Halifax County’s WoodLINKS program is a partnership with Halifax County schools and the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) in South Boston, an institution that features degree and dual-enrollment offerings through its partnerships with 11 public and private colleges and universities, including Virginia Tech. This program motivates students to become part of an educational pathway between high schools and Virginia Tech, generating interest in wood science. Though high school wood shop may not have been considered a serious academic class in the past, the WoodLINKS program offers lab space that is “computer oriented and design driven, with sophisticated manufacturing equipment,” says Dean Paul Winistorfer. These courses will offer students education in mathematics, design, architecture, materials science, fabrication, and engineering.
The benefits of the partnership will extend far beyond the long-term goal of motivating students to study wood science; it will also allow for research collaboration, short courses, and educational training at the SVHEC and Danville Community College. On a regional scale, the partnership will become an economic engine by re-creating the area’s manufacturing base. As a result, students and manufacturers alike win.