SUN Tech student proud of woodworking skills

April 07, 2009 07:25 am

— NEW BERLIN — Idleness is not a familiar trait to Tyler Davis.
The 18-year-old Beaver Springs resident has been working since he was 12 and already has mapped out how he’ll make a living when he graduates from high school this year.
Davis wants to use the talents he’s picked up over the years working on area farms, participating in an advanced wood products class at SUN Area Career & Technology Center in New Berlin and, later this fall, studying heavy equipment operation at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
It’s a field he’s had his eye on for a while, but it’s mostly seasonal, so Davis figures he’ll fill the lag time working on the side building cabinets and other wood products.
“Once I get squared away in the heavy equipment field, I’ll open my custom woodworking shop on the side,” he said.
Davis has been honing his woodworking skills at SUN Tech for the past year, and guidance counselor Geoffrey Schmitz describes his work as outstanding.
Aside from being a hard worker, Davis is a well-rounded student who treats others with respect, Schmitz said.
Davis isn’t one to brag, but he said he is proud of the cabinetry, desks and toy chests he’s built. Many items built by the students are offered for sale to the public.
He credits his parents, Robert and Gwen Davis, with instilling in him a strong work ethic.
He didn’t grow up on a farm, but at the age of 12, he fell for a girl who did. In an effort to prove to her father that he was capable of performing hard labor, he went to work there. Davis spent four years working on that farm before taking a job at another farm.
A member of the Keystone Junior Rodeo Association for a few years, Davis takes work seriously, even taking a year from chute dogging, barrels and poles in the rodeo to concentrate on the farming job. But this summer, he plans to enjoy himself before heading off to college by taking part in rodeo events again.
“I’m going to do chute dogging again,” he said of the rodeo event, which requires a contestant to wrestle a steer to the ground within 60 seconds.
Davis also is a pitcher on the Midd-West High School baseball team.

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