Tyirr Gray is entering her junior year of high school and already has a career path in mind.
“I want to be an architect and I’ve been wanting to do that since I was about 10 years old,” she said.
Gray said she wants to learn life skills and recognizes that there are careers where she can design her own schedule and be an entrepreneur.
“If I’m going to be an architect or a drafter, I want to know all the different aspects that go into building something,” she said.
So, she signed up for the Lakeland Police Department’s Summer Trades Academy.
“You can see that there are a lot of girls here. I want them to see that it’s available for them too. It’s a new era,” said Lakeland Police Lt. Joe Parker.
Lt. Parker was raised by his father, a union carpenter, and grew up as his helper.
Then he served in the Army and worked in commercial construction as a superintendent before becoming a police officer.
He said the Summer Trades Academy was his answer to a spike in juvenile crime during the summer.
It is a way to teach kids while also building their relationships with law enforcement.
“We don’t just teach them about the trades. We teach them about work ethic, integrity, personal responsibility, social networking, why long-term relationships are important to them,” said Lt. Parker.
The free academy exposes Polk County high school-aged children to a wide array of trades, including carpentry, plumbing, HVAC and masonry, the latter of which was the focus on Wednesday morning.
I want to spend time with my friends over the summer, but I know this is more valuable and I’ll learn more things and I’ll better myself going to some place like this and learning,” said Stellan Hendrick, who is entering his sophomore year of high school.
Lt. Parker invites trade professionals to share their knowledge as well, including Frank Rebecky.
“I have a passion to see my trade be developed more in the industry,” said Rebecky, VP of Field Operations at AD Morgan Corporation.
Masonry could benefit from young talent.
“The construction trade is in need of good tradesmen and trade partners. For many years, it’s been neglected,” said Rebecky.
Applications are closed for the current academy.
Applications for next year’s academy are expected to open next February.