In the woodshop at Monache High School, you'll find Ethan Achterberg meticulously making cuts.
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He joined the Manufacturing Construction and Technology Academy pathway as a freshman and decided to focus on woodworking his senior year.
"When I first came over here, I thought I would be more on the construction side, but I fell in love with woodworking," Ethan said.
The trade is in his blood - his dad and grandpa are both handy and also took woodworking in high school.
Tim Newby, the MCTA Pathway instructor and woodworking teacher, says Ethan had too many absences during his freshman, sophomore and junior year, so he was never selected for contests.
But he says Ethan's natural talent was undeniable.
"He'd miss three days and be caught up in a day," Newby said.
Now in his senior year, his attendance has been excellent, so he was chosen to take part in the Skills USA competition.
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He took first place in the regional event held at Monache High School and moved on to the state contest with three other classmates.
After a day of planning their project, it was time for students to show off their skills by building a nightstand.
"They had a pile of wood on each workstation, we picked our workstations, then they rang a bell and we just started working," Ethan said.
But Ethan ran into an issue when he cut one of the side panels too short.
Thankfully, he was able to join two pieces together to avoid any major point deductions. Newby wasn't surprised.
"He's very good at problem-solving," Newby said.
Ethan and his classmate, Marriner Christenson, were only two of three students who finished their projects in the allotted time. With his mistake, Ethan figured he'd be taking home silver, but then the awards were announced and Ethan took home Gold.
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Monache students swept the top four spots in the competition and Ethan secured his ticket to Nationals.
After high school, he'll be joining the Army National Guard, where he plans to become a carpentry and masonry specialist.
But for now - his focus remains on doing well at his next competition.
"My overall goal is of course to get first, but if not, I'd really like to place," Ethan said.
Ethan has been spending his Saturdays working on a cabinet - similar to the one he'll have to create at nationals.
He leaves for Atlanta, Georgia, the last week of June.
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