LUSK – Niobrara County High School students got to explore a career in electrical work on Wednesday, April 23, when Encore Electric, a Colorado-based legacy company, arrived in Lusk.

Working alongside experienced Encore Electric staff, high school students in grades seven through 12 learned how to bend conduits, a process that involves using conduit benders to form electrical conduits into several different angles and curves. The youngsters also received an opportunity to make their through Encore Electric’s Exit Trailer. According to Michele Ogburn, the school’s counselor, students check in to the Exit Trailer, but don’t check out without displaying some electrical knowledge.

“They have to do all of the wiring through the trailer to exit the Exit Trailer,” Ogburn told the Herald. “All along the walls, they have different things you have to wire to make the lights go on. So the students have to wire it all along the trailer to get out.”

Ogburn first encountered Encore Electric while accompanying a group of Juniors to a Career Day at Eastern Wyoming College. The school counselor was impressed with Encore Electric’s presentation and looked for an opportunity to have them visit Niobrara County High School. A chance emerged when one of Ogburn’s colleagues in Lingle booked the company to visit their career day.

“They were already coming through,” Ogburn recalled. “So I asked them if they would come here and they said, ‘Certainly.’”

Encore Electric has a rather elaborate apprenticeship program. In addition to the traditional route from apprentice to project manager, the company also offers training in CAD, BIM, VDC, preconstruction, and systems. Encore has more than 100 different courses and a four-year apprenticeship curriculum that introduces new electricians to basic safety, tools, blueprints, first aid, and CPR.

“Their whole program is so inclusive,” said Ogburn.

Encore Electric’s day on campus contributed to efforts by the school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program to introduce students to the many different alternatives to college. According to Ogburn, teachers in the school’s CTE program wish for Niobrara County students to know there is more than one way to a productive, fulfilling, and lucrative career.

“The teachers that we have are really working with our students and really encouraging them to look at other pathways too,” said Ogburn.