RCS junior Ethan Sluga perfecting his carpentry skills.

With summer fast approaching, many area residents are dreaming of sitting outside around a fire pit or just talking with friends in a comfortable chair under the summer sun. Students in the Capital Region BOCES Carpentry Services program are helping to bring those dreams to reality for at least 60 people as they are using their newfound carpentry skills to craft quality Adirondack Chairs.

Participating students have been building the chairs off and on throughout the school year, while learning a host of skills – from woodworking to team work. So far, the students have constructed 48 chairs and they have another 12 or so on order.

 β€œIt’s fun and you get practical experience, which is great for me because I want to be a woodworker,” said RCS junior Ethan Sluga.

Carpentry Services is one of about two-dozen programs Capital Region BOCES offers high school students to prepare them for careers ranging from carpenters to engineers, nurses and chefs. More than a dozen students from schools ranging from Schenectady to Guilderland, Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk and Schalmont attend the program.