Senior Lucy Salgado-Dickes likes a challenge, so she built a plan that would challenge herself in multiple ways.
The only girl in the Advanced Woods class her junior year, it was expected she would take on a project for the school or come up with one with the help of classmates.
“I decided to build the cabinet because I really wanted to challenge myself,” Salgado-Dickes said. “Also, my mom was the music director for North American Martyrs and she had been looking for a new cabinet for the choir, and she thought it was the perfect chance.”
Salgado-Dickes developed her interest in woods by making door signs with a jigsaw for the school’s Landscaping Club, which led her to taking the Machine Woods class her sophomore year. Being the only girl in the class helped her get out of her comfort zone, become more outgoing, and learn patience, she said.
Teacher Don McKee liked her idea for the project, which allows students the opportunity to create something of personal interest to them.
“Lucy approached me about a soundboard cabinet her mother wanted built for Martyrs,” McKee said. “This project was perfect for the class objectives, so I helped Lucy plan the cabinet according to her needs. It was an excellent project for introducing several different learning activities. Lucy came back to school a couple of times over the summer to spray the water-based finish on the cabinet and to install the necessary hardware before taking it away to its forever home.”
Lucy’s mom helped acquire the resources needed to make this cabinet possible, and was excited to see it be a perfect fit for their needs.
“Our church is great about staying within our budget, and we had used an old school desk for our soundboard since the church has been built,” she said. “Everyone is so thankful for the extra storage space and the facelift in the choir loft!”
Her mother also helped keep her on track to finish the project over the summer. Salgado-Dickes said she had help from fellow students, too, including Sean Carney, Mason Miller, Colton Cederburg, Simon Greisen, Tobias Jordan, Aaron Nguyen, Ethan Nguyen, Kyle Socha, and Hector Mora.
“It was really fulfilling, and relieving, to see it finally finished, and I’m proud of myself for seeing it through, and for how it looks, considering it’s my second project,” she said.
