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<< Previous   of   Next >> Michael O'Leary / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Richie del Puerto teaches automotive mechanics at the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center. Del Puerto is one of three teachers at the school who graduated from the center. Michael O'Leary / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Nikki Couffer teaches veterinary assisting at the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center. Couffer also graduated from the center. Michael O'Leary / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Brent Delfel teaches diesel mechanics at the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center. Delfel also graduated from the center.   ADVERTISEMENT   Celebrations The Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center is set to celebrate its 30th anniversary on the same day it holds a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a new building. The event is 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the campus, 9001 Airport Road. The center, which serves 42 high schools from 14 school districts, teaches a wide variety of work skills. Construction is set to begin early in March on a $24 million building that will allow the school to add programs. The ceremony is open to the public.   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Sno-Isle Tech school graduates are now teaching a new set of students By Eric Stevick Herald Writer Brent Delfel, Richie del Puerto and Nikki Couffer are among the thousands of alumni from the Sno-Isle Tech Skills Center to use what they learned in the real world. As students in the vocational program, each pursued a childhood passion -- Delfel in diesel mechanics, del Puerto in auto mechanics and Couffer in veterinary assisting -- and then made a living at it after high school. And now they are back on the Sno-Isle campus in south Everett to teach a new generation. Each was recruited by former teachers to return. "It was the furthest thing from our minds," del Puerto said, nodding at Delfel. Not so for Couffer, who had written a note during the 1995-96 school year foreseeing that she would work in the veterinary field for many years before coming back to teach at Sno-Isle. Her teacher remembered that note, and now she's back at Sno-Isle teaching a veterinary assisting class. As skills center leaders prepare for a public celebration of the school's 30th anniversary Saturday, the trio of instructors looks forward to training new waves of students who can enter the job market with the skills they need to earn a family-wage job. The center, which serves 42 high schools from 14 school districts, teaches 19 courses in five different fields. That list includes a variety of trades, such as construction, firefighting, welding, cosmetology, culinary arts, electronics and robotics. More disciplines will be added in the future. Construction is set to begin early in March on a $24 million building that will allow the school to add programs in auto-body-collision repair; aircraft service; heating, ventilation and air conditioning maintenance and installation; and low-voltage electrical wiring. The new building, set to open in 2010, also will have room to add another program and to move existing criminal justice and fashion and merchandising programs out of portables. Delfel, del Puerto and Couffer say they were well prepared for jobs through Sno-Isle and that they now have connections and credibility within their industries to help skilled, hardworking graduates into their fields. They also say they can see the school at Sno-Isle through the eyes of their students. Delfel graduated in 1990 from Mariner High School, where, he's the first to admit, he was not a star student. He was, however, a whiz in the diesel shop. "For me, it was different (at Sno-Isle,)" he said. "I wanted to explore and I had a thirst for learning things." He spent two years at Sno-Isle in the diesel program and became a state champion who placed eighth his junior year and second his senior year in a national diesel mechanics competition for high school students in Tulsa, Okla. Del Puerto graduated from Snohomish High School in 1991. He started teaching automotive classes at Sno-Isle in 2002 after serving on an advisory board for the program. Two of his former teachers became his colleagues. Today, he fondly remembers his time as a student in the automotive program. "I always looked forward to getting my hands dirty working in the shop," del Puerto said. Couffer graduated from Darrington High School in 1996 and joined the Sno-Isle teaching staff this fall. She never let the darkness of pre-dawn bus rides from Darrington dampen her enthusiasm for working with animals. Families in the logging town knew traditional jobs were disappearing and often encouraged their children to learn an employable trade at Sno-Isle, she said. "Everybody slept the entire way," she said. "Everyone had pillows, but everybody was dedicated. We were always there." Couffer has worked in small and large practices and at animal hospitals, but she always looked forward to sharing her passion with students. "At Sno-Isle, it became clear to me that I knew what I wanted to do with my life," she said. Reporter Eric Stevick:425-339-3446 or e-mail stevick@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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