is great for them to be able to come in and use their talents and be creative,” Higey said.
Having the students work together on this type of project also gives the 10th-graders an opportunity to see what the collision repair lab is about.
“They learn from their peers, which works really nicely. Also, a project like this aligns with all the state standards with painting, even though it is a snow plow. This is a good lesson for both the juniors and underclassmen to learn,” said Higey.
The artfully painted blade will be mounted on snow plow trucks and displayed in holiday parades and events during this month and early December, barring any operational needs.
“They learn from their peers, which works really nicely. Also, a project like this aligns with all the state standards with painting, even though it is a snow plow. This is a good lesson for both the juniors and underclassmen to learn.” — Lonnie Higey, Collision Repair Instructor