High school shop award given after 2-year hiatus

For 41 years, a Wrangell High School student was chosen as Shop Student of the Year. The honor was put on hold for two years but has been revived.

Shop teacher Winston Davies decided to start giving out the award again, picking Logan Ritchie, who graduated last year, as the recipient for the 2020-2021 school year, when larger shop projects couldn't be finished due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"I'm just carrying on a tradition that was started back in the 1980s," Davies said. "There are 41 previous recipients. The actual plaque is something I came up with, rather than just a certificate that might eventually get lost."

Davies said he wants to give students something they can be proud of and aspire to, adding he remembers the students who received it when he was in school. The plaque was designed in the high school workshop and cut out using the shop's laser cutter.

Ritchie was picked because of the hours he put in to build a jetboat, which he uses to pilot up the Stikine River to hunt and fish. His time in shop class throughout all four years of high school helped land him a job at Svendsen Marine. He said there's satisfaction in seeing a project come to fruition.

"I just like fabricating and seeing it all come together," Ritchie said. "I build boats and all kinds of stuff (at Svendsen's)."

His focus and determination is something his mom Lucy Robinson said he's always had.

"He has a kind of vision for what he wants," she said. "He has goals. He's one of those guys that works hard and plays hard as well. It's a neat characteristic. I think he sees welding as something he can continue to hone. It will allow him to do the things he wants to do financially."

Robinson said her son did well academically, but his passion was in the hands-on work he learned in shop. "He wasn't interested in going to a two-year or four-year school and sitting on a computer. He wanted to work with his hands. I think Winston has played a major role in influencing Logan."

Davies said it is gratifying to know that his former student was able to take his education and turn it into a career straight out of school. He plans on giving out the award for the 2021-22 school year at the awards assembly at the end of the year. "I have a couple of kids in mind who are working super hard and put in more time than just the class time they have scheduled."

Though Ritchie doesn't have a dream project, he does look forward to getting better at his craft.

"I just like working on boats and I like welding a lot," he said. "I'll probably try to build a couple more jetboats."