Nevis students are first in the state to earn boiler licenses

Several of the 11 students at Nevis School that took part in a class that included training in running boilers have passed the state exam and earned their Minnesota Special Engineer Boiler License.

Six of the students enrolled in the class were juniors and five were seniors.

"Four of those that passed are under the age of 18 and are the only ones in the state that have that distinction," instructor Dustin Wroolie said. "This is the first time a class with the focus on boilers and the opportunity to earn a license has ever been offered at any Minnesota school at the high school level. I also believe it has never been offered outside of a school setting to individuals ages 16 and 17."

The boiler training was part of a trades class. Wroolie is also the school's facility manager.

"The class was focused on exposing the kids to career opportunities that don't require the traditional four-year college path," Wroolie said. "We had several local contractors share their skill sets and knowledge with our students. Some of the opportunities that were covered were electrician, plumbing, welding/fabrication, the military, auto mechanic, lineman, HVAC and

CNC/machining. In addition to those, approximately half of the semester was spent learning about boilers and studying to take the state of Minnesota Special Engineers Boiler exam."

Wroolie said the boiler portion of the course came about after numerous conversations with the Minnesota Chief Boiler Inspector Howard Berny regarding a little known exemption in the state statutes that allows an individual age 16-17 to apply for and take the exam, provided they have completed a state-approved course.

"I had numerous conversations with Howard to figure out how we could implement such a curriculum," Wroolie said. "Together, we put together a course that hadn't been done in a high school setting before. Elaine Hoffman, with the North Country Vocational Cooperative Center (NCVCC) in Bemidji was a huge supporter. NCVCC provided study guides for students and reimbursed the school for miscellaneous expenses the program incurred, including travel to a variety of boiler plants that we toured, such as Lamb Weston/RDO, Marvin Windows and Minnesota Power's Boswell facility in Cohasset."

Wroolie said this class exposed students to life skills and career opportunities that they may not have known existed.

"We are planning to continue to offer the class again during the fall semester," he said.