All Stars 2019

Reach For Potential House Project
JUNIOR ALL STARS
WINNERS
In June 2018, five Kirkwood Community College
and high school students embarked on the Greater
Iowa City Home Builders Association’s initial
summer Vocational Training Program. Through the
program, the students constructed a 2,339-squarefoot
house in Iowa City.
Pallavi Gopalakrishna
Student, Kirkwood Community College
Cullen Klebe
Student, Highland High School, Riverside*
Jake Nietfeldt
Student, Durant High School, Durant
George Marcy
Student, Solon High School, Solon
Lia Weiner
Student, Iowa City West High School, Iowa City
What did the five of you accomplish?
JAKE NIETFELDT: A group of us, ranging from a junior in
high school to a 38-year-old Kirkwood student, built a house
through the Iowa City Home Builders Association for Reach
For Your Potential, which houses adults with disabilities that
need 24/7 care. The house was Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA)-approved, making it 100 percent handicap accessible.
PALLAVI GOPALAKRISHNA: Under the constant support and
impeccable guidance of Tim Rouse, starting from how the
building permit was obtained to the housewarming ceremony,
from digging to building, from using hands to using machines,
we were laid out the opportunity to learn and build the home.
A confidence that came from trusting a group of students to
deliver a live product was a boost to my self-confidence.
CULLEN KLEBE: Everyone worked on various things. I helped
put the foam board along the footings and tie rebar together
for the concrete slab. I helped frame, helped put the roof on,
helped side the house and all sorts of other fun stuff. Our first
day working on the site was June 12 and we had the house
showing on Sept. 1.
How did you and your team members get connected,
especially since you’re from different schools?
Cullen Klebe and Jake Nietfeldt are two of the five Junior All Stars
winners.
JAKE: The opportunity was offered to me by my high school
shop teacher, Mr. Tim Rouse. He was told about it by Joe
Greathouse, associate professor of construction management
at Kirkwood.
PALLAVI: I was also told about the project by Joe Greathouse.
(I’m an architectural technology student.) Prior to attending
Kirkwood, I had completed my bachelor’s in architecture studies
in India before following my husband to the United States.
CULLEN: I found out about it through my boss at McCreedy-
Ruth Construction, Tim Ruth. He mentioned that we were
going to start a new student-built house and that I should take
part. I signed up for the project, signed up to have it be used
as my summer internship for Kirkwood and off things went.
Has Kirkwood been a good choice for you?
PALLAVI: Yes. I chose Kirkwood because it has the courses I
was looking for, and when I approached the faculty, they gave
me all the attention I needed, listened to me and guided me.
What appealed to you about the housebuilding project?
JAKE: I have an interest in the trades and this helped me get
my foot in the door. It also appealed to me because of who
we were building it for.
PALLAVI: With great communication from the start of the project
until the end, every person who contributed had a noble,
yet humble, thought in their minds, be it the design team,
various consultants, banks, etc. The one cause in mind was the
community support and reassurance of faith in humankind.
CULLEN: I started working for McCreedy-Ruth Construction
in the summer of 2017, so I wasn’t too experienced when I
started working on the Reach house. I want to be a framer and
I saw an opportunity to do that.
34 2019 ALL STARS of ICR