Imagine this scene: A new custom built cabin sits on a local lot surrounded by state game lands.

Inside, four hunters swap stories about their big game conquests.Outside, a car pulls up. A high school student points to the cabin."Hey Dad," he says. "I helped build that cabin in my school."Dave Reinbold, administrative director at Carbon Career & Technical Institute in Jim Thorpe, has established a new program in which his school's students will build custom modular homes, cabins, extra office spaces, and portable buildings in their state of the art carpentry lab. They have the latest equipment to construct a modular building up to 700 square feet.Value for customerHere's the bonus.There are absolutely no labor charges and the customer pays for material at a reduced rate.To begin, the customer presents his construction idea to a CCTI design team, and a drafting class creates a computer-enhanced building schematic.When the Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development approves the design, building materials are purchased."The construction phase is supervised by our qualified teachers and by the PDED," says Reinbold.Once complete, the building is transported at customer cost from the school to his lot where footings and a foundation have been prepared, also at additional cost."There are many advantages of this project for the consumer," says Ken Walters, supervisor of Building and Grounds at CCTI."First is cost. Area contractors can charge $90 to $100 a square foot for materials and labor. We charge $35 a foot with student labor included. Total cost for a 700-square-foot building, which includes electric and plumbing, is about S24,500. We offer an immense savings."According to Milton Stoltzfus, an industrialized housing program manager for the Department of Economic Development, which oversees a dozen or so projects of this type, Pennsylvania residents currently occupy millions of modular structures, indicating a shift from traditional custom built wood homes to off-site manufactured structures because of cost effectiveness and quality control.The building stages come under the regulations of the Pennsylvania Industrialized Housing Act, which involves several inspections to ensure that all construction requirements have been met. This includes permit applications, inspection of installation, site preparation, foundation construction and utility connections.Value for studentsCarpentry instructor Donald Kerbaugh III believes that another attractive feature of the CCTI home build is the educational value it returns to the students."During the building stages, students from grades 9 through 12, both male and female, learn to work together as a team. This is an invaluable lesson for whatever they decide to do in their future," he says.Kerbaugh likens himself to a football coach."I am their coach and cheerleader. Just like on the field, we have self-starters and those who need to be gently pushed. It's a wide range of talented young personalities bonding together to fulfill a single purpose in building the home."For parents, Kerbaugh said, "A home is a permanent structure that has long lasting appeal. What parent would not be proud of a child who helped build something for someone else to enjoy for years and years? Imagine as a parent you look at a home and say, 'My son did that.'"Carpentry instructor Jeffrey Hazelton says people who choose this program are putting their trust in the future of our youth. He said the age and lack of experience of the students shouldn't deter people."Our homes will have more inspections than ones built from private contractors," Hazelton says.Teachers oversee every detail. The PDED monitors progress and inspects the completed product. Once the home is transported to a vacant lot, it is subject to local inspection.Reinbold said the entire construction takes place inside in a controlled environment so there are no weather issues. A project of this magnitude takes a good part of a year.The lab"Our facility is superior with the most advanced construction equipment and machinery there is to be found," Reinbold says.The carpentry lab is "quite impressive," he said.About 35 students would be involved in the entire construction. This includes students from electrical and plumbing classes as well as those from drafting and carpentry classes.Kerbaugh's carpentry students are excited about building a house inside a classroom.Junior Emily Clements, who became interested in construction watching home improvement shows on TV, has come a long way since she built a "television" with a block of wood and two nails in her father's workshop when she was in the fifth grade."I am excited about this project," she says. "I've helped build a custom shed and now I would love to see my name on someone's home. It would be very gratifying to see it go from nothing and become something a family could enjoy forever."Clements adds with a smile, "My friends think I'm very feminine, but I love construction because it's out of the ordinary. Someday I would like to have my own framing and roofing business, too."Another CCTI junior, Emily Ritter has recently helped to complete the building of a ticket booth that is now utilized at Panther Valley High School."I am learning skills that will help me for the rest of my life," Ritter says.Senior Tyler Davis, who once helped his uncle build a functional banjo out of pine and maple wood, fishing line, and rabbit skin when he was in the fifth grade. said, "I came from Panther Valley when I was a freshman without any idea of what school could do for me, but now I love working with my mind and my hands to create something.""The best thing about homebuilding in school is the working together of so many students from the different trades' classes," says Paulo Barris, who was helping his father remodel homes when he was 12 years old. "For me. I take a lot of pride in what I build out of wood."For information about the CCTI home build project, contact Reinbold at 570-325-3682, ext, 1512.