Nelson Architect’s Kevin Smith was featured in a Great Falls Tribune feature (September 15, 2016), celebrating local businesses who support high school students with after-school work  programs.

EXCERPT

The United Way of Cascade County-led Graduation Matters Initiative constantly works to increase on-time graduation rates and decrease the number of high school drop-outs. This survey asked students whether their employers were supportive of their education and after-school activities in hopes of taking the learned information and educating businesses about what school-aged employees need to be successful at their jobs and in school.

“For many students, an after-school job is a chance to get spending money and build a work resume,” United Way President Gary Owen said. “But for other students, it’s an important source of income for their families. Employers can be powerful influencers in students’ lives. By stressing the importance of education, attendance and graduation to their student employees’ futures, employers can play a huge role in getting more kids to graduate on time.”

Kevin Smith, a senior at C.M. Russell High School, works at Nelson Architects as a building information modeling manager where he takes the initial sketches of a building and makes 3-D renderings and architectural sheets for contractors. He has worked there for about one year.

“During school, I work about 15 hours a week,” Smith said. “I think I’ll go to school in Bozeman. I want to major in architecture.”

Click here for the full article