Many students may dread sacrificing their sleep time just to wake up early for a zero period class. However, sophomore Chloe Duerr has taken woodshop as an elective for the past four years, with a passion driving her to continue creating innovative projects from wood despite the early hour.
Duerr began to take woodshop in seventh grade after an interest enabled her to take a chance to create works with liberty.
“I saw woodshop on the list of electives,” Duerr said. “I thought it would be really cool to try it because you get to build anything you want. It’s very creative and not restrictive. I’ve loved it ever since.”
In the years following her first, Duerr has continued to take woodshop as an elective. Based on both past and current experiences, she notes that woodshop’s reputation for creativeness still lives up to its reputation.
“Its really awesome and fun,” Duerr said. “I can express myself through woodshop and it lets me be creative. I definitely would take woodshop for a hobby outside of school if I had the equipment.”
Looking past the benefits, Duerr recognizes some of the setbacks of woodshop, between waking up early and dealing with hazardous tools.
“I really hate having to wake up at 7 a.m. sometimes,” Duerr said. “I have to drag myself out of bed and try to find any motivation so I can to wake up and go. It’s also very dangerous because every saw is razor sharp and could easily take off your finger or hand. I also don’t like that when you screw up once, you can mess up the whole project.”
Despite these impediments, Duerr finds motivation to continue because of the many positive aspects of woodshop. She finds contentment in the craftsmanship, and every detail involved. As a result, Duerr has developed a strong attachment to the class.
“Even with the setbacks, I still think woodshop is well worth it,” Duerr said. “The sound of power tools, the smell of wood and the feeling of creating something beautiful out of nothing is very satisfying. I love working with woodcrafts and I can’t imagine waking up every morning and not doing woodshop.
Though woodshop is early in the morning, Duerr finds a refuge from the pressures and strains in life in it.
“It’s a place where I can get away from the stress of school, homework and chores, and escape to a place of creativity and the joys of creating something amazing out of wood,” Duerr said. “I’ll definitely continue with woodshop in high school, even as a senior.”
During her four years, Duerr has created many projects to showcase her talents and skills, creating many from her individual ideas and imagination. Out of numerous amounts of projects, her end-of-year project last year stands out for a favorite.
“My favorite project I?ve made so far is a chessboard,” Duerr said. “It consists of maple and oak. The dark squares are oak and the light ones are maple. It has a built-in drawer underneath the actually board and oak pieces outlining the sides. This is my favorite project because it is the most beautiful one I’ve done so far.”
Although her most prized creation was constructed recently, Duerr says her least favorite project started at the beginning of last year. Due to the fact that she was still learning, it became difficult.
“My least favorite project was my book easel,” Duerr said. “It took about a semester to make and I had a lot of mishaps and errors. The plans were difficult to understand and the legs would not stay on. I was really excited to move on to a new project, which turned out to be my best. It was really gratifying to go from my worst to my best project in a year.”
As a veteran of woodshop, Duerr assists newcomers with their difficulties. According to seventh grade student Jacob Markarian, Duerr’s friendly personality encourages other students to continue on with their woodshop skills. Markarian esteems Duerr’s appreciation for other classmates and her willingness to help them, he says.
“She’s really nice,” Markarian said. “Whenever you need help, she’ll help us since she’s been in the class for a long time. She has a very good servant’s heart.”
Like Markarian, eighth grade student Andrew Moore admires Duerr’s generosity and benevolent attitude.
“She’s nice; she helps me around and talks to me even though I’m a junior higher,” Moore said. “She helps me with my projects and other stuff. Last year she helped me make my World Market weapons since I didn’t really know how to.”
With years of acquired knowledge, Duerr enjoys the chance to work with her peers and spread her abilities, supporting them to reach their potential.
“It feels good helping my classmates,” Duerr said. “I enjoy teaching them what I’ve learned in my past years. I feel as if it’s my duty to help them.”
Woodshop instructor Randy Hurley has taught Duerr since her first year, and has helped her to enhance her skills. Hurley admires Duerr’s ability to go beyond the class and create crafts that are unique and difficult to construct, he says.
“She likes to pick projects that are out of the ordinary,” Hurley said. “It’s a lot of fun to watch her do that, there are no plans for what she does. It’s all shooting from the hip.”
Hurley also recognizes Duerr’s attributes that embodies her to become a proficient woodshop student.
“She’s patient and willing to stick to it until it’s done even through the boring or hard parts,” Hurley said. “She perseveres and doesn’t give up; it’s good to see in a student. She’s confident in her experience and skills.”
For more information on woodshop, read the Nov. 29, 2010 article, Woodshop educates, offers creative outlet.