Geoff Bennett: Tonight’s Brief But Spectacular shines a light on three aspiring builders from a hands-on vocational construction program in Salinas, California. Many of the students there are pushing past significant personal obstacles as they learn to frame walls, pour foundations, and design homes with sustainability in mind.

Amna Nawaz: In a state grappling with a housing crisis and the constant threat of wildfires, these young builders, Julieta, Ezekiel, and Jesus, are gaining the skills to confront two of California’s greatest challenges while constructing a brighter future for themselves.

Julieta, Rancho Cielo Student: believe what makes a good construction worker would be someone who actually cares about what they’re doing.

Ezekiel, Rancho Cielo Student: Building this house helped us know that we can accomplish things in life without needing anyone.

Jesus, Rancho Cielo Student: I don’t know. Like, after you build something, you feel really proud of it. You’re just like, wow, like I built that. I can’t even believe it sometimes, you know?

I’m a student in Rancho Cielo in the construction program.

Julieta: A senior here at Rancho Cielo on my last year.

Jesus: Rancho Cielo is a hands-on vocational school.

Julieta: Right now, we are standing in the Nexus_01 house that was built here in Rancho Cielo by the construction and design students.

Ezekiel: First, you learn how to do it, like the foundation. Then you learn how to do the framing. Then you learn how to do the trusses.

Julieta: Growing up, I didn’t really like school. I would get bullied when I was little, so school wasn’t really a thing I would look forward to.

Ezekiel: I mean, I love school. I never missed a day. I mean, it was just a space for me to get away from where my troubles were.

Julieta: Growing up in Salinas, my family was struggling with financial issues. At the same time, my dad had gotten locked up.

Jesus: We have always had like trouble with money.

Ezekiel: A lot of the houses that I grew up in were kind of like just messed up or not put in place correctly. There was air coming in, a lot of mold. Growing up would cause me to get asthma.

So, right now, we’re standing in this beautiful house. It’s a sustainability house, 850 livable space. Square footage, it’s 1,200-plus if you have the outside. My role here was construction management, so I had to supervise all the students, making sure that they were doing everything correctly.

Jesus: This house was made completely off-grid. It had a backup battery system and a SPAN panel, so you can check it on your phone too, but it was also affordable.

Ezekiel: Fireproof outside. So, I mean, there’s a fire outside, we’re out here having a good time. You won’t even feel the fire.

Jesus: We took this home down to Orange County in L.A. to compete with the Orange County decathlon and we took first place.

Man: First place goes to Rancho Cielo.

(Cheering)

Julieta: When we got called up for the prize, it was just like a feeling of our hard work just paying off.

Ezekiel: Getting first place just meant everything to us.

Julieta: It made me realize I could probably be good in the construction management or architecture area.

Jesus: Now that I’m building homes, it makes me want to build a home for my mom.

Ezekiel: This is the future. We’re trying to build houses that will keep our families safe.

Julieta: Before coming to Rancho, I felt like I hadn’t done something that I was part of myself, so this was really something that helped bring meaning.

Jesus: My name is Jesus.

Ezekiel: My name is Ezekiel.

Julieta: My name is Julieta.

And this is my Brief But Spectacular take on building a home.

Amna Nawaz: And you can watch more Brief But Spectacular videos online at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.