This past school year, Max Hayes High School Senior Catherine Nelson worked as a Carpenter’s Union apprentice for Panzica Construction on a job at the Cleveland Natural History Museum.

     Max Hayes Construction Program Instructor James MacDowell says in his nearly thirty years of teaching construction at Max Hayes, Nelson is the first student to be accepted as a Carpenter’s Union Apprentice while still in high school. MacDowell says Nelson had a summer job with Panzica and they were impressed with her work and offered her a job which led to her becoming a union apprentice.

     Nelson’s co-workers told the Plain Press she is a good worker. They said she did so well they thought maybe her father was a carpenter. This wasn’t the case. MacDowell says Nelson is not afraid to ask questions and get all the information she needs before starting a job. He says the program at Max Hayes prepared her for the type of work she would have to do as a union apprentice.

     Nelson graduated this past June and is still employed at Panzica.