For countless months, students and teachers alike heard the constant noises of clanging and banging as Clark’s new engineering lab was being built. The building was finally ready to go at the end of January. 

The new building gives students the opportunity to work in a building that rivals those at other high schools and even universities. Students in the manufacturing and robotics classes are able to learn more about technology with an environment that is closer to what jobs in the technology field use. The building has five new CNC machines, which are equipment that are programmed to control production equipment to make new products. Each CNC machine costs around $20,000 each. The building is also planning to receive more equipment such as a 5-Axis mill machine and laser cutters. There’s a large area in the center to test projects, such as the robot the robotics team built, in addition to four other rooms the building has to code and build their next projects.

Mr. Aram Ohanis teaches the manufacturing and robotics classes in the new engineering building. With new, state-of-the-art equipment, it’s easier for students pursuing jobs in the technology industry to gain the experience they need just from taking elective classes at school. “Students here can actually get a job right out of high school if they want to take manufacturing classes,” Mr. Ohanis said. “Technologically, the building and equipment is very advanced, and the students get a lot of experience from coding, designing, engineering, manufacturing, and business.”

The new engineering building allows students to have more hands-on experiences in labs and workshops and be able to try out the new equipment. Junior Lelia Byerley, a student in Clark’s robotics team and manufacturing class, has been working in the building since it opened. “We work on a lot of different things in the building, from smaller projects like laser-cutting metal parts to large projects like building the Team 696 robot,” Byerley said. 

Students who aren’t in the classes that meet in the engineering building can still go take a look with permission from Mr. Ohanis. With the new building, Clark’s science, technology, and engineering pathways have  taken a new step in becoming even greater and opening new opportunities for students interested in fields of engineering and technology.